The Winnipeg Jets are heading into 2026-27 with more than just team goals hanging over the season. A cluster of important roster decisions is right there on the horizon, and for several players, the next year could decide what comes next in Winnipeg.
That makes this a pressure season in two directions. The Jets are trying to stay competitive while the core is still in its prime, with names like Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Connor Hellebuyck still central to the push for a Stanley Cup. At the same time, a long list of players are skating into contract years, turning every shift into a chance to strengthen their case for a new deal.
The forward group carries much of that spotlight. Nino Niederreiter is coming off one of the roughest seasons of his career, finishing with 19 points in 61 games while injuries limited his availability. At 33, he’s chasing what could be the last contract of his career, and a bounce back into the 45-plus point range would do a lot to convince Kevin Cheveldayoff that he’s worth keeping around.
Vladislav Namestnikov is in a similar spot. The veteran centre is entering the final season of a two-year contract after a season that produced just 14 points in 60 games, also with injuries interrupting his year.
Winnipeg has leaned on him as a dependable depth piece up the middle, and he’ll be looking to get back to the near-40-point level he had reached in the two seasons before this dip. A 40-plus point year would put him in a much stronger position heading into his next negotiation.
Morgan Barron is the younger forward in that mix, and his case is built on momentum rather than recovery. He posted a career-high 23 points in only 65 games last season and might have been on pace for 30 points for the first time if injuries hadn’t slowed him down. The 27-year-old Halifax native is expected to stay in a bottom-six centre role, and a season in the 30- to 40-point range would be exactly the kind of jump that can lead to a meaningful payday.
Then there’s Brad Lambert, whose situation feels like the purest prove-it test of the bunch. The 2022 first-round pick appeared in just 25 games last season, but he’s projected to make the full-time leap to the NHL roster in 2026-27 and see third-line minutes. For Lambert, a breakout would not only matter for this season - it could put him on track for a long-term deal that keeps him in Winnipeg for years.
The blue line has its own contract-year storyline as well. Haydn Fleury is in the second season of a two-year deal and is projected as Winnipeg’s seventh defenceman. That role leaves little margin for error, so every chance he gets will matter.
Elias Salomonsson rounds out the list. The 21-year-old defence prospect is entering the final year of his entry-level contract and is expected to get his first real extended NHL opportunity in a bottom-pairing role. For him, the goal is clear: show enough growth to prove he can handle full-time NHL minutes and earn another contract.
For Cheveldayoff, it’s a lot to track at once. There are veterans trying to show last season’s drop-offs were only temporary, and younger players trying to lock down bigger roles before the money conversation gets serious. However these seasons unfold, they’re going to leave a mark on the Jets’ 2026-27 story.
In Other News...
Connor Hellebuyck Still Looms Over The Jets As Camp Nears
Connor Hellebuyck is still on the Winnipeg roster as training camp draws closer, but the uncertainty around his future has not gone away. Trade chatter has quieted some, yet the goaltending picture around the Jets has already shifted enough to suggest the team has at least considered life beyond its longtime starter.
Elliotte Friedman and Mike McIntyre have both kept the possibility of a move in play, even as no deal has been completed. Winnipegs recent activity in goal has only added to the speculation, and with the market still waiting for something to break, the situation remains one of the more closely watched around the club heading into camp. [Read more 🡒]