The Winnipeg Jets’ forward picture for 2025-26 already has a clear anchor, and that’s the line everyone expects to stay put. Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Gabriel Vilardi have been together for 652 minutes across all but two games this season, and there’s little reason to think the Jets will break up a group that has worked so well.
The trio tied for the best scoring line in the league with 44 goals, matching Colorado’s top unit featuring Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. In a team that scored 229 goals last season, Connor, Scheifele and Vilardi accounted for 105 of them, finishing as Winnipeg’s top three scorers in that same order for the second straight year.
The bigger questions start underneath that top line, where the early projections from Daily Faceoff and PuckPedia begin to split. One version has Adam Lowry centering a second line with Nino Niederreiter and Alex Iafallo on the wings.
The other takes a much bolder swing, slotting recent eighth-overall pick Viggo Björck into the middle of the ice between Cole Perfetti and Brad Lambert. The most likely outcome seems to borrow from both ideas: Perfetti looks hard to keep out of the top six, and the Lowry-Niederreiter pairing has enough history to make sense as a fixture.
That duo saw limited action together in nine games last season, but could get a much longer runway this time around.
The third line is another spot where the two projections go in different directions. Daily Faceoff has Perfetti on the left side with Vladislav Namestnikov in the middle and Lambert on the right, while PuckPedia shifts Alex Iafallo into that mix instead.
A combination of those ideas feels more realistic, and Iafallo-Namestnikov-Lambert is an interesting group for a few reasons. They were only used together in two games last season, but the fit could give Winnipeg a more useful middle-six look.
Namestnikov is in a contract year and trying to bounce back after missing time with injury, and he still brings near-40-point upside down the middle. Lambert, meanwhile, is entering the final year of both his contract and his entry-level deal, and the 22-year-old former first-round pick is still trying to turn last season’s first real NHL exposure into something bigger after posting six points in 25 games.
At the bottom of the lineup, the two outlets line up on Cole Koepke, Morgan Barron and Isak Rosen. That gives Winnipeg a depth unit that at least makes sense on paper.
Koepke and Barron already know how to work together, having skated regularly last season mostly with Tanner Pearson, and Rosen would be the new variable after still searching for his footing in the Jets lineup. A former top-14 pick in 2021, Rosen has not yet played a full NHL season and would finally get a longer look in the bottom six.
If that group needs a fallback, Winnipeg has one waiting. Noah Gregor, added in the offseason, brings a hard-checking style and stood out with the Florida Panthers. If injuries hit or one of the depth options doesn’t hold, he’s positioned to step in.
In Other News...
Jets Face One Big Connor Hellebuyck Decision Despite Trade Noise
Connor Hellebuycks situation has put the Jets in a familiar but uncomfortable spot, with the veteran goalie suddenly at the center of trade chatter even though his contract gives Winnipeg plenty of protection. The team is not obligated to move him, and for all the noise around the league, the real question is less about whether there is interest than how long this standoff can linger before it starts affecting everyone involved.
Hellebuycks leverage is limited to the kind of pressure that comes with a public request and the possibility of digging in if nothing changes, which leaves the Jets to weigh patience against the risk of a messy ending. For a team trying to sort out its direction, the decision is not just about value on the open market, but whether keeping one of its most important players becomes the easier path than trying to satisfy a trade request on their own terms. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Prospect Pipeline Gets One More Step Before Camp Opens
Before the first skates of camp begin, a few Jets prospects got one more offseason checkpoint in Virginia, where the NHL and NHLPA brought young players together for their annual Player Orientation Program. The gathering is meant to ease the transition into pro hockey life, giving players a look at the off-ice responsibilities that come with the job before rookie, prospect and full training camps start up.
Winnipeg had four representatives at the event, with top prospect Viggo Bjrck among them, alongside Danny Zhilkin, Tyrel Bauer and Isaak Phillips. The leaguewide program puts as much emphasis on financial literacy and mental health as it does on hockey itself, a reminder that the next step in a players development is often about handling everything around the rink as much as what happens on it. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Camp Is Already Putting Familiar Names On The Spot
Informal skates ahead of training camp have already given Winnipeg a first look at where some familiar names stand, and the early read is that the roster picture is still very much in motion. Young prospects were mixed in with veterans during the workouts, giving the club a chance to gauge who is ready to push for bigger roles while the summer still has some distance left on it.
The larger storyline, though, is the uncertainty surrounding several players who have not yet locked in their next NHL stops, a situation that hangs over the camp calendar and keeps the temperature up on the depth chart. At the same time, one of the newer long-term pieces, Viggo Bjrck, turned enough heads in recent work against veteran competition to suggest he may be closer to NHL readiness than expected, which only adds another layer to what could become a crowded fall conversation. [Read more 🡒]