The Winnipeg Jets were supposed to be in trouble.
After a disappointing 2025-26 season, the 2026-27 campaign opened with Connor Hellebuyck asking for a trade and, so far, not even reporting to the team. That had the look of a rough year waiting to happen.
Instead, Winnipeg is off to a 4-1-1 start and sits second in the Central Division, with Stuart Skinner stepping in and delivering strong goaltending in Hellebuyck’s place. The bigger reason for the fast start, though, hasn’t changed much from what the Jets have leaned on in the past: their top line.
Andrew Paterson, speaking on Daily Faceoff Live, pointed to Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Cole Perfetti as the key drivers behind Winnipeg’s strong opening. Through the first five games, Paterson said Connor had been among the league’s leading goal scorers among forwards, and the trio has already shown it can carry the offense on a given night.
The clearest example came in Tuesday’s divisional matchup with Minnesota. Perfetti scored twice, Connor added one and Scheifele chipped in one more in a 5-2 win. That kind of production has helped cover for the fact that the Jets’ secondary scoring still hasn’t really taken off.
But Paterson said the emotional edge around the team may be just as important as the goals. In his view, the Jets have taken on the feel of a group that believes it has been overlooked, and the top players are embracing that mentality.
“This team had a bit of a knock on it that it didn’t have a lot of secondary scoring. And I would love to tell you that that’s changed early on in this season. It hasn’t very much.”
“This is a team that is playing with a chip on its shoulder right now, especially the top players, the leaders on this team. I think they feel like they have been written off.
We always talk about the “nobody believes in us” team. That is the Winnipeg Jets this year, in my opinion.
And I think they’re leaning into it. Hellebuyck decided that they weren’t good enough, so he’s at home doing nothing right now.
And they look around that room and think that this team was a lot more than Connor Hellebuyck the last number of years, and they’re going to show everyone this season. And they’ve done it so far.”
Paterson also noted that the mood around the club has been different, helped along by the early wins and the way fans have responded to Skinner and Clay Stevenson. In his words, the atmosphere around the team has been as good as it has been in a long time.
For now, the formula in Winnipeg looks pretty simple: one of the league’s best lines is doing the heavy lifting, the goaltending has held up, and the Jets are making the most of a start few would have expected.
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For Winnipeg, the more relevant subplot is on the other side of the border, where Elias Salomonsson is nearing a return with AHL Manitoba as he works back from a shoulder injury. The Jets are always watching how their young defensemen handle those first games back, and Salomonssons next step with the Moose will be worth tracking as he tries to reestablish himself in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Keep Winning As Hellebuyck Loses Leverage In Holdout
Connor Hellebuycks holdout has taken on a very different feel now that the Jets have kept rolling without him. The goalie is suspended without pay after skipping training camp while waiting for a trade, but Winnipeg no longer appears eager to welcome him back into the room, according to TSNs Darren Dreger. With the team holding its ground and the standings not pushing them to change course, the leverage Hellebuyck once seemed to have is starting to look a lot thinner.
Interest around the league has also cooled as questions grow about his conditioning and his recent performance, which makes any return or trade discussion more complicated. The NHL continues to back Winnipegs right to suspend him, and teams that might have checked in are now more uneasy about taking on the risk. For the Jets, the bigger story is that they have kept winning without him, and that only sharpens the pressure on whichever side blinks first. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Face A Growing Problem As Heritage Classic Pressure Builds
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The injury list is the part Winnipeg can least afford to ignore, especially with Josh Morrissey and Vladislav Namestnikov both sidelined and Connor Hellebuyck still suspended amid a trade request. Morrisseys absence in particular changes the look of the blue line, and Namestnikovs situation leaves another gap in the middle of the lineup as the Jets try to navigate a difficult opening stretch. With the outdoor showcase approaching, the bigger question is how much of the roster will be intact by the time the lights go on. [Read more 🡒]