The Winnipeg Jets have banked five of a possible six points to open the 2026-27 season, and that start has given them plenty to like after three games. They opened with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Oct. 2, then beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Oct. 4, and followed that with another 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 5.
There’s still a tiny sample here, but the early signs are hard to miss: this team looks quicker, its power play is humming, and a couple of new faces have already won over the crowd.
The biggest visual change is pace. The Jets brought in younger legs and moved on from an older, slower group that made them look bogged down last season.
Out went Gustav Nyquist, Tanner Peason, Jonathan Toews, Luke Schenn, and Logan Stanley from last season’s opening-night roster. In came Viggo Bjorck, Mario Ferraro, Brad Lambert, Isak Rosen, and Cole Perfetti, who started last season on injured reserve.
That shift shows up in the numbers, too. The Jets are currently 10th in the league in 18-20 MPH speed bursts, 25th in 20-22 MPH bursts, and eighth in 22-plus MPH bursts.
Last season, those marks were 27th, 28th, and 32rd, respectively. The result is a forecheck that looks far more aggressive and a team that can play with a much higher tempo.
The power play has been just as eye-catching. Winnipeg is 4-for-8 so far, good for a 50 per cent clip, and it has already created plenty of dangerous looks. The best example came in Detroit, where the Jets scored on all three of their first power-play chances.
Perfetti has settled in well in the bumper spot, and Kyle Connor has been the driving force behind the unit, scoring three of the power-play goals himself.
“It’s a lot quicker. The attack mindset is there.
Not just the first attack, it’s the retrievals,” head coach Scott Arniel said postgame Sunday of the power play. “We’re doing a fantastic job on retrievals.
Our entries are real good. When you do that, that means it’s possession, and now you’re wearing the opposition’s (penalty kill) down a little bit.”
That kind of start won’t last at a 50 per cent rate, but if Winnipeg’s power play can stay closer to its 2024-25 level - 28.90 per cent, which led the league - than last season’s 18.50 per cent mark, it could swing a lot of games.
Two new names have also given the fan base plenty to latch onto.
Tyrel Bauer has made a fast impression through his first two NHL games. He dropped the gloves with Mark Kastelic in the home opener, jumped in right away after Vladislav Namestnikov took a big hit in that same game, and then knocked out Keegan Kolesar in a first-period fight against the Red Wings. He sat out against the Penguins.
Bauer’s reputation with the Manitoba Moose over the last four seasons already told people what kind of player he is: tough, relentless, and never willing to back down. The 24-year-old has brought a physical edge to the blue line, and Winnipeg fans have clearly taken to the way he plays.
He was the most-searched player on HockeyDB on Sunday. Still, he’ll need to choose his spots as his profile keeps rising.
Stuart Skinner has drawn a different kind of reaction, but the welcome has been just as loud. Because he’s happy to play for Winnipeg and chose the city, fans have embraced him as the anti-Connor-Hellebuyck. At the home opener, “STUUU” chants broke out every time he and the puck were anywhere near each other.
Forced into the No. 1 job after Hellebuyck’s trade demand and subsequent suspension for refusing to report to the team, Skinner has handled the early stretch well enough. His first regular-season goal against as a Jet came on a knuckling, unscreened shot from the point that he simply whiffed on, but his overall line is solid: 1-0-1, a 2.92 goals against average, a .909 save percentage, and 1.2 goals saved above expected. He was especially sharp in the third period against Detroit, when Winnipeg was scrambling and the Red Wings were pushing for the tying goal.
Skinner has lived through the full range of highs and lows in his career, and that may continue, but he should have a long runway with Jets fans. He’s not likely to become the kind of scapegoat he was near the end of his time with the Oilers.
The schedule won’t get easier, either. Winnipeg’s next test comes Wednesday night against the Colorado Avalanche at Canada Life Centre, the first game of a three-game homestand.
In Other News...
Hurricanes May Be Waiting On One Thing In Connor Hellebuyck Talks
Connor Hellebuycks name is still floating through the rumor mill, but the latest chatter suggests the market around the Jets goalie is narrowing in a hurry. Pierre LeBrun said on TSN 1050s OverDrive that Hellebuyck will not play for a Canadian team, which effectively takes the Edmonton speculation out of the picture and leaves the focus on suitors south of the border. The discussion from Jeff Marek and Greg Wyshynski also kept alive the idea of Hellebuyck simply staying put in Winnipeg, even if there is no real trade pressure pushing the situation forward right now.
The Carolina Hurricanes are still in the mix, and they remain interested enough to keep tabs on the situation, but they do not appear convinced the Jets can squeeze them into bidding higher. From Winnipegs side, that matters because it changes the shape of any negotiation without necessarily changing the destination list. For now, the real question is whether Carolina sees enough urgency to move or whether this stays one of those summer goalie sagas that lingers without reaching a clean finish. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Fans Have A Meaningful New Way To Back Adam Lowry
The Jets are giving fans another meaningful way to rally behind Adam Lowry and a cause close to the team this fall. Winnipeg will host its fifth annual Child Advocacy Game on Oct. 17, with the club again turning a home date into a fundraiser and awareness drive for the Toba Centre for Children & Youth, an organization that supports children and families affected by abuse and trauma.
Fans are being asked to wear blue, while merchandise and beverage sales at the game will help support the centres work. The Toba Centres team will also be around several October home games to share resources, and Lowry, one of the organizations ambassadors, will take part in the broader push around the event as the Jets continue blending hockey with a cause that has become a regular part of the seasons early rhythm. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Shake Up Lineup Vs Avalanche With One Notable Player Left Out
The Jets are making a few noticeable tweaks before facing the Avalanche, with changes coming throughout the bottom six and across the defense. Cole Koepke is set to make his season debut, while Salomonsson remains out of the lineup as Winnipeg continues to manage its depth pieces heading into a tough Western Conference test.
In goal, Stuart Skinner is getting the start after Clay Stevenson made his Jets debut Monday night. The more surprising roster note, though, is the healthy scratch status for Nino Niederreiter, a decision that adds a little more intrigue to how Winnipeg is trying to balance its forwards for this one. [Read more 🡒]