The Winnipeg Jets’ opening night roster is out, and it comes with a familiar Manitoba Moose stamp on it. Eight players who’ve worn Moose colors made the cut, including two who were with the club in 2025-26.
Brad Lambert is back with the Jets after cracking the NHL roster out of camp for the second straight season. Tyrel Bauer is headed to the big league for the first time.
Bauer’s path has been built the hard way. He’s played 214 games over four seasons in antlers, piling up 21 points with five goals and 16 assists, along with 401 penalty minutes. He also won the Yanick Dupré Memorial Award in 2025-26.
Around the Moose room, the reaction has been pure support. Bauer has spent plenty of time being the one cheering for teammates when they get the call, and now the roles have flipped.
“I’m so happy for him,” said Ashton Sautner, who played 39 games as Bauer’s defensive partner in 2025-26. “I know he’s putting in a ton of work.”
“He’s one of those guys who was never a high draft pick, not a high-profile guy. He did it the hard way.
He’s a guy who’s willing to put his body on the line on a nightly basis for us. I’m super happy for him and can’t wait to watch the first game.”
Head Coach Mark Morrison said the feeling runs through the whole locker room.
“The group is happy for him,” Morrison explained. “That will tell you enough about our group right there.
They’re all excited and happy. Everyone was calling him and congratulating him.
It couldn’t happen to a better guy.”
The Jets’ roster also fits a bigger league-wide trend. Across the NHL’s 32 opening-day active rosters, 602 players have AHL experience, which accounts for more than 83 percent of the league’s initial player pool. Winnipeg has 20 AHL grads on its roster, tying for fifth-most in the NHL.
For the Moose, the focus now shifts to the start of their own season. They open the regular season Saturday at Canada Life Centre against the Chicago Wolves.
Morrison said the Jets’ roster clarity helps his group, even if the final lineup isn’t locked in yet.
“We’ve got some lines together, and we can get a little bit of power play time,” he said. “It’s fun to work and have some purpose.”
In Other News...
Jets Enter Final Stretch With One Big Opening Night Question
The final days before the NHL regular season have brought a little bit of everything around the Jets, from roster trimming to a steady run of practices at the Hockey for All Centre. Winnipeg has already pared its group down to 23 players, a sign the opening stretch is closing in fast, while the Manitoba Moose continue their own ramp-up with practices of their own as they prepare for the home opener.
Amid all that on-ice work, the team also unveiled its jersey schedule, and that is where the curiosity really starts. Between the new Heritage Classic and Hometown Remix uniforms, there is now another layer of intrigue around what the Jets will actually wear when the games begin, and the answers should come into focus soon enough. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Fans Are Getting More Than A New Look This Season
The offseason buzz around the Jets did not stop with roster talk, as the club rolled out a wide-ranging set of game day changes for the 2026-27 season. Winnipeg is adding a new allergy-friendly concession, fresh food and drink options, a new Indigenous art collaboration and a VIP entrance for Scotiabank clients, all part of an effort to make the Canada Life Centre experience feel bigger than the action on the ice. The home opener comes Oct. 2 against the Boston Bruins, giving fans their first look at the upgraded setup right away.
There is also a heavy promotional push attached to the new season, with a 48-hour October Fan Sale, a record number of giveaway games and new specialty ticket offers that include exclusive merchandise. The club says the sale is meant to give supporters more ways to get in the building early in the schedule, while the new uniform initiative adds another layer of anticipation to the season's first stretch at home. For a fan base that shows up faithfully, it sounds like the Jets are trying to reward that loyalty with a little bit of everything. [Read more 🡒]
Hurricanes Suddenly Face A Costly Question In Latest NHL Rumor Wave
Connor Hellebuycks name surfacing in the latest round of NHL chatter naturally lands with Winnipeg fans, even if the report is still firmly in rumor territory. The Jets have spent years building around elite goaltending, and any suggestion that a Hellebuyck move could even be part of league-wide discussion is enough to make the rest of the conversation feel bigger than a single trade call.
What makes the noise worth watching is how many moving parts sit around it, from other teams kicking around packages to the reality that Winnipeg would not be dealing from a position of comfort. The rumor mill has tied the Jets to a few different possibilities, but the real question is whether the goaltending market itself would cooperate, and that is where this story still has room to turn. [Read more 🡒]