Jets hope to take next step after falling short in playoffs

WINNIPEG — It seems to be a go-to question whenever the Winnipeg Jets begin training camp: Can the team take the next step and go on a deep playoff run?

The Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy for posting the best record in the NHL last season before winning their first playoff series since 2021. But their Stanley Cup chase ended when they lost the second round of the playoffs.

“I think it’s the opportunity that’s in front of them, and the hunger and the scars and the pain that get left behind when you don’t get as far as you collectively want to, every group learns a certain something along the way,” Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Thursday. “I think, very fortunately for us, this group shares in its successes and shares in its disappointments. It’s a very close group.”

Things have changed significantly ahead of the 2025-26 season.

The Jets lost high-scoring winger Nikolaj Ehlers to free agency, as well as forwards Mason Appleton and Brandon Tanev. Centre Adam Lowry will be recovering from hip surgery until late October or early November.

Cheveldayoff signed veteran centre Jonathan Toews after he missed the last two seasons due to illness. He also signed some journeymen forwards to help address those departures.

With Lowry out, much will be expected from Toews.

“The biggest thing you see is the level of enthusiasm,” Cheveldayoff said. “When you are potentially losing something, then you get a chance to get it back, you really appreciate just how fortunate you are.

“I am excited for him because he gets to have that chance to play the game that he loves and excited for us because he gets to do it here, and excited for his mom and dad because it is that storybook thing.”

Toews underwent an intensive detox to get healthy enough to attempt a return to the NHL. He missed time due to Chronic Immune Response Syndrome and the effects of long COVID-19.

Toews, nicknamed Captain Serious, adds some intangibles to the roster along with plenty of post-season experience after leading the Chicago Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup championships.

“It was the little things that he did, the things that he did to make linemates better,” said Cheveldayoff, a former Blackhawks assistant GM. “Those aren’t things you lose because of age or not playing. We will see how things progress and everything like that, but I think the true measure of what he is going to bring to the team is how he elevates people around him.

“Let’s not talk about him right now. Let’s just let him play and let it all unfold. The greater likelihood of the impact is going to continue to come as the days go on.”

Cheveldayoff still needs to sign both Lowry and high-scoring winger Kyle Connor to new pacts before they become unrestricted free agents in July.

“Kyle Connor, Adam Lowry are very important aspects of the organization here,” Cheveldayoff said. “We’ve had great dialogue with (Connor’s) representatives and we continue to have that. He’s obviously a big part, Adam’s a big part.”

Connor, 28, led the Jets in scoring with 47 goals and 93 points in 79 games last season.

“I’m really just focused on myself and being the best player that I can,” Connor said at the Hockey For All Centre. “Let the business take care of the business. All I can do is control how I come to the rink every day and that stuff will take care of itself.”

The Jets signed free-agent forwards Gustav Nyqvist and Tanner Pearson in the off-season.

“We signed some different faces in different areas of the lineup and we’re hopeful that there’s some players that really have taken notice that their time could be right now,” Cheveldayoff said.

The GM remains optimistic that the Jets will have a competitive season once again.

“I have a lot of belief in the group of guys that are in there,” he said. “Even more so and even more importantly, they have a lot of belief in each other.”