It’s been a tumultuous offseason in Winnipeg already after a disappointing first-round elimination, with Scott Arniel taking over behind the bench and deadline addition Tyler Toffoli reportedly not returning to the club. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period writes that the Jets are also receiving interest in forward Cole Perfetti, although there haven’t been any serious trade discussions surrounding the pending restricted free agent. Winnipeg has done well for themselves in the draft in recent years, picking up a few quality forward prospects to help extend their playoff contention window in th ..read more

The Winnipeg Jets are reportedly looking to retain pending free agent Sean Monahan, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the latest 32 Thoughts Podcast. The Jets acquired Monahan ahead of the trade deadline, sending a 2024 first-round and 2027 seventh-round pick back to the Montreal Canadiens. Monahan went on to score 13 goals and 24 points across 34 regular-season games with Winnipeg, adding one assist in five postseason games. Monahan was one of Winnipeg’s two Trade Deadline acquisitions, alongside Tyler Toffoli, who the Jets sent a 2024 third-round and 2025 second-round pick. Toffoli has ..read more

The Jets will be now turning their focus to their roster after Scott Arniel was elevated to the head coaching position on Friday.  With several free agents of note and not a lot of cap space to work with, they’ll face a situation of trying to pick between who to keep and who to let go.  It appears that winger Tyler Toffoli will be among the ones that move on as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that the veteran is expected to hit the open market in July. The 32-year-old has moved around in recent years.  This time a year ago, he was with Calgary before being moved to N ..read more

The Winnipeg Jets have officially named Scott Arniel as the fifth head coach in modern franchise history (Twitter link). The deal was first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link). Arniel served as an associate coach under Rick Bowness this season, stepping in during Bowness’ two personal leaves this season. Arniel presided over 18 games in relief of Bownesss, posting a 10-5-3 record. It was his first time serving a head coach since the 2012-13 season, when he led the AHL’s Chicago Wolves to an 11-25-5 record. That season capped off a seven-year span of head coaching roles for Arniel ..read more

Free agency is now just a bit more than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We begin our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Jets. Key Restricted Free Agents D Ville Heinola – This season didn’t quite go as planned for Heinola.  Hoping to earn a roster spot in training camp, he instead fractured his ankle late in camp, keeping him shelved until January.  Upon his return, he ..read more

The Jets are among the teams looking for a new head coach following the retirement of Rick Bowness. In the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested that some believe Todd Nelson could be a viable candidate to take over behind the bench in Winnipeg.  Nelson doesn’t have much experience as a head coach in the NHL (just 51 games with Edmonton in 2014-15) but is a very experienced coach.  He has been an assistant at the top level with Atlanta and Dallas (spanning six years combined) and is in his tenth season as an AHL head coach; he currently is ..read more

The Jets are expected to let defenseman Brenden Dillon reach unrestricted free agency in July, the Winnipeg Sun’s Scott Billeck reports Wednesday. Dillon didn’t have any extension talks with Winnipeg in-season, per Billeck. He also hasn’t heard from the Jets front office since their season ended over two weeks ago at the hands of the Avalanche in a disappointing first-round loss. He didn’t play in the final two games of the series after sustaining a hand laceration after the end of Game 3. The 33-year-old left-shot landed with Winnipeg via trade nearly three years ago. He signed a four-ye ..read more

The Jets are now the fourth team to display interest in Craig Berube for their head coaching vacancy this offseason. He’s set to interview virtually with the team today, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports. All indications point toward Berube heading north of the border, with the Jets and Maple Leafs as the finalists for his services. He and Todd McLellan are the reported finalists to replace Sheldon Keefe in Toronto, while associate coach Scott Arniel, per Seravalli, is a candidate for an internal promotion in Winnipeg after Rick Bowness announced his retirement earlier this month. Berube ..read more

Team USA has added Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Gavin Brindley to their World Championship lineup, per Steven Ellis of the Daily Faceoff (Twitter link). Brindley becomes the fourth collegiate athlete to join the squad, stepping into a room with World Juniors teammates Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, and Trey Augustine. The quartet played a major role in USA’s drive towards the 2024 World Juniors Gold Medal – and they’re now rewarded with an opportunity with the Men’s National Team. Brindley isn’t expected to line up for USA’s Monday matchup against Team Slovakia, instead joining Leonard and Matt K ..read more

Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks will return to Milwaukee for another pre-season game at the Fiserv Forum. The Blackhawks will take on the St. Louis Blues on October 5th, 2024, two years after Chicago first played at the home of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks. Two years ago, the preseason game in Milwaukee sold out in just minutes and brought in over 15000 fans to watch the Blackhawks take on the Minnesota Wild. This time around the Blackhawks are hoping for more of the same from the passionate fanbase. The city of Milwaukee is currently home to the Milwauk ..read more