Jets plummeting, yet leadership stands firm. GM Cheveldayoff shoulders blame but sees no immediate shake-up for the struggling team.
The 2025-26 NHL season could not have started much worse for the Winnipeg Jets. From a lack of scoring to an injury to the league MVP, the Jets quickly fell behind.
Offseason signings continue to show their age and lack of speed. Youthful prospects remain buried in the minors. The coaching staff has rolled out the same lineup for the better part of the 40-game season thus far.
"To this point, obviously, it's been very disappointing," Jets' general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said at his mid-season press conference on Monday. "Top to bottom, it starts with me... we need to find a way to be better."
Roughly halfway through the season (40 of 82 games played) things have actually shown signs of regression within the veteran executive's club.
Winnipeg is 15-21-4 on the year - good for 32nd place overall, three points clear of the 31st ranked Vancouver Canucks and four points behind Calgary. It is safe to say that most of western Canada is reeling as three of its four clubs make up the league's cellar dwellers.
Edmonton, which lost in the Stanley Cup Final the past two seasons, is also not having a stellar 2025-26, as it sits 16th in the league, currently clinging to one of the final postseason spots in the Western Conference.
But this is not about the Oilers, Canucks or Flames.
It is about the Winnipeg Jets, and how the team that finished first-place last year now owns the very worst record across the league - a feat that has never occurred since the league was made up of just six teams and key players left their teams for year-long stretches after being drafted to the Second World War.
“Certainly fans in our market are very, very passionate, and that is something we care deeply about,” Cheveldayoff added.
“Again, this isn’t something you plan out, and obviously sports are unpredictable. That’s the nature of the game here now. But from a fan’s perspective, we’re going to continue to look and work, and I feel their disappointment as much as they do. It is on my shoulders each and every day. You don’t just sit there last year and win a Presidents' Trophy and feel like, ‘OK, put your feet up, it’s all good.'"
Cheveldayoff made it clear that his team's lack of success was not player, management nor coach driven, but rather a combination of all three.
But his staff and team appear safe, for the short term, at least.
“In a situation like this, all we can control right now is the next game in front of us," the henchman added. "I don’t think that group in there feels that they’re down and out of it. I think if you look at the way things have happened even with some other teams in the NHL this year, things can happen quickly the other way as well if you get on the right track.”
Winnipeg has lost nine-straight games and shows no sign of kicking its tail spin.
Logan Stanley is the team's fourth leading scorer.
Connor Hellebuyck is the only goaltender that can find a win between the pipes.
The only goal scoring offence comes from the team's top line.
Prospects are stonewalled by slower veteran offseason signings.
The timing for an early first round pick couldn't be better for the Jets - an organization that has had a very difficult time drafting and developing its prospects in recent years, something it prides itself on.
But according to Chevy, that's a make-work project that he understands has been a product of stronger teams in recent years.
“We’ve traded a lot of draft picks. We’ve done a lot of that, and I think we’re paying a little bit of a price for that right now,” he said.
With no potential demotions or promotions in sight, the same group of Jets players now return home from a winless road trip for a five-game homestand.
The first test comes on Tuesday night against Vegas, before Edmonton, Los Angeles, New Jersey and New York roll into town for games at Canada Life Centre. The Jets will play nine of their next 11 games in their home rink - a critical stretch for the outlook of the franchise.