Jets' Head Coach Scott Arniel: "You Either Win or You Learn"

A 35-35-12 record, good for 26th place in the league a year after finishing first overall, was nowhere near good enough. 

And for Winnipeg Jets' head coach Scott Arniel, it was personal.

Finishing the 2025-26 season well short of expectations, the Jets bench boss is not deflecting blame. Instead, he is taking ownership and turning his focus inward on what will be a critical offseason.

“I was taught as a kid to take responsibility for your actions,” Arniel said at year year-end media availability. “I am taking some responsibility for a lot of what went on this year.” 

The disappointment remains significant. Just 365 days removed from the Presidents’ Trophy, the Jets fell out of the Stanley Cup Playoff picture in its entirety - a sizeable step back for a team that had established itself among the league’s elite in recent years.

“I’m extremely disappointed… this is not where we want to be,” Arniel added. 

But in typical Winnipeg Jets final media availability fashion, rather than offering immediate solutions, the coach went on to outline a lengthy review process that will take time. Emphasizing multiple times the lengthy offseason at hand, Arniel's focus will now be on reviewing, evaluating and ultimately finding answers in order to prevent any sort of repeat next year.

“I don’t have the answers today, but at the end of the day that’s part of my job,” Arniel said. “You have to have answers, and the players want answers, management wants answers, you guys want answers. I’ve got four and a half months to dig into this and find them.” 

Arniel broke the season into segments, starting with the team's strong opening stretch that looked promising on the surface. Underneath, as he said, the numbers told a different story - one that hinted at issues that would eventually break through the surface.

“We got off to a 9-3 start, and it looked good on paper, but our analytics weren’t very good and it caught up to us,” he said. “Then we hit that stretch where we were inconsistent as a team and individually, and you go through an 11-game skid and now you’re chasing the pack all year.” 

That stretch ultimately defined the Jets’ season. Winnipeg went 0-7-4 during the skid, creating a gap that proved too difficult to overcome, despite improved play later in the year. 

It also marked the longest losing streak in franchise history - one that changed the course of the season.

“You go through an 11-game losing streak and now you’re chasing the pack the rest of the season,” Arniel said. “We did respond and had a strong stretch after that, but we were still chasing all the way to the break.” 

Even after stabilizing and putting together a push following the Olympic break, the early damage still hung around. The Jets played some of their best hockey down the stretch run, but it came far too late to change the eventual outcome.

Defensive identity remains central to his offseason evaluation. Arniel pointed to a drift away from the structured, defence-first approach that had defined his team in recent seasons.

“I think we got away from how good we were,” he said. “That’s our cornerstone -defending first - and that’s something we have to get back to on a consistent basis.” 

At the same time, the slower, older Jets are navigating a league that continues to trend younger and faster. Balancing that evolution with the team’s identity will be a key part of the offseason work for both coaching staff and management.

“I’d love to be a 100-mile-per-hour team, I really would,” Arniel said of the group assembled before him this past season. “But you do have to coach what’s in front of you and find the best way for that group to have success.” 

Not to throw his management staff under the bus, Arniel did not namedrop when it came to some of the older, slower offseason signings brought in that certainly changed the narrative for Winnipeg in 2025-26.

But he did touch on the expressed frustration from gold medal-winning goaltender Connor Hellebuyck from the weekend. He framed Hellebuyck's comments of re-assessment as a reflection of a group that understands the opportunity missed. Rather than concern, Arniel saw it as a necessary part of an ultra-competitive environment.

“He wants to win the Stanley Cup, as does everyone in that room,” Arniel said. “Elite players see the game differently, and you have to respect that and listen to what they’re saying.” 

Early-season instability also contributed to the team’s struggles. Injuries to key players like Adam Lowry, Dylan Samberg and Cole Perfetti forced lineup adjustments that made it difficult to establish consistency.

“We were spinning our wheels trying to figure out our group for the first 40 to 45 games,” Arniel said. “It would have been great to have our full group right from the start, but that’s part of the reality of the league.” 

Despite the disappointment, Arniel remains confident in the team’s core and leadership group. He pointed to their competitiveness and accountability as reasons to believe the foundation does, in fact, remain intact.

“They’re pissed that we lost, and they should be,” he said. “There wasn’t anybody pointing fingers. They’re taking responsibility, and that’s what you want from your group.” 

The challenge going forward is ensuring the right supporting cast is in place in Winnipeg and that the Jets' identity can hold true over the course of the full 202-27 season. That process will unfold over the coming months as the organization evaluates both its personnel and its overall approach.

“There’s a phrase, you either win or you learn,” Arniel said. “If you don’t go out and learn why you didn’t win, you’re going to repeat the same thing.” 

For the Jets, the learning phase has begun. And what comes next will determine how quickly they move forward.