Evaluating what's the Winnipeg Jets biggest area of need heading into the upcoming season.
The Winnipeg Jets have nearly the same lineup as last season with the major changes including the departure of top six winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who was swiftly replaced by free agent signings in Jonathan Toews and Gustav Nyquist.
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All of their league-best defense is returning with no changes and they still have the back-to-back Vezina trophy winning goaltender with Connor Hellebuyck in between the pipes. So it begs the question of if Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff plans to add to this team towards a Stanley Cup contender, where in the lineup would he make the adjustment?
The obvious answer would be a backup plan in case Nyquist continues his downward trajectory this season. The 36-year-old winger is coming off arguably the worst season of his career with just 27 points in 79 games split between the Nashville Predators and the Minnesota Wild, one season removed from when he totaled 75 points in 81 games with the Predators. The hope of Cheveldayoff and Jets fans is that he bounces back and finds a middle ground in the area of 40-50 points typical for his career.
However, if this doesn't work out and Nyquist has just eight points through 25 games of the season, they may need to look at alternative options. With team captain Adam Lowry returning to the lineup in a few months, they would be able to move Vladislav Namestnikov throughout the lineup and make adjustments that way.
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Another outlook could be to look within the organization at prospects like Nikita Chibrikov for a true right wing option or another winger like Brad Lambert or Parker Ford to replace Nyquist. They could also turn to veteran options in Mason Shaw, Jaret Anderson-Dolan or Phil Di Giuseppe. The prospects could have boom or bust potential while the veterans would be a safe but low-ceiling option.
This could open up the door for the Jets to make a massive swing at bringing in a rental or a star winger to come in and help strengthen their lineup in a push for a Stanley Cup. Some notable wingers that are pending free agents and could fit within the Jets current cap situation at $3.9 million available would be Eeli Tolvanen (2024-25: 35 pts in 81 games), Jeff Skinner (2024-25: 29 pts in 72 games) and Erik Haula (2024-25: 21 pts in 69 games).
Cheveldayoff isn't normally the type of GM to push all the chips in on a given year so we likely won't see many drastic moves this upcoming season but if the Nyquist issue persists, it may force his hand.
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