It's time to review this week in Jetsland. The Jets broke the northern deep freeze for a trip to New Jersey and Florida. After ending a three game homestand with a blowout loss to Detroit, the mood around the fanbase was low. How would the Jets respond with quality outfits like the Lightning and Panthers on the way? This was the last full week before the roster freeze and Olympic break starting February 4th. Winnipeg finished the week 2-1-0 and 8 points out of a wild card spot with 28 games remaining. Let's look at the key stories through the final week of January:
This Team Has Some Fight Left
As the Jets headed into the locker room at Amerant Bank Arena down 1-0 after the second period on Saturday, it felt like they were headed to another lackluster defeat against an Eastern Conference foe. Whatever head coach Scott Arniel said to them in the dressing room must have resonated as the Jets looked like a different team in the third period. Where they couldn't win a battle in the offensive zone in the second, they were all over the Panthers in the third and led high danger chances 5-1 in the final frame. Cole Perfetti was especially a bright spot, winning battles along the boards and in front of the net to tie the game midway through the period. Mark Scheifele would find the back of the net with just 4 minutes remaining and the Jets held on to win 2-1.
The Tampa game was a different story, as the Lightning are top of the Eastern Conference and one of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League. While the Jets are probably better than their record, or at least they would argue so, the Lightning have too much speed and depth for Winnipeg to match up with. But earlier in the week in New Jersey, the Jets jumped out to a 4-1 lead and had to survive a comeback bid from Jack Hughes and the Devils to secure a 4-3 victory. This team could have thrown in the towel after that Detriot debacle with just the home stretch of the season remaining, but they showed they have the character to fight back.
Early Trade Speculation Is Heating Up
While the players in the room are still fighting for what would be an incredible march up the standings for a wild card spot, the front office should know it's time to start selling. General managers around the league seem to be waiting for the Olympic break to really start wheeling and dealing, including Kevin Cheveldayoff. There are also some big dominoes yet to fall, like Artemi Panarin, that will force shopping teams to look elsewhere if they don't win the big prizes. This week, Elliotte Friedman mentioned he's hearing talks between Winnipeg and Detroit for some kind of move on the 32 Thoughts podcast. Could that be Luke Schenn or Logan Stanley to bolster the Wings' defence for a run at the Stanley Cup? Detroit has 5 picks in the first 3 rounds in the 2026 and 2027 drafts, perhaps the Jets could get some quality draft capital back in exchange for one of their blue liners. Trade talks will certainly continue heating up over the next few weeks.
The Second Line Is Under Construction
Scott Arniel iced three different starting second line combinations this week. Against New Jersey, we saw Jonathan Toews with Perfetti and Gabe Vilardi initially listed but not spend much time together. In Tampa, Jonathan Toews centered Perfetti and Alex Iafallo, who were outchanced by the Lightning 1-0. And against Florida, Adam Lowry moved up to the second line with Perfetti and Vilardi. This final iteration seemed to have the best impact, leading high danger chances against Panther opponents 3-1. A lot of ink has been spilled this season about the Jets' need to find depth scoring and now is the time to experiment. Both in the slim hopes of getting into the postseason and with an eye on next year, finding some combinations with a group of forwards who will likely still be in Winnipeg that can produce is a wise use of lineup changes.
Looking Ahead
Next up for the Jets is a trip to Dallas as Winnipeg looks to break a losing streak against the Stars and a matchup with Montreal at the Canada Life Centre Wednesday night. Both opponents are in the playoff picture as we close out the second phase of the season before the Jets have a three week break.
Stay tuned to Jets White Out for coverage of the Olympic Jets and all the upcoming trade speculation.