Chibrikov, Salomonsson among prospects on cusp of NHL
© Winnipeg Jets
After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2025-26 regular season, which starts Oct. 7. Today, the Winnipeg Jets:
2024-25 season: 56-22-4, first in Central Division; lost in Western Conference Second Round
Jonathan Toews, F: The 37-year-old returns for a 17th NHL season after stepping away from hockey following the 2022-23 season because of health issues, including Chronic Immune Response Syndrome and the effects of long COVID-19. A three-time Stanley Cup champion (2010, 2013, 2015) and former captain of the Chicago Blackhawks, for whom he played from 2007-23, Toews signed a one-year contract with his hometown team on June 20. … Gustav Nyquist, F: The 35-year-old signed a one-year contract July 2 and will help bolster the top six following the loss of Nikolaj Ehlers in free agency. Nyquist had 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in 79 games for the Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild last season but an NHL career-high 75 points (23 goals, 52 assists in 81 games) two seasons ago, when Nashville utilized him in a role similar to how Winnipeg plans to deploy him. … Tanner Pearson, F: The 30-year-old signed a one-year contract July 1 after he had 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in 78 games for the Vegas Golden Knights. Pearson could find a role in Winnipeg’s middle six. The need there will be magnified. Jets captain and center Adam Lowry is expected to miss the start of the season after having hip surgery May 27, with a 5-6 month timeline for recovery.
NHL Tonight on Jonathan Toews’ return to the NHL
Nikolaj Ehlers, F: The 29-year-old signed a six-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 3 after he had 63 points (24 goals, 39 assists) in 69 games last season and seven points (five goals, two assists) in eight Stanley Cup Playoff games. Ehlers had 520 points (225 goals, 295 assists) in 674 games through 10 seasons with the Jets. … Mason Appleton, F: The 29-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings on July 2. He had 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 71 games last season, his lowest points-per-game average (0.31) since he became a full-time NHL player in 2020-21. … Brandon Tanev, F: The 33-year-old signed a three-year contract with the Utah Mammoth on July 1. He had 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 79 games for the Seattle Kraken and Jets last season, and no points in 13 playoff games.
Nikita Chibrikov, F: The 22-year-old had three points (two goals, one assist) in four games of spot duty with the Jets last season and 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 30 games for Manitoba of the American Hockey League. He is expected to be in the mix to make the jump and become an NHL regular. … Brad Lambert, F: The 21-year-old had 90 points (28 goals, 62 assists) in 125 games the past two AHL seasons. The No. 30 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft will use his speed and high offensive instincts to push for a roster spot. … Elias Salomonsson, D: Just 17 games into his first season in North America, the 20-year-old was selected to represent Manitoba at the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic. The 6-foot-2 playmaker had 27 points (five goals, 22 assists) in 53 AHL games last season and could make the Jets roster during training camp.
VGK@WPG: Chibrikov buries a rebound for a 1-0 lead
Scoring and forward depth. Consider the subtraction of Ehlers’ near point-per-game production, Lowry’s hip rehab keeping him out until, at earliest, the end of October, and Toews’ last pro game coming more than 800 days ago. The Jets need their new blood to make an immediate impact. Forward Cole Perfetti is coming off his most productive NHL season with 50 points (18 goals, 32 assists) in 82 games. Winnipeg could pair the 23-year-old (222 NHL games) with two seasoned veterans in Nyquist (863) and Toews (1,067) with the hope that the upward trajectory in Perfetti’s offensive production continues entering his fourth full NHL season.
“We’ve talked about free agency. Sometimes it’s tough for us in this market. … Last year, we really looked at our depth and a lot of it was on our back end. And that became important right out of training camp with our defense. This year it kind of flipped the other way, we went heavy with our forwards. There’s a lot of similarities to these guys. There is size and speed, heavy character, physicality, physical kinds of guys. That is kind of where we were looking with that group coming in.” — coach Scott Arniel
The Jets ranked highly in high-danger goals (144; third) and long-range goals (29; first) last season. Winnipeg had players rank among the NHL leaders in goals from each major shot location region: Center Mark Scheifele was tied for fourth in the NHL in high-danger goals (24), forward Kyle Connor tied for fourth in midrange goals (17) and defensemen Neal Pionk and Josh Morrissey tied for fourth in long-range goals (six each). — Troy Perlowitz
WPG@EDM: Connor lifts Jets past Oilers in overtime, 4-3
Perfetti set NHL career highs in assists, points, power-play points (15) and shots on goal (143) last season. He also averaged a career-high 15:11, compared to 13:35 in 2023-24, and should see even more ice time in his fifth season, especially on the power play after the departure of Ehlers. Another offensive option is Toews, who has not played in the NHL since 2022-23 but has bounce-back potential with the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners. — Chris Meaney
Kyle Connor — Mark Scheifele — Gabriel Vilardi
Gustav Nyquist — Jonathan Toews — Cole Perfetti
Nino Niederreiter — Adam Lowry — Vladislav Namestnikov
Alex Iafallo — Morgan Barron — Tanner Pearson
Josh Morrissey — Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg — Neal Pionk
Haydn Fleury — Luke Schenn
Connor Hellebuyck
Eric Comrie
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