‘Trying to climb that hill’: Jets still hopeful to make post-season in final stretch

“Yeah, it’s going to be tough for us to get in (the playoffs), but until they say you’re in or you’re out, we’re going to keep fighting every day to try and push towards that playoff line and try and sneak in.”

The Jets have 52 points after 56 games (22-26-8). It’s a drastic drop from last season, when they sat at 81 points (39-14-3) after 56 games and went on to win the Presidents’ Trophy with a league-best 116 points.

Winnipeg’s turnaround quest continues Wednesday with a game against the Vancouver Canucks to start a three-game road trip.

Jets head coach Scott Arniel said history shows teams can get out of a deep hole and make the playoffs.

“We played the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the playoffs last year and played seven games. Go look where they were at this exact time last year after the 4 Nations (Face-Off),” Arniel said.

The Blues had 55 points after 56 games last season (25-26-5) and finished with 96 points to grab the second wild-card berth.

“So we have a great example sitting right in our (Central) division, a team that did it last year,” said Arniel, whose squad lost in the second round to the Dallas Stars.

“And you go back, there was a couple teams last year that made a run at it that got in, but St. Louis had a huge gap to close. And every year there’s been a team that has done that, one or two teams, maybe even more.

“To me, it’s take care of your business, just take care of your own business, win hockey games.”

Jets centre Mark Scheifele is also in a why-not-us frame of mind.

“We’re not mathematically eliminated yet,” Scheifele said. “You can’t focus on a month and a half from now, you’ve got to focus on the next game at hand, the next practice at hand and just keep pushing.”

Among the talk surrounding the Jets has been calls for the team to make some trades by the March 6 deadline, mostly to gain assets if they deal some of their eight pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs).

Arniel said he’s talked to general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff about the roster in the last week.

“Obviously, you don’t know what that picture is yet because with the Olympics here, everybody’s kind of in a little bit of a holding pattern, the GMs,” Arniel said.

“I think that everybody’s trying to figure out is it a go, is it a look to next year, is it a situation where a couple pieces maybe help you? That part of it, we’re still in sort of the talking stage on where we’re going to be two weeks from now.”

Winnipeg’s UFAs include forwards Cole Koepke, Gustav Nyquist, Tanner Pearson and Jonathan Toews. On defence, it’s Colin Miller, Luke Schenn and Logan Stanley. Goalie Eric Comrie is also on the list.

Toews signed with his hometown team last summer in a bid to return to action after missing the past two seasons because of health issues. The 37-year-old veteran has seven goals and 12 assists in 56 games.

The three-time Stanley Cup champion might be a target in trade talks with teams that value his leadership and faceoff skills.

Toews said Cheveldayoff hasn’t talked to his agent about a trade or a contract extension, and he hasn’t thought about whether he wants to play next season.

Would he be open to a trade?

“At the end of the day, I’m loyal to Chevy and to Arnie and (co-owner) Mark (Chipman),” Toews said. “They gave me a tremendous opportunity to play at this level again with this team this year.

“Obviously, there was an adjustment period for the first little while this season. I believe in this team that we’re a playoff-calibre team so that’s where my focus is now.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 19, 2026.

Judy Owen, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

‘Trying to climb that hill’: Jets still hopeful to make post-season in final stretch

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