As the calendar flips toward the Christmas break, the Winnipeg Jets find themselves in one of the league’s strangest positions — near the bottom of the standings but still within striking distance of a playoff spot. Sitting 26th overall in the NHL, the Jets are shockingly still just two wins away from a wild-card position, a reminder of how tightly compressed the Western Conference race has become.
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Despite that mathematical hope, this season has exposed several cracks in Winnipeg’s foundation. Injuries, special teams regression, and inconsistent scoring have all pushed this team into survival mode earlier than expected. With the holiday break looming and the second half of the season quickly approaching, the Jets’ “Christmas list” is less about wishful thinking and more about urgent needs.
Here are the four things Winnipeg must find under the tree if they want to remain relevant in the playoff conversation.
Surviving Without Leaning on Connor Hellebuyck
The most obvious item at the very top of Winnipeg’s Christmas list is simple: stay alive without Connor Hellebuyck. The Jets have built their identity around elite goaltending for years, and that identity is now being stress-tested in real time.
Before he was out, Hellebuyck was, as usual, hiding a lot of Winnipeg’s problems. He’s one of the best goalies around, and he’d erase defensive mistakes and bad puck handling every game. Now that he’s gone, there’s no room for error.
It’s not just that they need someone to make saves like him. It’s that the whole team plays differently when he’s not there. Winnipeg needs to make things easier: close up the space in the middle of the rink, cut down on risky passes, and play it safer on defence. They can’t afford to trade scoring chances when they don’t have Hellebuyck as backup.
This time without him will show us what the Jets are really made of. If the team falls apart without Hellebuyck, it shows that Winnipeg might not be as good as we thought. A team that wants to make the playoffs can’t only work when their star goalie is playing. That’s not going to last.
Until he gets back, all the Jets want for Christmas is to stay afloat. They need to survive, grab some points, and keep the season going.
Special Teams Can’t Keep Sabotaging Games
Few areas of Winnipeg’s game have fallen off as hard — or as quietly — as their special teams. Once a weapon, the Jets’ power play has now slid to 10th in the league, while their penalty kill has tumbled to sixth. On paper, those rankings might still look respectable. In reality, the trend line is alarming.
Winnipeg’s power play has been looking pretty lifeless lately. They just don’t come into the zone with enough speed, the puck movement around the outside is easy to predict, and nobody seems to be hanging out near the net. A lot of possessions just fizzle out on the half wall, and we’re seeing way too many chances end with the other team clearing the puck instead of the Jets getting a good shot.
Plus, the penalty kill isn’t as aggressive as it used to be. Winnipeg isn’t putting on the pressure; it’s just responding to it. Passing lanes are open for too long, rotations are slow, and they are losing rebounds. These little things add up and can cost the team a few goals each week.
Since this team already has difficulty scoring when everyone is on the ice, the special teams need to step up and make a difference. But instead, they’ve become a problem. The Jets don’t need to reinvent the wheel before January, but they do need to execute better, move the puck faster, and fight harder for those loose pucks.
If Winnipeg wants to make a playoff run, their Christmas wish should be simple: special teams that actually help them win games instead of slowly killing their chances.
Finding Offence Beyond Survival Mode
One of the worst stats for Winnipeg this season is their offence. They’re sitting at 19th in the league for goals for, which shows they have trouble controlling games with their offence.
It’s not that they have no good players. The real trouble is they aren’t consistent and don’t have enough scoring support. Too often, Winnipeg can’t score at all if the top line isn’t doing well. The other players score sometimes, but not enough. When the Jets get behind early, it feels almost impossible for them to catch up.
They take a lot of shots sometimes, but not always. They sometimes camp out in front of the net, but not regularly. The Jets get scoring chances, but not one after another. Instead of keeping the pressure on, they depend on single plays. That won’t work in the long run.
What they need isn’t amazing offence, but to figure out what kind of scoring team they want to be. Are they a team that wears down opponents? Or are they a fast team? Right now, they’re somewhere in between, and it messes up their player pairings and how they play defence.
If the Jets don’t start scoring more, every game will depend on how well the goalie plays. Sadly for them, only one of them will perform. Without Hellebuyck, that’s a risky way to play.
Turning “Two Wins Out” Into Real Momentum
Being 26th in the NHL while sitting only two wins out of a wild-card spot perfectly summarizes the chaos of this season. It’s both a lifeline and a warning. The standings are giving the Jets a gift — but that window can slam shut in a hurry.
This is where Winnipeg’s mental game becomes just as important as tactics. The Jets don’t need to go on a 10-game heater to change their narrative. They need controlled, five-game segments where points are consistently banked. Three wins out of every five. No long skids. No emotional collapses after a tough loss.
The second half of December and early January will dictate everything. If the Jets stumble during this stretch, the trade deadline conversation changes quickly — from buyers to sellers, from tweaking to retooling. If they stabilize, suddenly Winnipeg becomes one of the most dangerous bubble teams in the West.
This is the part of the season where playoff teams establish habits. Right now, the Jets are still searching for theirs.
Christmas Isn’t About Gifts — It’s About Answers
Winnipeg doesn’t need miracles for Christmas. They need clarity.
They need to prove they can survive without relying entirely on Hellebuyck.
They need their special teams to stop trending in the wrong direction.
They need offense that doesn’t disappear when the top line is shut down.
And they need to convert mathematical playoff hope into actual momentum.
The margins in the NHL are brutally thin. Right now, those margins still favour the Jets — barely. How they respond between now and the new year will determine whether this season becomes a holiday turnaround story… or the quiet beginning of another long spring.
