The Winnipeg Jets’ six-game preseason slate is set to begin, but head coach Scott Arniel’s plan for how he’ll deploy the 31 forwards, 18 defencemen, and six goaltenders in training camp is still clearly a work in progress.
“It’s going to be very very hard… we get tomorrow’s game — some young guys get to play some games and go back to juniors… it’s going to be interesting to see how it goes,” the second-year bench boss said after a scrimmage game that closed out the Jets’ annual Fan Fest and ahead of a 4 p.m. Sunday clash against the Minnesota Wild Sunday at Canada Life Centre.
“It’ll Be Interesting” — Arniel on Preseason
Unlike in the National Football League, where some veterans don’t play at all in preseason, Arniel said he expects every Jet to suit up at some point before the games start counting for real on Oct. 9. Generally, earlier NHL preseason games feature prospect-heavy rosters, while later games feature more core players.
“Most of our group wants to play, too,” Arniel said, adding he talked to his veterans recently to get a feel for how many they wanted to participate in. Some want to play two while others want to play three, he noted.
Clearly, with a half dozen contests at his disposal, Arniel isn’t sweating that his plans are moreso scrawled on a napkin than fully etched in stone. 18 periods is more than enough time to give everyone from 18-year-old rookies to very experienced players some reps and to test outa bevy of different line combinations and defensive pairings.
“Yeah, I don’t know how it’s going to work. It’ll be interesting,” he said, noting that at least eight veterans need to be in the lineup each game.
Toews Champing at the Bit To Play, Will Make Preseason Debut Tuesday
“I have one guy who wants to play six, and I’ve already told him he’s not playing six, and you probably know who that is,” Arniel said.
Of course, he was referring to Jonathan Toews, who is attempting an NHL comeback with his hometown team after missing two full seasons due to illness. The 37-year-old centre is clearly champing at the bit at a chance to shake the rust off, but won’t make his preseason and Jets debut until Tuesday, Sept. 23 against the Edmonton Oilers.
“We want him to play 82 games, and at the end of the day, I think just he’s building toward Game 1,” Arniel said. He noted Toews will get special-teams reps, but that the coaching staff doesn’t “want to overload it all in one shot” so it’s a build-every-day situation for him.
Arniel said the former Chicago Blackhawks captain and three-time Stanley Cup champion has been a quick study on the Jets’ systems and has been going head to head against various core players to get up to speed.
“There’s detail stuff that I saw out there today that maybe last week that he had just showed it to him and he’s picking it up already,” Arniel said. Toews is likely to be tested out on a line with by fellow veteran Gustav Nyquist and up-and-comer Cole Perfetti.
Related: Jonathan Toews Isn’t on a Farewell Tour With the Jets; He’s on a Mission
Toews is “just as pumped” to play as many fans are to see him, Arniel said. “He’s such a great individual, and so determined, and so driven. He’s a sponge right now… I haven’t had that chance to scream at him or anything like that, but I don’t think I have to go down that road,” he said.
Lowry Won’t Join Main Group in Training Camp
Adam Lowry has been doing on-ice work for a while now apart from his teammates as he continues to rehab and recover from his May hip surgery.
Arniel said that as hard as the captain might try to “sneak into” the main group sometime during training camp, he is not destined to join them. He’s shooting, handling pucks, and doing heavier movement on his own currently.
Lowry’s recovery timetable is such that he’ll miss the first month or so of the season. A late October to early November return seems a reasonable prediction.
“Super happy with how it’s feeling and where it’s at,” Lowry said earlier this month. “Obviously a ways to go. My job is to push myself every day, try to do the right things to make sure that when I get back I’m ready to go and feeling good. It’s nice to be back on the ice. It feels like another milestone, another step closer to my return.” (from ‘‘Excited to get back out there,” Winnipeg Free Press, Sept. 11, 2025.)
“We need this to be a hip that lasts for a long time and we don’t need to rush him back and then all of a sudden get a setback,” Arniel said.
