Winnipeg Jets 2026 Unrestricted Free Agent Overview

Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has 10 pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) on his books this offseason. These players range from NHL regulars this season to American Hockey League (AHL) depth.

Here, we’ll take a look at all 10 UFAs in need of new deals and their 2025-26 performances.

NHL Roster

Jacob Bryson

The Jets acquired the defenseman, alongside young forward Isak Rosen, from the Buffalo Sabres at the 2026 Trade Deadline in exchange for Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn.

Bryson, a 28 year old left-shooter, got into 15 games for the Jets down the stretch, recording three assists and a minus-8 rating in 12:48 of average ice time. He put up two goals and six assists for eight points in 50 games between the Jets and Sabres overall.

Bryson, considered a “throw-in” compared to Rosen in the deal, is coming off a one-year deal worth $900,000. The Jets will have to decide if he showed enough over his short tenure to justify re-signing to improve their blue-line depth or to let him walk.

Eric Comrie

Comrie made a career-high 25 appearances and 24 starts this season, mainly due to Connor Hellebuyck being out for nearly a month from late November to mid-December after arthroscopic knee surgery.

Unfortunately, when handed a huge opportunity to help the Jets through a difficult stretch, he was nothing short of disastrous and overwhelmed by the workload, posting an ugly a 2-7-1 record, 3.71 goals against average (GAA), .874 save percentage (SV%), a negative-7.02 goals saved above expected, and being pulled twice.

Comrie regrouped nicely in the second half, winning six-straight starts after an awful New Years’ Day performance against the Toronto Maple Leafs and did not allow more than two goals in any of those starts (he lost his final two starts, which came after the Jets were eliminated from playoff contention). Overall, his numbers — like many Jets this season — fell off as he posted a 3.13 GAA and .890 SV% opposed to a 2.39 GAA and .914 SV% from 2024-25 (in fairness, the Jets’ defensive structure was much better last season).

Considering the great vibes Comrie brings to the locker room with his gregarious and sometimes kooky personality — combined with the fact he’s likely not looking for his whirlwind tour of organizations to continue now that he’s in his 30s — makes it likely he’ll return as Hellebuyck’s backup next season. His return would also give Domenic DiVincentiis and Thomas Milic a third season each to continue to develop in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose.

He is coming off a two-year contract with a $825,000 average annual value (AAV).

Ville Heinola (Group 6)

Heinola, once a highly-prized prospect the Jets hoped would blossom into a top-four defenseman, has completely fallen off the organization’s radar as he’s been surpassed by other prospects and free-agent signing. The 2019 first rounder played just five games for the Jets this season, registering zero points, and spent most of his season with the Moose, where he tallied three goals and 18 assists for 21 points in 44 games.

“It’s been, mentally, probably the hardest year,” Heinola told the Winnipeg Free Press recently, during a long period of being a healthy scratch. “It’s hard, and I struggle a lot, especially mentally.” (From ‘Just want to finish the season strong,’ Winnipeg Free Press, April 16, 2026).

Heinola is a Group 6 UFA because he has played fewer than 80 NHL games at age 25. He is coming off a two-year contract with a $800,000 AAV and it’s unlikely the Jets will re-sign him, considering he’s played only 50 NHL games over the past five seasons since his strong eight-game stint as a rookie in 2019-20.

Colin Miller

The defenseman played a career-low 18 games this season, posting two assists. He was a semi-frequent healthy scratch through the first half of the season, then suffered a knee injury on Jan. 11 that required surgery and kept him out for three months.

The 34 year old is coming off a two-year contract with a $1.5 million AAV.

Gustav Nyquist

A veteran who appears to be in a steep and irreversible decline, the 36 year old posted one goal and 11 assists for 12 points did not score his lone goal until March. He was a semi-frequent healthy scratch from December onward, and when he did get into the lineup, it was generally in a bottom-six role.

Signing Nyquist — who was just two seasons removed from a 23-goal, 75 point campaign with the Nashville Predators — to a one-year deal worth $3.25 million seemed like a smart stop-gap solution for the middle six that would mitigate the loss of Nikolaj Ehlers’ production, but the Swede’s tenure as a Jet was nothing short of laughably bad. He certainly won’t be back.

Jonathan Toews

The signing of hometown boy Toews was perhaps the most-highly hyped in Jets 2.0 history — even garnering a summer press conference to announce it — but wasn’t nearly worth all the buzz.

The 38 year old, after two years off due to health reasons, was not close to the player he was in his prime when he captained the Chicago Blackhawks to three Stanley Cups. He played in all 82 games, but it was an example of quantity over quality; while he had a few good moments and seemed to be well liked in the locker room, he was generally not even above replacement level and completely disappeared for long stretches.

In his exit interview, he admitted he “struggled” with the speed of the game and “playing with energy every night,” adding later that he “wasn’t anywhere close” to meeting his own expectations.

Toews’ lucrative bonus structure, which paid an additional $550,000 on top of his base $2 million salary when he reached the 20-, 30-, 40-, 50-, and 60-game marks, saw him rake in a cool $4.75 million in exchange for 29 points of production, or $163,793.10 per point.

This writer warned last June after the signing was officially announced that it had a high chance of not working out. History shows this writer also raised concerns about the lack of performance- or points-based bonuses in the deal and whether the Jets would get good value for their money. They didn’t.

Toews said he would take some time to reflect on whether he wants to continue playing, and that if he did, he’d only want to play for Winnipeg. However, sources indicate he’s leaning toward retirement.

AHL Roster

Kale Clague

The 27-year-old defenseman’s offensive numbers dropped a bit this season, but he still recorded 27 (nine goals, 18 assists) in 67 games to finish second among Manitoba Moose defensemen in scoring.

While he’s played 94-career NHL games and was signed last summer to a one-year deal to add depth on the blue line, he did not appear in any games for the Jets despite receiving two callups.

Phil Di Giuseppe

The 32-year-old forward finished tied for third on the Moose with 35 points (15 goals, 20 assists) in 72 games while serving as an alternate captain.

While a veteran of 302-career NHL games signed last summer to a one-year deal to improve organizational depth, he did not receive a callup to the Jets.

Walker Duehr

The 28-year-old forward finished fourth on the Moose in points with 34 (17 goals, 17 assists) in 62 games. He also played a key role on the team’s penalty kill, finishing tied for first in the AHL with five shorthanded goals.

Duehr also played three games for the Jets in March, logging zero points and a minus-1 rating.

Mason Shaw

The 27-year-old forward led the Moose in scoring for the second-straight season, posting 44 points (15 goals, 29 assists) in 71 games after recording 37 last season.

He was named Moose captain in October after serving as an alternate last season. The Albertan also represented Canada at the 2025 Spengler Cup, scoring a goal in Canada’s tournament-opening game on Boxing Day.