The 2024-25 Presidents’ Trophy-winning Winnipeg Jets had a number of players post extremely-strong campaigns, but these three will be looking to bounce back in 2025-26 after some rough times.
1: Nikita Chibrikov
Chibrikov was coming along nicely in his sophomore season through mid-January, with 18 points in 30 games for the Manitoba Moose and three points in four games for the Jets during an impressive December callup.
However, the now 22-year-old Russian right winger had his season cut short due to an ankle injury. In a Jan. 19 home game against the Toronto Marlies, his leg buckled while attempting to check Mikko Kokkonen near the end boards and the damage required surgery to repair.
Chibrikov — a feisty, high-motor guy who never shies away from a battle and possesses a great shot — is one of the players who will push for a full-time NHL spot this season with Mason Appleton and Nikolaj Ehlers’ departures. Considering he had 47 points in 70 games with the Moose in his rookie 2023-24 and showed strongly there last season prior to the injury in a top-six role, the 2021 second rounder likely won’t benefit much from another entire season in the American Hockey League (AHL.)
That being said, considering he won’t have played a game in seven months by the time the season begins, he may benefit from some AHL games to get back up to speed.
2: Ville Heinola
Six years removed from being drafted 20th overall, it seems as though Heinola barely exists to the organization.
If they still remember who he is, he certainly hasn’t been in their plans. The now 24-year-old defender played just 18 games last season, tallying one assist, and is stuck at 53-career NHL games played through six seasons.
It seems every time the Finn has a chance to establish himself as a regular, he either suffers an injury — he broke his ankle during the 2023-24 preseason when he had already earned a spot in the opening-night roster and then got an infection in the surgically-repaired ankle in the 2024-25 preseason — or gets sat in favour of someone the coaching staff likes better. Nathan Beaulieu, Dylan Coghlan, Derek Forbort, Haydn Fleury, and Logan Stanley have all gotten playing time on the bottom unit over him since 2019-20.
Considering his lack of NHL experience to this point and that he cannot improve any more by playing in the AHL, whether Heinola will ever develop into a top-four offensive defenseman as hoped is questionable. The path to him developing any further at all with the Jets doesn’t seem particularly clear and some have suggested it’s time for the organization to give up on him.
Barring a trade this offseason, Heinola will have another chance this fall to show head coach Scott Arniel he’s got the skill to stick in the lineup, but is clearly on the outside looking in. He may be playing mainly as an audition to other teams; while he’s no longer waiver exempt and it’s hard to see the Jets risking losing him for nothing, he could easily a part of a trade package at the 2026 Trade Deadline considering he’s on the last year of a two-year contract worth $1.6 million annually.
3: Gustav Nyquist
Nyquist, a 35 year old Swedish winger signed to a one-year deal, saw his point total drop by nearly two thirds last season.
Between the Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild, the now 35 year old produced just 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) in 79 games after recording a career-high 75 (23 goals, 52 assists) in 81 games for the Predators in 2023-24.
The Predators and Wild were the two lowest-scoring clubs in the NHL at five-on-five last season, and with Nyquist primarily being a playmaker, it makes sense his numbers dropped when having linemates not consistently putting the puck in the net. Nyquist will likely play on Winnipeg’s second or third line and the second power-play unit and should benefit from high-quality linemates who contributed last season to the club’s third-place league-wide finish in goals (275).
Related: Jets’ Nyquist Signing Is a Smart Short-Term Solution
Nyquist’s track record of being a reliable offensive threat should make the Jets confident he’ll bounce back to at least the 40-to-50 point range in 2025-26. He has nine 40-plus point seasons, four 50-plus point seasons, and five 20-plus goal seasons in 13-career campaigns.
“I still feel young, legs feel good, and body feels good. Hopefully I can take that game (from two seasons ago) and bring that to Winnipeg,” Nyquist said earlier this summer. “I want to contribute offensively as much as possible, but just be an all-around good player.” (From “Plenty of giddy up left in Nyquist’s game,” Winnipeg Free Press, July 8, 2025.)
4: Jonathan Toews
Toews, a 37-year-old three-time Stanley Cup champion, is attempting a comeback after missing two seasons due to illness.
The Winnipegger signing a one-year deal is a feel-good story for everyone involved right now, but the Jets are not getting the Toews who led the Chicago Blackhawks to Cup glory in 2010, 2012, and 2015. He is at an age where most players — no matter how good they once were — are either declining or retired altogether.
The fact is Toews hasn’t played a hockey game — any hockey game — in almost two years due to been ill with chronic inflammatory response syndrome and long COVID. He last suited up on April 13, 2023 before missing all of 2023-24 and this season.
Related: Jets’ Toews Signing Comes With Many Question Marks & Potential Complications
As such, expectations should be tempered despite Toews declaring himself at 100 per cent and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff being impressed at how hard he worked to get back into game shape.
It’s unknown where Toews will play in the lineup, but the most-likely scenario seems to be him lining up as fourth-line centre — at least at first — so he can ease in after a long layoff. What exactly constitutes a “bounce back” can be debated, but if by the end of the season Toews has stayed healthy, chipped in 25 to 30 points, won at least 55 per cent of his faceoffs, and been a valuable complement to the established leadership core, his season should be considered a success.
