The Winnipeg Jets are going to be heavily scrutinized in 2024-25 as they attempt to not only recapture regular-season success despite departures of key players in free agency, but to actually advance past the first round.
While some Jets will look to build off of strong 2023-24 campaigns, others will be looking to bounce back after challenging or rough ones. Three players in particular fall into that latter category.
3: Ville Heinola
Ville Heinola played well enough last preseason to make the team, now-retired head coach Rick Bowness said, but a fractured ankle suffered in the final preseason tune-up quashed the opportunity the defender earned.
The Finnish product instead spent four months rehabbing before getting back up to speed with the Manitoba Moose in the second half. He suited up for 41 games for the Moose in top-pairing and top power-play roles, recording 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists.)
The 2019 20th-overall pick — now 23 and with a two-year bridge deal under his belt signed July 15 — has played just 35 NHL games in four seasons, recording 11 points (one goal, 10 assists.) He is cerebral and intelligent defender whose anticipation, reads, passing ability, and skating are all outstanding and the organization still hopes he will develop into a top-four talent.
Heinola has played 152-career AHL games and it’s clear he is too good for the level. He needs meaningful NHL minutes to further develop the defensive side of his game and is no longer waiver exempt, so trying to send him down would be fraught with risk. Nonetheless, he will have to impress a new coaching staff — new head coach Scott Arniel and new assistant coaches Davis Payne and Dean Chynoweth — if he wants to establish himself as a big-league regular. The path appears open for him to do so.
Brenden Dillon’s departure in free agency to the New Jersey Devils has vacated a top-four left-side spot on the Jets’ defensive core. Even if Dylan Samberg — after two solid seasons on the third pairing — wins that job, Heinola could snag Samberg’s old spot.
2: Colin Miller
Colin Miller is much older than Heinola (31) and has played almost 500 more games than him, but his goal will be pretty much the same: establish himself as a blue-line regular.
When general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff acquired the veteran from the Devils at the 2024 Trade Deadline, the thought was Miller would be a lineup regular and an upgrade over Neal Pionk on the second pairing, or at the very least, an upgrade over Nate Schmidt and Logan Stanley on the third pairing.
However, Bowness preferred to keep dancing with the ones that brought him, so to speak, to that point in the regular season, dressing Miller for just five games down the stretch and one in the playoffs. Between the Jets and Devils, he played only 46 games, down from the 79 he played for with the Dallas Stars in 2022-23. Despite that, Cheveldayoff inked Miller to a two-year deal worth $1.5 million annually on July 1.
Miller, a right-hander with a booming shot from the point, should be a solid guy in the third-pairing spot vacated when Cheveldayoff bought Schmidt out of the final year of his contract. Miller has played a top-four role in the past with the Vegas Golden Knights and Buffalo Sabres, has recorded as many as 41 points in a season, and should provide some of the physicality Dillon, who led the Jets in hits for the past two seasons, did in his tenure.
1: Rasmus Kupari
Cheveldayoff was really excited to acquire Rasmus Kupari as part of the trade that sent Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings in June, 2023. In fact, Cheveldayoff insisted the speedy young Finn be part of the package in addition to Alex Iafallo and Gabriel Vilardi, who were seen as the main pieces. Bowness did admit six months later that the organization didn’t really quite know what they had in him (from ‘No Kupari, no deal,’ Winnipeg Free Press, Jan. 14, 2024) and a year later, Kupari remains an enigma for Arniel and company.
Kupari’s 2023-24 season was pretty much a write off as he suited up for 28 games but didn’t have much impact when he was on the ice, mustering only a single assist. His campaign was also derailed by an upper-body injury he suffered in mid-November on an attempted body check that kept him out for two months. Despite being healthy down the stretch, he was mainly a scratch.
The now 24-year-old might have a tougher time making the Jets’ opening-night lineup than last season (which he managed to do.) Kupari can play centre and wing, and although Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli’s departures leaves two holes on the top six, Brad Lambert and Nikita Chibrikov both excelled with the Moose last season (with 55 and 47 points respectively) and impressed in their NHL debuts in April. Both are younger and have more upside. Free-agent signees Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Mason Shaw, along with returnees Axel Jonsson-Fjallby and Dominic Toninato, will also be in the mix for bottom-six spots.
Related: Breaking Down the Winnipeg Jets’ 2024-25 Schedule
Kupari is a first-round pick (20th overall, 2018) but has not established himself as a dominant player to this point of his 158-game NHL career. While he has had some flashes of brilliance, he has struggled with his two-way play, confidence, and consistency.
Kupari could simply be a late-bloomer offensively so it’s not time to call him a bust yet. His 2022-23 season with the Kings was a lot better as he played a career-high 66 NHL games, recorded 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) and won 54.6 per cent of his faceoffs. He may have to start the season as the 13th forward or with the Moose and will need to exhibit a lot more if he wants to be the first one plugged into the lineup when injuries inevitably arise.