Jets Suffering From Complete Lack of Secondary Scoring Once Again

10 games into the new season, the Winnipeg Jets are dealing with an old problem: a near-complete lack of scoring from outside their top line.

Lack of Secondary Scoring Rearing Its Ugly Head Again

The Jets have scored 26 goals this season, and 15 of those have come off the sticks of just two players: Kyle Connor (nine) and Cole Perfetti (six). Two forwards have multiple goals (Alex Iafallo with three and Mark Scheifele with two), three forwards have one goal each (Cole Koepke, Adam Lowry, and Gabriel Vilardi), and three defensemen have one goal each as well (Dylan DeMelo, Mario Ferraro, and Neal Pionk).

The rest of the forwards are still sporting goose eggs, and the list spans rookies to veterans. Morgan Barron has zero goals in 10 games, highly-hyped 2026 eighth-overall pick Viggo Bjorck has zero in 10, Brad Lambert has zero in nine, Vladislav Namestnikov has zero in six, Nino Niederreiter has zero in seven, and Isak Rosen has zero in 10. Bjorck and Niederreiter have zero points.

Most inexplicable of the bunch may be Vilardi. While he finally scored Thursday night in the 3-2 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars, he is on pace for just 8.4 goals this season after potting a career-high 30 last season.

If this problem seems familiar, it’s because it is. The Jets’ lack of secondary scoring last season was a big reason they regressed so badly from their Presidents’ Trophy winning 2024-25 to miss the playoffs. Connor, Scheifele and Vilardi combined for 105 of the team’s 229 goals that season, or nearly 46 per cent.

This season, head coach Scott Arniel and company were banking on getting bigger offensive contributions from youngsters such as Bjorck, Lambert, Rosen and on veterans rebounding after down seasons such as Namestnikov, Niederreiter, and Lowry.

They have not seen either happen so far. The good vibes from the 4-1-1 start have evaporated during the current four-game losing streak.

One line can win a game by itself from time to time — and the Jets’ top line has already powered them to a victory or two — but it’s not sustainable for only a few players to have to carry that much of the offensive mail. The Jets have lost by one goal in every game in the losing streak, and a timely tally or two from someone in the bottom nine could have made the difference.

“It Would Be Nice to Take Some of the Pressure Off Of Them”

Lowry agrees it’s an issue that needs addressing.

“Our top line is buzzing and they traditionally always buzz,” the captain said after his team lost 2-1 to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday. “But it would be nice to take some of the pressure off of them.”

“We’re nine games in and we know we need to start scoring. We need to start chipping in. Especially in those guys’ cases, the chances are there. They make enough good plays and they’re going to connect on one. Maybe (get) a lucky one and it seems like the dam breaks.” (From ‘Jets hit first patch of early-season turbulence,’ Winnipeg Free Press, Oct. 21, 2026.)

Advanced Stats Paint an Interesting Picture

By taking a look at individual high-danger chances for numbers, we can judge if Lowry’s claim that “the chances are there” holds any muster.

The nine forwards with one goal or fewer (we’re excluding Brayden Yager, who has played only one game) have combined for 56 high-danger chances, meaning they have been generating some offense but have converted a goal at a hilariously-low 5.3 per cent rate. as per Natural Stat Trick. The reason for such a paltry number is due to a combination of factors: opposing goalies have definitely made some great saves off some of the guys still searching for goals, but the Jets’ shot selection has also been poor at times.

Team wide, the Jets are converting on 9.6 per cent of their high-danger chances, down from 13 per cent last season.

So Lowry is correct — the chances are there. However, one can only say “the process is right” for so long. Professional sports is a results-based business, and the Jets need to start cashing in on their prime chances at a much-higher frequency if they want to get back on track.