The Winnipeg Jets have been the NHL’s biggest surprise this season and set an NHL record for the best start ever by winning 15 of their first 16 games and lead the NHL with a 15-2-0 record. They have benefitted from a balanced offense, a dangerous revamped power play, and superb goaltending.
Related: Jets’ First Line Going From Liability to Strength
The team has most of its core intact from last season when it won 52 games before getting crushed in the first round of the playoffs, but some of the personnel has turned over. In fact, much was made about how much the Jets lost in free agency, and most observers — this one included — predicted they’d take a step backward.
Overall, five players who finished with the Jets last season (four skaters and one goalie) signed with new teams for 2024-25 and beyond through free agency. Here, we’ll check in on each and how they’re doing.
Laurent Brossoit
Laurent Brossoit cashed in on a season where he provided the Jets stellar backup services to the tune of a two-year, $6.6 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. The 31-year-old was set to, at the very least, get much more playing time in a tandem situation with Petr Mrazek, if not get a chance to be an undisputed number-one netminder for the first time in his career.
Unfortunately for Brossoit, he had an issue with his right meniscus that required surgery in August and remains out indefinitely as his recovery time is taking longer than expected.
Brenden Dillon
The hard and heavy defenseman is displaying the same skillset with the New Jersey Devils he did in his 238 games over three seasons with the Jets: physicality, fearlessness, and dependability in top-four minutes. He has four assists, a plus-six rating, 52 hits, and 35 penalty minutes in 20 games on the top pairing with Dougie Hamilton.
The now 34-year-old had expressed interest in re-signing with the Jets, but the team allowed him to walk as an unrestricted free agent (UFA) and he signed a three-year deal worth $12 million with the Devils on July 1.
Sean Monahan
The Jets acquired Monahan from the Montreal Canadiens in early February as a preemptive strike in the Central Division arms race and he fit seamlessly up the middle on the second line, recording 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points in 34 games.
The Jets expressed heavy interest in re-signing Monahan and he spoke positively of his time Winnipeg, but were not willing to match the five-year, $27 million contract the Columbus Blue Jackets offered the UFA. A major factor in Monahan’s decision to go to Columbus was to reunite with close friend and former Calgary Flames teammate Johnny Gaudreau. Tragically, Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed while cycling by an alleged drunk driver in late August.
Related: Remembering Johnny & Matthew Gaudreau With Their Lasting Impact
Monahan, playing with an extremely heavy heart, delivered one of the season’s most poignant and powerful moments thus far when he scored in his home debut and immediately pointed to Gaudreau’s number-13 banner in the Nationwide Arena rafters.
SEAN MONAHAN SCORES!
— NHL (@NHL) October 16, 2024
And he immediately points to the banner honoring Johnny Gaudreau. ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/ADQVSIXESp
Monahan has six goals and seven assists for 13 points in 16 games. He scored a power-play goal against the Jets when they visited Columbus on Nov. 1, but the Jets came out on top 6-2.
Tyler Toffoli
Toffoli — who the Jets acquired from the Devils at the 2024 Trade Deadline — wasn’t as impactful in Winnipeg as hoped so it was no surprise to see the veteran move on as a UFA. He signed a four-year deal with the San Jose Sharks worth $6 million annually, knowing he’d have a top-six role.
The 32 year old has indeed been one of the rebuilding Sharks’ more-reliable forwards, scoring six goals and adding six assists for 12 points in 18 games as the first-line right winger. He scored against Winnipeg in his return on Oct. 18, but the Jets blasted the Sharks 8-3.
Nate Schmidt
On the day prior to free agency opening, the Jets bought Nate Schmidt out of the final year of his six-year contract they inherited when they acquired him from the Vancouver Canucks in 2021. The defender was extremely well-liked for his gregarious personality, but his numbers had taken a big dive over three seasons and he essentially became an extremely-overpaid sixth or seventh defenseman.
The now-33-year-old then signed a one-year, $800,000 deal with the Florida Panthers and has recorded two goals and three assists for five points in 16 games with the reigning Stanley Cup champions in a bottom-pairing role.