Decisions, decisions.
The Winnipeg Jets held their final dress rehearsal Friday night before the curtain rises next week on the new NHL season.
Unlike their first three exhibitions, this one in Denver featured competitive lineups that looked an awful lot like what we’ll see when the games start counting, with plenty of star power and veteran presence on both sides.
So what are we to make of the Jets’ 5-2 loss to the mighty Colorado Avalanche, who captured the Presidents’ Trophy last year and are once again a legitimate Stanley Cup contender?
Let’s dig in.
David Zalubowski / The Associated Press
Winnipeg Jets winger Nino Niederreiter celebrates after scoring in the first period of the preseason game against the Colorado Avalanche, Friday in Denver.
EL NINO — Forecasters are calling for a Super El Nino winter, which would bring unseasonably warm weather to Winnipeg and other parts of northern North America.
The Jets would love to see their version heat up on the ice.
Nino Niederreiter had a miserable 2025-26 NHL season, one which produced 19 points (8G, 11A) in 61 games. Now 34 and entering the final year of his contract at US$4 million, there’s been plenty of speculation the Jets have been looking to move on.
But when neither a buyout nor a trade came this summer and training camp rolled around last week, there was Niederreiter seemingly at status quo.
Not so fast.
With plenty of young players knocking at the door — including the likes of Brayden Yager and Danny Zhilkin who are currently with the club — Niederreiter shouldn’t be assuming anything. A spot in the starting lineup is certainly in jeopardy, with human bumper car Cole Koepke pushing for full-time work as well.
Offensive nights like Friday will help Niederreiter’s cause.
He opened the scoring in the first period, showing he still has silky smooth hands from in tight — a place where he’s scored the majority of his 248 career goals — as he beat Mackenzie Blackwood.
Then, in the second period, Niederreiter displayed veteran vision as he fired a beautiful backhand pass on to the stick of Vlad Namestnikov, who buried it to put the visitors up 2-1.
Niederreiter also took a pair of minor penalties, including one where a lack of foot speed was evident and another where a lack of discipline was on display. He’ll have to keep those to a minimum.
But the Swiss winger, who says he’s now finally healthy after dealing with knee issues which required surgery last spring, may still have some fuel left in the tank, which would help both him and the Jets going forward.
He skated on an intriguing fourth line with Namestnikov — who is also looking to rebound after a tough season and is also in the final year of his deal — and Alex Iafallo. The trio are a combined 99 years old and have more than 2,500 games of NHL experience.
David Zalubowski / The Associated Press
Colorado Avalanche left wing Jaden Schwartz, centre, drives past Winnipeg Jets defenceman Neal Pionk to get a shot on Jets goalie Stuart Skinner.
NO.2 FOR STUUUU: Stuart Skinner had a great debut with the Jets earlier this week at Canada Life Centre, stopping 31 of 32 shots in a 3-1 victory over a much more youthful, inexperienced Avalanche team.
The club’s new starting goaltender stopped 28 of 32 in this one. He had no chance on Colorado’s first goal, off the stick of Jaden Schwartz, nor could he do anything about one from T.J. Hughes with 92 seconds left in the middle frame.
However, Skinner would certainly want Hughes’ second goal back — a bank shot from a bad angle with 11 seconds left in the second period which proved to be the game-winner.
Cale Makar scored Colorado’s fourth on a beautiful Tic-Tac-Toe play late in the third period to seal this one, and then Hughes — a college free agent signing who just finished up at the University of Michigan last spring — finished the hat trick into an empty net.
David Zalubowski / The Associated Press
Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog, drives past Winnipeg Jets defencemen Dylan Samberg in the first period.
UNDER THE HOOD: The eye test is one thing. However, NHL teams including the Jets are increasingly using advanced statistics — also known as analytics — to make judgement calls when it comes to the lineup.
So what did we learn from Friday’s game?
Winnipeg was soundly outplayed at even strength, with the Avalanche holding an 8-5 advantage in high-danger scoring chances and a 3.04 to 1.15 gap in expected goals.
The Jets did create a ton more on their power plays than Colorado did to make the game appear a bit more even, with a 6-0 edge in high-danger chances.
Not a single Jets player was above 50 per cent when it comes to even strength Corsi, which measures the flow of play through shot attempts. In a nutshell, the higher you are, the more you are tilting the ice in your favour. The lower you are, the more you are hemmed in.
David Zalubowski / The Associated Press
Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen, left, struggles to control the puck as Winnipeg Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey pursues in the first period.
Defencemen Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk and Dylan Samberg and forwards Kyle Connor and Adam Lowry had the best nights in this department with rates above 40 per cent, which is still not great.
The blue-line pairing of Mario Ferraro and Tyrel Bauer got absolutely caved in, with 15.79 and 13.04 per cent of the Corsi respectively.
NUMBERS CRUNCH: The Jets made five roster moves on Friday, with goalie Thomas Milic assigned to the Manitoba Moose and four other players placed on waivers.
Those include defenceman Isaak Philips and forwards Nikita Chibrikov, Noah Gregor and Parker Ford. The Jets will learn by 1 p.m. Saturday if another team put in a claim. If not, they can be sent to the American Hockey League affiliate.
The Jets now have 26 healthy players in camp and must get down to a maximum of 23 by Monday afternoon.
David Zalubowski / The Associated Press
Winnipeg Jets centre Morgan Barron gets tangled with Colorado Avalanche centre Martin Necas in the first period.
One of the biggest remaining questions revolves around whether they will carry 14 forwards and seven D-men or 13 forwards and eight D.
As of right now, there are 15 forwards and nine blue-liners in that discussion, though it should be noted that Elias Salomonsson (shoulder) is ahead of schedule according to Arniel and could be back in game action by the middle of October (rather than the end of that month).
Friday’s healthy scratches were Koepke (who had played his veteran maximum of two pre-season games), Zhilkin and Yager up front, and defencemen Jack St. Ivany, Haydn Fleury and Henry Thrun (the latter two who had also maxed out at two games).
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EXTRA, EXTRA: Winnipeg won the special teams battle, going 1-for-4 on the power play and killing off all three minor penalties they took.
The Jets finished the four game pre-season slate with a 1-2-1 record.
They bused to nearby Colorado Springs after the game, where they will remain until Monday afternoon doing some team building and bonding. They also are planning a pair of practices.
Winnipeg will also hold skates next Wednesday and Thursday in their own rink to get ready for Friday’s season opener against the Boston Bruins.
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Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.
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