\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"Jets](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/69aa6552fb57a947921d8585jpeg.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJets forward Kyle Connor (81) scores an empty-net goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during third period NHL action in Winnipeg on March 5, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/John Woods<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, we\u2019re still chasing a playoff spot, and that\u2019s what I\u2019ve tried to keep those guys focused on,\u201d said head coach Scott Arniel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a hard distraction, it\u2019s right in front of us, but the focus is an eight-game homestand and, well, we\u2019re two for two.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That reality set in before puck drop.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite Arniel stating earlier in the day that the team\u2019s injured reserve list was too crowded to afford resting any pending unrestricted free agents, the script flipped by the evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Defencemen Luke Schenn and Logan Stanley were late scratches, held out of the lineup as trade rumours swirled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A couple hours after the game, they were dealt to the Buffalo Sabres for defenceman Jacob Bryson, forward Isak Rosen, a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a second-round selection next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a stark reminder of how quickly situations can evolve during deadline week.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re sitting out two guys that have been teammates the last few years, it\u2019s hard,\u201d Arniel said. \u201cIt\u2019s easy for people to just say trade that guy, trade this guy, move this guy. Well, there\u2019s some human aspect to it of family and kids, friendships \u2014 all of those things.\u201d<\/p>\n
For those players navigating the rumour mill, leaning on teammates with experience in these types of situations has helped.<\/p>\n
Veteran forward Gustav Nyquist, who has been traded three times in his career, served as a sounding board for Stanley in recent days.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, listen, it\u2019s hard. This week\u2019s hard,\u201d Nyquist said. \u201cHe\u2019s been here for a while \u2026 it\u2019s part of the business. So we\u2019ve had talks, but I think he\u2019s been handling it great.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a group that\u2019s become accustomed in recent years to adding players for a playoff push, this season\u2019s impending deadline carries a decidedly different weight to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With the Jets (25-26-10) still several points out of a playoff spot, creating the outside expectation that the organization will pivot to being sellers, the room is trying to balance the human toll with the task at hand.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, yeah, it\u2019s different circumstances than the last couple,\u201d Jets captain Adam Lowry said before the game. \u201cObviously this year we\u2019re on the outside looking in. But I think the biggest thing is guys in this locker room want to support the guys where there\u2019s a lot of uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n
The business side of hockey is never more apparent than in the final hours ahead of the deadline. Friendships built over years are suddenly put on hold, replaced by the harsh reality that several players may have worn a Winnipeg sweater for the final time.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n
On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n
\t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cFrom a personal side, it\u2019s tough,\u201d Lowry added. \u201cYou have guys uprooting their families. There\u2019s a lot of things that go on behind the scenes. It\u2019s not just the player getting traded, it\u2019s the family.\u201d<\/p>\n The NHL trade deadline arrives at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Cheveldayoff is expected to be busy working the phones, armed with a clear mandate to accumulate draft capital and future assets.<\/p>\n Winnipeg\u2019s list of pending unrestricted free agents is crowded.\u00a0<\/p>\n It includes defenceman Colin Miller, alongside forwards Nyquist, Tanner Pearson, Cole Koepke and veteran Jonathan Toews, who controls his own destiny with a full no-move clause.<\/p>\n This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Jeff Hamilton Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University\u2019s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Multimedia producer
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n