Four Players to Watch for the Winnipeg Jets’ 2023-24 Season

The stakes for the Winnipeg Jets this season are the highest they’ve been since the arrival of the team in 2011. The 2023-24 season is crucial as the results will affect the current core’s future in Winnipeg. Moreover, the demand for a deep playoff run after the previous few seasons of sub-par results is immense. While the pressure of the upcoming season lies on all players, here are four particularly intriguing players whom you should pay attention to.

Gabriel Vilardi was the main piece the Jets received when the organization dealt Pierre-Luc Dubois to the LA Kings this summer. The 24-year-old broke out last season, scoring a career-high 41 points in 63 games for the Kings, solidifying himself as a reliable top-six forward. The pressure on Vilardi to perform is immense but he should be given many opportunities to succeed, as he started the season on the first line, and received powerplay time. Unfortunately, Vilardi was injured in his first game against his former team on Oct. 17^th after a collision with Blake Lizotte and is looking at around six weeks on the IR (Injured Reserve). Vilardi won’t make or break the Jets season, but a healthy #13 will undoubtedly be a factor in how successful the Jets will be this season. 

Consistently a candidate for the Vezina trophy, Connor Hellebuyck enters the 2023-24 season off the back of a solid 2022-23 season, posting a 0.920 save percentage and a 2.49 goals-against average in the 64 games he started. Hellebuyck’s consistent ability to achieve competitive stats, despite playing more games than other starting goalies, compelled the Jets to hand him a new contract on October 14^th worth 8.5 million USD per season for 7 years. Hellebuyck is one of the backbones behind the Jets squad, and his performance will directly correlate to how well the Jets do in the 2023-2024 season. 

Entering his third NHL season, forward Cole Perfetti has the chance to have a breakout season, as Mark Scheifele did in 2014-15. However, Perfetti’s impact is not always noticed. He is not a flashy player like some of the others on this list. He is neither fast nor a particularly great playmaker, yet he continues to impress due to his offensive awareness and hockey IQ. Perfetti posted 30 points in 51 games in his first full NHL season, including 8 goals and 22 assists. Perfetti has the potential to score upwards of 60 points in a full season. Nick Suzuki, who is like Perfetti stylistically, also had a third year 60-point breakout season. Cole Perfetti will be a young star to watch this season.

Nikolaj Ehlers is one of the most exciting players to watch from the Winnipeg Jets due to his super speed and creativity that have made him a fan favourite since his debut in 2015. Despite being limited to 45 games last season due to injury, he scored 38 points. Ehlers may surpass this mark by just after midway this season. Fans have seen a healthy Ehlers score 60-plus points multiple times. He is one of the most electric players on the Jets but, similarly to Cole Perfetti, is injury-prone, and has been limited to no more than 70 games in the last three seasons. If Ehlers can stay healthy, he could easily once again rack up over 60 points. 

If these four key players can excel in their respective skill areas, the Jets can expect a deep playoff run in 2023-24.  With the stakes as high as they have been in years, the Jets organization and all Jets fans need these players to step up or the future of this core will be in serious jeopardy.