The Winnipeg Jets are now 31 days away from opening their 2026-27 NHL season at home against the Boston Bruins. The Jets are also 55 days away from hosting the Montreal Canadiens at Princess Auto Stadium for the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic, with tickets for the Alumni game on October 24th on sale now. The long days of the NHL off-season are almost over, as tomorrow the calendar turns to September, a month with pre-season hockey.

Today marks yet another continuation of a series that I’ve covered the past two off-seasons known as the “goals and expectations” series. This series quickly previews what to expect (and what to hope for) from Jets players in the 2026-27 season. Tonight’s player is someone who we all know as the Jets elite goal scorer and the guy who got a KFC meal named after him in 2026: Kyle Connor.

Connor is yet another example of a handful of Jets players who has been with the organization since being drafted by them back in 2015. After a fantastic season with the University of Michigan, Connor made his NHL debut in the 2016-17 season, where he scored 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points in 20 games. Connor spent most of the 20216-17 season in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose, but after just a few games with the Moose in the 2017-18 season Connor was a full time NHLer. Connor scored 31 goals in his first full NHL season, and the Jets knew they had themselves an elite goal scorer on the rise in their organization.

Connor’s “breakout” season happened back in the 2021-22 season, where he appeared in 79 games, scoring a still career high 47 goals and 46 assists for 93 points. Connor then set a record for points (97) in a season by a Jets 2.0 player in the 2024-25 season, before Scheifele broke that record last season with 103 points. Aside from the goals and points, Connor’s skating skills have really grown over his career, becoming a threat to break away from his defenders. Like many other top offensive producers, Connor reads the ice real well. A big “bonus point” about Connor’s game is that he plays with a high level of sportsmanship, not taking many penalties at all, highlighted by his Lady Byng Memorial Trophy win in 2022 where he only had 4 penalty minutes in 79 games.

The 29-year old top line left winger will be entering the 1st year of his new eight year contract at a cap hit of $12 million. Connor’s upcoming (at the time) contract extension was a big talking point heading into the 2025-26 season, and the Jets were able to secure a new deal on October 8th, 2025 before the season began. Connor won’t be an unrestricted free agent until after the 2033-34 season, and although Jets fans just saw Hellebuyck request a trade with plenty of years left on his deal, Jets fans shouldn’t have to worry one bit about Connor wanting to go anywhere else other than his home in Winnipeg. Connor’s cap hit is pretty reasonable given his scoring consistency, and with the increasing cap and recent record breaking deals, Connor just needs to keep doing what he’s been doing to make his contract look good.

So what should be the goals and expectations for Kyle Connor next season? The Jets struggled as a team to find depth scoring, but the Jets 1st line (with Kyle Connor on it) continued to carry the offence. Connor scored 39 goals with a shooting percentage of 14.2%, only slightly below his career average of around 14.7%. I believe Connor can hit the 40 goal mark for the 3rd time in his career in the 2026-27 season, and playing with Scheifele and Vilardi will make it fairly easy for him to get around 50 assists. Perhaps it’s Connor’s turn to hit 100 points in a season following Scheifele’s record breaking 2025-26 season, but I think Connor will once again fall in the 90-95 point range.

I’ve mentioned before that when Connor has success, so do the Winnipeg Jets. While Scheifele is generally seen more as the “playmaker” on the top line, Connor is the Jets number one pure scorer, and he’s always there when the team needs a big goal. The Jets powerplay wasn’t as effective as it was in the 2024-25 season, but with some tweaks it has the potential to be among the best again with Connor ready to strike wherever he is on the ice. Connor is going to continue to climb the Jets 2.0 all-time leaderboards this season, including likely milestones of 750 games played, 350 goals, 400 assists and 750 points. Jets fans should be ready for another A+ season from one of the top left wingers in the NHL.

The 2026 NHL off-season is quickly wrapping up as we hit September tomorrow, and teams will start hitting the ice for training camps beginning this week or next week. Stay tuned for more “goals and expectations” articles throughout the early half of September, as I’ll look at what to expect from 2026-27 Jets players throughout the lineup. Let us know on our Daily Faceoff Winnipeg socials if there’s a certain player you’d like us to cover next!

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