The Winnipeg Jets are now a little under two months away from opening their 2026-27 NHL season at home against the Boston Bruins. The long days of the NHL off-season are almost past us, as we can almost start looking ahead to the season ahead. Winnipeg Jets single game tickets go on sale soon, and the anticipation for the Heritage Classic game in October will continue to build as the season approaches.

Just like my latest article on upcoming Jets milestones, I was looking back at some articles I wrote in August last year, and I found one where I talked about “Three Winnipeg Jets players who may have the most to prove in the 2025-26 season”. I decided to double down on this topic, this time looking ahead at the 2026-27 season.

To quickly recap last year’s article, the players I talked about prior to last season were Dylan Samberg, Vladislav Namestnikov, Nikita Chibrikov and an honourable mention to Morgan Barron. All three of these main players didn’t exactly “prove” what they should’ve last season, for different reasons. Samberg dealt with injuries and didn’t look as comfortable in his top-four role, Namestnikov had a big down year in a bottom-six role, and Chibrikov didn’t have a productive year with the Moose and was held pointless in the 11 games he played with the Jets.

As for Morgan Barron, he did “prove” what was mentioned in last year’s article, being a reliable 4th line centre who set a career high in points with 23 despite only playing 65 games. Just like last year’s article, it’s important to remember that my definition of “prove” here relates to my own expectations for that given player, which will influence my outlook on what I want to see from that player going into the 2026-27 season.

All three of the players I chose for this upcoming season are young players with something to prove in their projected roles, starting with Brad Lambert. The 22-year old from Finland was drafted by the Jets 30th overall in the 1st round of the 2022 NHL Draft. After a successful final year in junior hockey following his draft year, Lambert had an impressive 55 points in 64 games with the Manitoba Moose in his 1st full pro season.

Since the 2023-24 season, Lambert’s production has dropped, but the potential remains there for a scoring top-six fit in the Jets organization. Prior to the 2025-26 season, Lambert had only 6 games of NHL experience (0 goals, 2 assists), but this season he got a good look with the team, tallying 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points in 25 games. The 2026-27 season should be the time for Lambert to step up in training camp and earn himself a full time roster spot on the Jets. Depending on Lambert’s production, a top-six role isn’t out of the question, as this role would be the most beneficial for Lambert to play in as he continues to get closer to his full potential.

Next up is Cole Perfetti, another former Jets 1st round pick who is still looking to unlock his full potential. The 24-year old from Ontario was drafted by the Jets 10th overall in the 1st round of the 2020 NHL Draft. Perfetti adapted fairly quickly to NHL hockey, and became an important depth scorer for the Jets in the 2023-24 season.

Perfetti’s “peak” so far in his career was the 2024-25 season, where he collected 50 points in 82 games. Last season Perfetti dealt with injuries, and finished the season with 32 points in 68 games. In the off-season, Perfetti signed a new five-year, $30 million contract extension. With this new contract comes greater expecations, a theme that I’ll touch on for several players when I begin the “goals and expectations” series in a few weeks. Perfetti needs to prove that he can be a reliable second line winger, one that will hopefully have some new and improved linemates to help contribute to his success.

I could have gone a few different ways with this third player, but I decided to go with a newly acquired Jet from the trade deadline: Isak Rosen. The Logan Stanley trade so far seems like a win for the Jets at this time, and it could become more of a win if Rosen develops in a depth scorer on the Jets bottom six. The 23-year old from Sweden was drafted 14th overall in the 1st round of the 2021 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres.

Rosen has split his first three NHL seasons between the NHL and AHL. Before this most recent season, Rosen had only 1 assist in 15 NHL games, but he had tremendous success in the AHL, most notably collecting 55 points in 61 games in the 2024-25 season. After collecting 43 points in 37 games in the AHL in the 2025-26 season, Rosen began to earn more playing time in the NHL. Rosen scored 6 goals and 4 assists in 37 games (16 with the Sabres and 21 with the Jets). Rosen is a bit of a “wildcard” for this Jets team, as his role on the 3rd or 4th line could depend on how the rest of bottom six looks. If Rosen can unlock even some of his scoring touch from the AHL, he could be a valuable member of the Jets in the 2026-27 season.

The honorable mentions this season go to Nino Niederreiter and Neal Pionk. Each player is in different situations in terms of their outlooks on their current contracts, but they both need to prove that they can be important members of this Jets roster in the 2026-27 season. Nino Niederreiter, like many other forwards on the Jets, struggled last season, scoring only 8 goals and 11 assists for 19 points. Niederreiter’s veteran presence and experience are valuable to the Jets looker room, but he needs to be more productive in his final year of his current three year contract at a $4 million cap hit.

Pionk is only two years younger than Niederreiter, but he’s only done year one of his current six year contract. Pionk has been a solid top-four defencemen throughout his career with the New York Rangers and Jets, averaging around 35 points a season. Last season Pionk dealt with injuries, appearing in only 51 games, where he tallied just 3 goals and 9 assists for 12 points. Pionk is one of the “prime candidates” for a bounce back season on the Jets, and he’ll be eager to prove to the Jets organization that his contract was worth it for the current 2nd pairing right handed defencemen alongside Dylan Samberg.

The 2026 NHL off-season wonders on, as teams continue to enjoy their last few weeks off before training camps begin in September. Were any of these three players a surprise to you? Is there a player who I should have mentioned? There’s probably a few more Jets who need to prove themselves (in various ways) in the 2026-27 season, but these three players should be on the front of the radars for most Jets fans.

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