The hockey world is just about headed for the weekend after an eventful week in the NHL. Teams only had a few days after the NHL draft to prepare for NHL free agency on July 1st, and now teams are evaluating where they are at after the frenzy that began on Tuesday. There’s still more work to be done for the Jets this off-season, including new contracts for their restricted free agents and possibly some more additions through free agency, but now is a good time to assess where the team is at today.

Before taking a look at the projected Jets lineup (as of today) for 2025-26, let’s recap the moves the Jets have made since July 1st. The opening days of free agency can be quite wild, so there could be some moves that don’t get noticed as much or some signings that just aren’t talked about. Every team has some minor subtractions in the off-season (AHL players, depth players, etc.), but the major subtraction to the Jets lineup came yesterday, with Nikolaj Ehlers (UFA) taking his talents to the Eastern Conference, signing a 6 year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes with an average annual value of $8.5 million. Another two notables unrestricted free agents that have moved on from the Jets to new teams are Mason Appleton (Detroit) and Brandon Tanev (Utah).

As for the additions the Jets made since July 1st, there were a few notable ones and a handful of depth signings. The first move hit the headlines in the NHL, as Jonathan Toews is making his return to the NHL with the Jets on a 1 year, $2 million deal. After staying quiet for the first two hours on the opening day of free agency, the Jets signed forward Tanner Pearson and Cole Koepke to matching 1 year, $1 million deals. Later in the evening on Tuesday, the Jets signed a Canucks fan favourite (from the Abbotsford Canucks), Phillip Di Giuseppe to a 1 year, $775,000 deal.

On Wednesday, the Jets made one notable signing, adding veteran Swedish forward Gustav Nyquist to the roster on a 1 year deal worth $3.25 million. The Jets later added four depth players to the roster on 1 year, $775,000 (league minimum) deals. Kale Clague (D), Isaac Poulter (G), Samuel Fagemo (F) and Walker Duehr (F) bring varying levels of NHL experience, and will help the Manitoba Moose after they had a disappointing season. So far today the Jets have made no additional signings, and yesterday Mason Shaw re-signed with the Jets on a 1 year, league minimum deal.

Now that you’re all caught up on how the Jets roster has changed since July 1st, let’s take a look at the Jets projected lineup for the 2025-26, as provided by Daily Faceoff.

Kyle Connor – Mark Scheifele – Gabriel Vilardi

Cole Perfetti – Jonathan Toews – Gustav Nyquist

Nino Niederreiter – Vladislav Namestnikov – Alex Iafallo

Tanner Pearson – Rasmus Kupari – Cole Koepke

The Jets 1st line remains unchanged, and no surprises there. Gabriel Vilardi’s new contract (he’s currently a RFA) hasn’t been signed yet, but the Jets did offer him his qualifying offer prior to the July 1st deadline. The rest of the forward lineups are likely to change, as the Jets continue their search for a 2nd line centre with around $20 million in cap space. Toews and Nyquist aren’t top 6 players in their current stage of their careers, so they are just temporarily slotted in there.

The 3rd line looks like a realistic option for a 3rd line to begin the season, with Adam Lowry out for the first few months after undergoing hip surgery in late May. The 4th line includes two of the Jets newest signings in Pearson and Koepke, and Kupari recently signed overseas, so there will be another name at that spot when the season begins. Morgan Barron seems like the logical answer for the 4th line centre, but there are several other options the Jets could use in that spot.

Josh Morrissey – Dylan DeMelo

Dylan Samberg – Neal Pionk

Logan Stanley – Luke Schenn

The Jets will mostly be running back the same defensive pairings as they did late last season. The top 4 remains unchanged (for good reason), while the bottom pairing is where things could change. Logan Stanley will need to prove that he’s (finally) able to be an everyday NHLer, while Luke Schenn enters the final year on his contract after being acquired by the Jets at the NHL trade deadline.

Connor Hellebuyck – Eric Comrie

Hellebuyck is of course back again after winning his 3rd career Vezina and 1st career Hart Memorial Trophy. Eric Comrie is entering the 2nd and final year of his current contract, and aside from being a great teammate, he’s shown to the organization that they don’t need to do any “dramatic” searching for a new backup goalie.

Like everything else early in the NHL off-season, there is change to come with this projected lineup. Will some of the Jets prospects make their way into the lineup? Will any of the new depth signings play their way in a bottom 6 forward role? Will the Jets use their cap space to make a “splash” and acquire a reliable everyday 2nd line centre? There’s still plenty of questions and answers to be uncovered this off-season, but for now we can all just sit back and enjoy the summer weather while the first full month of the NHL off-season unfolds.