The 2025-26 NHL trade deadline is rapidly approaching, as today marks one week away from the March 6th, 2 pm CT deadline. After the “trade freeze” was lifted from the Olympic break, all 32 teams are currently assessing what moves they want to make, including the Winnipeg Jets. Last season at this time, the Jets were comfortably chilling 1st overall in the league standings, and decided to play it safe and add some depth pieces at the deadline. Fast forward to today, and the Jets are 28th overall in the league standings, and unless a giant win streak starts now, the Jets will be sellers at the deadline. Taking the standings and current roster construction into consideration, who should the Jets move before or on March 6th?

Whenever you’re talking about trade rumours or who’s on the trade block, there’s always the “should, could, would” and other hypotheticals that go into play when talking about NHL trades. One Jets player that is a trade candidate, but an unlikely one on the move is Cole Perfetti. The 24-year old has taken a step “back” this season, currently sitting at 19 points in 43 games. League insiders have suggested that the only way the Jets move on from Perfetti is if they acquired a young talent in return. People usual refer to these types of moves as a “hockey trade”, one where both teams benefit from a straightforward swap of players that could both benefit from playing on a new team.

Perfetti is more of a “what if” example, but the real players that are currently on the Jets “trade block” should be their pending unrestricted free agents. Perhaps the top candidate is Logan Stanley, who is easily having his best season as a Jet since being drafted 18th overall in the 2016 NHL draft. Stanley has 9 goals this season after scoring 1 goal for five straight seasons, and he’s got 9 assists to go with those goals for 18 points, already a new career high. Before this season, Jets fans were calling the “Stanley experiment” over, but now could be a time to cash in on his trade value rather than re-sign him to a new deal. Teams have already expressed interest in Stanley, but it’s up to the Jets to decide whether the trade return value is worth it or not in both the short and long term.

Other names rumoured to be on the Jets trade block are veterans who will be upcoming unrestricted free agents, such as Luke Schenn, Tanner Pearson, and Gustav Nyquist. Luke Schenn has been traded at the deadline a handful of times already in his career, and he’s already expressed that he’d be welcome with the idea of going to a team that has a chance at making a run in the playoffs. Pearson has been a decent depth piece for the Jets this season, and his skillset could be beneficial for teams looking to acquire a bottom of the lineup forward. Nyquist hasn’t been anything like the Jets were hoping for, sitting with 0 goals and 9 assists in 36 games. Nyquist could probably fetch the Jets a late round draft pick as he’s currently on an expiring contract.

A couple other less likely Jets players to be included on the trade block are Nino Niederreiter and Eric Comrie. Niederreiter could play in a top-six role on certain teams, and his not overly expensive contract could net the Jets a good return with the right team. Teams at the deadline are always looking for backup goaltending, and Comrie is an option that’s out there. With Thomas Milic and Domenic DiVincentiis on the rise, now could be the time to acquire an asset for the fan-favourite Comrie.

Jets management have already stated that now is not the time for them to go into a full “rebuild mode”. With the Jets top line continuing to perform at an elite level, and with one of the best goalies in the world in Connor Hellebuyck, the Jets could be back in the playoffs as soon as next season with the right moves. I think that for this year’s trade deadline the Jets will definitely be sellers, but they’ll continue to take an overall cautious approach rather than a full out “fire sale” as they look to shape up their roster for a hopefully successful 2026-27 season. Stay tuned here at Jets Nation and on our social media pages for the latest updates and trade rumours leading up to the March 6th NHL trade deadline.