When the worst team in the NHL refuses to give up… in January

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
When the worst team in the NHL refuses to give up… in January
Credit: X

The Winnipeg Jets are 32nd and last in the overall standings. Had he known, would Jonathan Toews have pushed harder to play in Denver?

So, no, things aren't going well.

In their last 22 games, the Jets have collected just three wins. It's hard to ask for anything worse from a team that had certain aspirations at the start of the season.

The Jets can't really give up because the club is facing support issues. And since the club is in Canada, Gary Bettman isn't going to do everything he can to save the franchise.

The result? The Jets want to keep going, even though they're 10 points out of the playoffs.

The Jets aren't the only ones in this situation. In fact, many teams feel the clock is ticking, but still have time to salvage things.

That's why, despite all the difficulties that come with trading in the 2026 NHL, many organizations are going to try right now.

As Pierre LeBrun(The Athletic) points out, there will still be several days when clubs won't be able to make moves, namely during the Olympic break. There's a freeze on transactions from February 4 to 22.

And after that, there will only be 12 days left before the transaction deadline.

Some teams can't really afford to wait until March before making a move. That's why we can expect some treaties in the coming weeks.

And can we expect the easiest transaction in sports: a coach's dismissal? If they don't move, some clubs might…

Kent Hughes said yesterday that he expected a quieter deadline in 2026. We listed some reasons yesterday, but LeBrun has just given us another.

Who's going to sell in this market? We'll see.


overtime

– Interesting.

– Nice.

– He didn't want to stick his neck out.

– Ryan Poehling isn't having a big offensive season. [Reddit]

– Indeed he isn't.

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