The Burden Doesn't Get Lighter From Here

There is a number buried in the depth chart that clarifies everything about Winnipeg's situation heading into this season: the Jets are allowing 4.0 goals per game over their last ten games—a full goal more than the twenty games before that. The defense hasn't stabilized. It has continued to deteriorate. And the goaltender the organization signed specifically to share the workload behind Connor Hellebuyck is now the only credentialed starter this franchise has.

Stuart Skinner came to Winnipeg on a two-year deal at $3.75 million AAV. That contract was designed for a specific context—a capable number two who would absorb starts, keep Hellebuyck fresh, and give the organization a legitimate safety net behind a three-time Vezina Trophy winner. That context no longer exists. Hellebuyck requested a trade in April, confirmed it publicly in August, failed to report to training camp in September, and is now suspended. The GM says he wants to "get this right." What he has right now is Skinner, Domenic DiVincentiis, and Thomas Milic behind a defense that is giving up four goals a game.

The defense piece is worth sitting with, because it's the part of this equation that doesn't get enough attention when the conversation turns to goaltending. I've written about the blue line's fragility going back to last season's collapse, and the offseason acquisition of Mario Ferraro was supposed to address the drop-off behind Josh Morrissey. Morrissey was the one consistent bright spot on the back end all year—40 points in 49 games, the best plus-minus on the team among defensemen. But the depth behind him remains thin in a way that matters enormously for whoever is in net. Neal Pionk is listed as the top defensive option, yet the gap between Pionk and the next available option is stark. A goaltender working behind that structure isn't getting bailed out by his defense; he's being asked to compensate for it.

That's the actual weight Skinner is carrying. Not just the absence of Hellebuyck, which is significant on its own, but the combination of an unresolved trade standoff, a defense that has gotten worse rather than better since the season ended, and a depth chart at left wing that offers almost nothing behind Kyle Connor. Scheifele and Connor were elite last season—58 and 55 points respectively in fewer than 50 games each—but this team's offense-to-defense imbalance was already the core problem in 2026. Pouring more goals in doesn't fix a leaky net; it just raises the threshold Skinner has to meet to keep games competitive.

My read is that the Jets have constructed a situation where Skinner's ceiling as a starter isn't really the question—it's whether the infrastructure around him is functional enough to give him a chance. A goaltender can be good and still get buried by 4.0 goals-against per game. Hellebuyck, for all his brilliance, was working behind the same collapsing structure last season and it still went sideways. The front office addressed the goaltending position twice this summer—signing Skinner, then watching Hellebuyck walk out—without ever fully solving the problem that actually ended their season. Skinner didn't create this situation. But he's the one who has to survive it.