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Fresh off signing a two-year contract with the Jets last week, we caught up with defenceman Tyrel Bauer as he prepares for his fifth season in Winnipeg. Bauer discussed getting his new deal done, his summer in Manitoba, reflecting on the Moose’s playoff run, head coach Mark Morrison’s comments on his importance to the team, what he’s worked on this summer, using video in his development, the NHL opportunity ahead of him this season, goal setting, what he got up to off the ice and more.

It was a massive Friendly Manitoba welcome for hometown kid Seth Jarvis, who won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in June and was back in Winnipeg to celebrate his day with the Cup.

Jarvis began the day at the Children’s Hospital, where he helped brighten the day for folks, before spending more than two hours at Tuxedo Community Centre sharing the Cup with his community.

Following the conclusion of the photos and celebrations, Jarvis discussed what bringing the Stanley Cup home to Winnipeg means to him and his family.

Blake Wheeler made an interesting point in his chat on 680 CJOB the other day about how not every player gets the chance to have a proper goodbye with Winnipeg fans. It got me thinking about all the former Jets who left without a video tribute, a final ovation, or a chance to really say farewell to the market that supported them.

The alumni game is gonna be something else.

Fresh off signing a five-year deal with the Jets worth 30 million dollars last week, we heard from Winnipeg winger Cole Perfetti on his new contract that will run until the 2031 season.

Topics:

1. What was the negotiations process like? (:18)
2. How important is this summer? What's his mindset? (1:54)
3. Importance of wanting a long-term deal in Winnipeg? (3:57)
4. Differences between this contract and his last one? (6:08)
5. Where was he when he found out the deal was done? (7:13)
6. Sharing the news with his teammates (8:47)
7. Adding Mario Ferraro to the mix, who he won gold with (9:53)
8. Belief in himself to take next steps (10:51)
9. His reflections on what his parents have done for him (12:47)
10. What are his internal expectations? (14:22)
11. How is he handling the noise around Connor Hellebuyck? (16:55)
12. What was his reaction to the Leo Carlsson offer sheet? Navigating the new NHL landscape (18:25)

Two sides avoid arb

That's a big development for the 18-year old.

New Winnipeg Jets defenceman Mario Ferraro joined the Illegal Curve Hockey Show to discuss his experience as an unrestricted free agent, why he chose to sign with Winnipeg, what he learned about the organization during the process, his thoughts on the Jets' defence, breaking into the NHL alongside Brett Burns, winning a World Championship with Gabriel Vilardi and Cole Perfetti, his durability, offseason plans, the evolving NHL, and even his YouTube channel, The Youngest of Plugs.

Topics:

1. What was the process like being a UFA? (:32)
2. What did his July 1st look like? (2:59)
3. How did he come to know that the organization treats players well? (5:11)
4. Assessing the Jets defence (6:34)
5. What was it like to break into the league with Brett Burns? (8:39)
6. Winning a World Championship with Vilardi/Perfetti, guys he knows on team (12:40)
7. His consistency of being available (15:27)
8. Summer plans (17:27)
9. The "new" NHL  (19:47)
10. The Youngest of Plugs, his YouTube channel (21:40)
11. Being relied upon by his team when shorthanded (23:38)

We wrapped up the final day of Development Camp with a chat with Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff who spoke about the state of his hockey team, the prospects in the system, free agency, Connor Hellebuyck, Shane Doan and more.

Topics:

1. Reflections on Free Agency
2. Any awkwardness dealing with Ray Petkau (agent for Skinner & Hellebuyck)? (:32)
3. What does Wade Flaherty do to get the most out of goalies? (1:47)
4. How much do they lean on Flaherty when bringing goalies in? (2:38)
5. What are areas where they still need to work on? (3:04)
6. What is his to-do list left for free agency? (4:03)
7. What is the plan in goal for the Jets? (5:15)
8. Having the Jets identity known as taking care of their players (5:59)
9. What's the latest on the Connor Hellebuyck front? (7:04)
10. Have other core pieces reached out regarding the "plan to win"? (7:13)
11. What stood out about Viggo Björck this week? (7:30)
12. Does bringing in Skinner impact the conversations about Hellebuyck? (8:07)
13. Did they have any interest in Mavrik Bourque? (8:40)
14. Is Viggo Björck a centre? (9:07)
15. Not bringing in a lot of veteran depth guys = more opportunities (9:49)
16. Was this a unique free agency period? (10:34)
17. The legacy of Jonathan Toews on this organization (11:37)
18. Insight into Shane Doan being brought into the fold? (12:44)
19. Adam Lowry looking to bounce back (13:01)
20. Cole Perfetti's next contract (14:29)
21. Thoughts on the prospects this week (15:10)

Viggo-mania continues to grip Winnipeg after the first-rounder (8th overall) from last weekend ends his first Jets Development Camp. He reflected on his first week in his new hockey home, seeing the passion of the fans, being seen as a centre and more.

Topics:

1. Is this one of his favourite week's of the year?
2. Importance this week of the off ice messaging (:39)
3. What are some off ice things they've done for team building? (1:14)
4. What's a characterisitc of this group that makes them stand out? (1:55)
5. What's it like getting to know Viggo Björck? (2:56)
6. Reinforcing message to players about on ice expectations (3:39)
7. Getting the kids familiar with Winnipeg (4:20)
8. Kids from CHL adding time in NCAA (4:44)
9. Prospects joining the Moose (5:22)
10. How has Brayden Yager's game developed? (5:51)
11. What's he watching for in the scrimmage tomorrow? (6:24)
12. Graduating prospects to the NHL (7:04)
13. Passion of the fanbase (7:58)
14. Getting to know the free agent camp invitees (8:41)
15. Empowering for players to have to get themselves over the line (9:20)

The smile hasn't left the face of Jets third-round pick Samuel Hrenak since Winnipeg selected him in the 2026 NHL Draft this past Saturday, and he's still beaming at Development Camp. We caught up with him after today's skate to discuss the whirlwind since the Draft in Buffalo, what made his conversation with Moose goalie coach Drew MacIntyre so meaningful, reaction to his being drafted from his family in Slovakia, and more.

Last night the Jets announced they had signed defenceman Mario Ferraro to a three-year contract. The left-shot defender has spent his entire NHL career with the Sharks organization. We caught up with him today to get insight into his decision to choose Winnipeg, his style of game and more.

Fresh off signing a two-year deal with the Jets we heard from Edmonton-born netminder Stuart Skinner about his decision to sign.

In the seventh round of the 2026 NHL Draft, the Jets used the first of their two picks on Alofa Tunoa Ta’amu, a big-bodied defensive defenceman who plays for the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings. “Noa,” as he is known, spoke in Winnipeg today for the first time as a drafted prospect, discussing becoming the first player of Samoan heritage ever selected in the NHL Draft, his style of play, becoming a Canadian citizen, and more.

Jets prospects stayed off the ice today for training purposes, but we still had a chance to catch up with several of them, including first-round pick (8th overall) Viggo Björck. He discussed being drafted by Winnipeg, joining an organization with so many fellow Swedes, the possibility of playing in the NHL next season, and more.

Jets Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Hillier discusses the team's picks following the 2026 NHL Draft in Buffalo.

Topics:

1. Picking two goalies in the Draft.
2. Picking Zach Wooten and Landon Hafele from Green Bay (1:28)
   3) Selecting big Dman Alofa Tunoa Ta’amu (3:02)
3. Seeing more late bloomers (3:55)
4. Scouting report on Alexandre Taillefer (4:51)
5. Thoughts on first rounder Viggo Björck (5:38)
6. Viggo Björck ability to come out of corner with the puck (7:34)
7. Is Viggo Björck ready now for the NHL? (8:50)
8. Themes in the players they drafted (10:01)

Today, we learned that the Jets would be holding a closed (except to media and special guests) announcement at the Jonathan Toews Sportsplex which sure seemed to confirm the report that he would be retiring. Shortly thereafter Darren Dreger, along with Ken Wiebe/Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press all confirmed that it is indeed for him to announce his retirement from hockey.

*math is hard. 16-year career.

Shane Malloy of Hockey Prospect Radio joined us on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show to discuss the 2026 NHL Draft and what options could be available to the Winnipeg Jets with the 8th overall pick.

Topics:

1. General sense on the 2026 Draft class.
2. What can he say about Viggo Björck (1:19)
3. What would a team be getting in Ethan Belchetz (3:20)
4. What's his perspective on Daxon Rudolph (5:40)
5. Why would Tynan Lawrence be a good pick 8th overall? (6:56)
6. Thoughts on Manitoba product Carson Carels (9:20)
7. Alberts Šmits as potentially most NHL ready draft pick (10:40)
8. Prospect timelines getting to the NHL (13:54)
9. Why is he high on Alexander Command? (16:29)
10. What is his assessment of Malte Gustafsson? (22:48)
11. What stands out to him about Ryan Lin? (25:04)
12. CHL players going to college before turning pro (29:30)

TSN’s Director of Scouting Craig Button shared his insight on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show, ahead of next month’s Draft with some thoughts on players Winnipeg could draft with the eighth overall pick. He also shared thoughts about whether they might trade it to fill an immediate need on this hockey club. Plenty of good insight from the affable analyst.

Topics:

1. How deep is the 1st round? (:25)
2. Carson Carels/move to UND (3:00)
3. Viggo Björck (8:34)
4. If Jets should trade 8th overall pick (11:21)
5. Daxon Rudolph (15:41)
6. Alberts Šmits (17:54)
7. Diamonds in the rough (20:05)
8. Timelines for prospects (23:26)

Jets prospect Brayden Yager had a busy 2025-26 season, playing 68 games for the Manitoba Moose and recording 10 goals and 20 assists. The Saskatoon product also made his NHL debut with the Winnipeg Jets, appearing in three games.

Yager also got his first taste of pro playoff hockey, helping Manitoba to a first-round series win over the Milwaukee Admirals before the Moose were eliminated by the Grand Rapids Griffins. He finished the post-season with four assists in seven games.

He joined us on Saturday’s Illegal Curve Hockey Show to reflect on his first season as a professional hockey player.

Topics:

1. Reflections on his first season.
2. Playing in his first NHL game (1:53)
3. Difference in NHL vs AHL/what he learned (3:36)
4. Lambert also being a Sasky kid (5:41)
5. What he learned from the Moose veterans (6:04)
6. What his summer schedule of training looks like? (8:20)
7. What was it like playing in the AHL playoffs? (11:20)
8. Balancing need to get stronger but need to maintain speed (13:54)
9. Connecting with fellow prospect Colby Barlow (16:07)
10. What moment stood out in his first year as a pro? (17:58)
11. Doing the Jager Bomb Cards with his brother Connor (20:10)