Lost in the general disaster that the Winnipeg Jets’ 2025-26 campaign has been and all the discussion of who they may or may not sell off at Friday’s 2026 Trade Deadline is that Mark Scheifele is on pace for a career season.
In addition, he may achieve a milestone no other Jets 2.0 player has.
Scheifele’s Prolific Production
While the soon-to-be 33 year old once again got no love from his country as he was repeatedly snubbed for a spot on Canada’s 2026 Winter Olympic team after being left off the 4 Nations Face-Off roster last year, there is no denying his skill, IQ, or key role as a play driver. The apparently-not-good-enough-for-the-Olympics Scheifele has a long and proven track record of consistent offensive production (877 points in 939-career games), but this season could end up being his best yet.
The Jets have many underperforming veterans partially responsible for their position near the bottom of the NHL standings, but their alternate captain and top centre is not one of them. After a three-point effort Tuesday versus the Chicago Blackhawks that included scoring the overtime game winner, the Jets 2.0’s first-ever draft pick has a team-leading 28 goals and 45 assists for 73 points in 60 games.
He appears to be only getting better with age, a testament at least partly to how seriously he takes fitness, nutrition, and on- and off-ice preparation. For example, throughout the Olympic break, he went to Florida to do additional work with former NHL star and now skills coach Adam Oates.
“Age is just a number, you know what I mean,” Scheifele said recently. “A lot of players over the years have proven that. It’s about how you take care of yourself now that makes you better for the future. Every day, you’re getting your sleep, naps, recovery stuff, massage, chiro… in terms of working on your game and making sure that you’re sharp at all times.”
As you get older, the statistics show that you start to slow down. But if your hands don’t slow down, no one can stop you,” he continued. (From ‘Scheifele stays focused,’ Winnipeg Free Press, Feb. 26, 2026).
Scheifele Flirting with 100-Point Plateau
The Jets, in their 15 seasons since relocating from Atlanta, have never had a player hit triple digits in points in a season. A few have come close — Kyle Connor the closest with 97 last season — but triple digits have remained elusive.
While Dale Hawerchuk, Paul MacLean, and Teemu Selanne all recorded 100-plus points in a season for the Jets 1.0 in the high-scoring 1980s and 90s (the late, great Hawerchuk did it six times), The Jets/Thrashers are among just six active franchises to never have a player achieve this prestigious individual feat. (To save you a Google search, the Columbus Blue Jackets, Kansas City Scouts/New Jersey Devils, Vegas Golden Knights, Seattle Kraken, and Nashville Predators are the other five.)
Not only is Scheifele on pace to surpass the career-high 87 points he posted last season, he is also flirting with 100. He will need to up his production slightly — if he plays the rest of the team’s 22 games and continues his 1.216 point-per-game pace, he will end up with 97.67 — but it’s definitely within the realm of possibility.
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Scheifele’s never been one to lack motivation — whether it’s to prove Canada’s brass wrong or simply because of his belief “you always want to have the best year that you can” — so his chase will be interesting to watch. Whether he hits 100 or falls short, his play has been a bright spot in a dark season and bodes well for the Jets’ future should they be able to do a quick retool and get back to competitiveness in 2026-27.
