Murat Ates

Winnipeg

Winnipeg Jets Beat Writer at The Athletic

#NHLJets at @TheAthleticNHL | values: appreciation. kindness. respect | 2x defending The Athletic fantasy hockey champion | 🇨🇦

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Articles

Jets' Stanley Cup window, a Byfuglien replacement and Logan Stanley: Mailbag, part 1

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Murat Ates |Murat Ateş

Winnipeg's Stanley Cup-winning window is open. It has to be, given the Presidents' Trophy winners' heavy veteran investment. But how long will it last? And what has to go right to keep Winnipeg on the winning track? Our June mailbag focuses on the Jets' urgency - the best way to keep the Cup contention window open, Winnipeg's path to second-line centres and big, mobile defencemen, a thought on aging curves, Logan Stanley, Dustin Byfuglien, Elias Salomonsson and more.
Which NHL teams should be interested in Nikolaj Ehlers in free agency?

3 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Shayna Goldman |Murat Ates |Murat Ateş

Nikolaj Ehlers is closing in on unrestricted free agency after 10 seasons with the Winnipeg Jets. Ehlers, 29, has scored 520 points in 674 regular-season games. He's averaged 15:48 per game over the course of his last three seasons, prompting frequent discussion about his playing time - most of it online, some between Ehlers and multiple head coaches.
Five lessons the Winnipeg Jets can learn from the Stanley Cup finalists

4 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Murat Ates |Murat Ateş

The NHL likes to overreact to teams that have success. But the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers' Stanley Cup Final rematch gives us a chance to dig deeper into what's worked for the two teams. It goes much deeper than drafting Connor McDavid or having an advantageous state tax - and those advantages, while real, often obscure what's led to Edmonton's and Florida's success. Let's get right into it, then. What can Winnipeg learn from the two best teams in the Stanley Cup playoffs? 1.
What would it take to put the Winnipeg Jets over the top? 5 potential paths

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Murat Ates |Murat Ateş

The Winnipeg Jets' season was spectacular but it ended in Round 2. The Jets won the Presidents' Trophy and have finalists for the top goaltender, most valuable player, coach of the year and GM of the year awards. They are a good hockey team and should remain one, with or without Nikolaj Ehlers, but there is also an enormous question facing them in the years ahead. How do the Winnipeg Jets get over the top?
Submit your questions for Murat Ates' Winnipeg Jets offseason mailbag

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Murat Ates |Murat Ateş
Get clarity on Nikolaj Ehlers, seek term with RFAs

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Murat Ates |Murat Ateş

The Winnipeg Jets begin the 2025 offseason with a high-profile, homegrown UFA to sign - or an abundance of cap room to go shopping with. Once it has Nikolaj Ehlers' future sorted out, it has Dylan Samberg and Gabriel Vilardi's long-term futures to prioritize. But what next? In what order? How much cap space do the Presidents' Trophy-winning Jets have to work with - and how do Kyle Connor, Adam Lowry, and Winnipeg's other 2026-27 free agents impact what the Jets do this summer?
Who stays and who goes this offseason?

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Murat Ates |Murat Ateş

Nikolaj Ehlers' Jets future is in jeopardy, but GM Kevin Cheveldayoff says he met with Ehlers' agent, Andre Rufener, for two hours on Monday. That such a meeting took place is a positive sign toward an Ehlers extension - they did not do the same with Brenden Dillon or Nate Schmidt's representation at this time last year - although it's clear the Jets are also preparing themselves for the possibility of an Ehlers departure.
Contracts, charters and cracked ribs

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Murat Ates |Murat Ateş

Josh Morrissey spent part of his Game 6 warmup fighting back tears, in awe of the man he called his best friend. Morrissey knew more about what Mark Scheifele was going through behind the scenes than most people did. The suddenness of Brad Scheifele's death was a surprise, but Mark Scheifele had shared with Morrissey that his dad had been ill. Brad Scheifele was familiar to Morrissey - someone he'd gotten to know on Jets dad's trips and on golf courses through his friendship with Mark.
The Jets deserve praise, but must keep pushing forward this offseason

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Murat Ates |Murat Ateş

The Winnipeg Jets won the Presidents' Trophy while setting a franchise record for most points in a season. They did not make it to the Western Conference final. Their offseason begins where those two facts intersect. There are decisions for the team and players to make this offseason that will have far-reaching impacts. Nikolaj Ehlers' uncertain UFA future is the most urgent, while Dylan Samberg and Gabriel Vilardi's next contracts will help determine Winnipeg's ability to keep the momentum going.
Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets dealt devastating loss but meet it with courage and heart

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Murat Ates |Murat Ateş

DALLAS - Mark Scheifele stepped out of the penalty box and into the arms of his teammates. Game 6 couldn't have ended worse for the Winnipeg Jets but there they were, waiting to hug him, even after the series-ending handshake line had begun. Scheifele played Game 6 against the Dallas Stars for his father, Brad, who died overnight Friday, and for his teammates, whose hearts broke for him once when they heard the news and again when Thomas Harley scored in overtime for a 2-1 win.