Ehlers Departs Winnipeg for Carolina: 3 Truths About His Jets Tenure

However, he was not always given the role he deserved by former head coaches Paul Maurice and Rick Bowness despite being an analytical darling and instrumental in their rise to consistent competitiveness. He never got top-line minutes, only got a top power-play role last season under first-year head coach Scott Arniel, and averaged a fairly-low career 16:26 in average ice time. Some players, especially Blake Wheeler when he was captain, seemed to be able to dictate who they played with and that often came at Ehlers’ expense.

Some have already pointed to this as potentially a big part his decision to depart, and perhaps rightfully so.

Truth 2: Ehlers Struggled With Injuries & Battled Reputation as a Playoff Choker

Jets fans had to take the bad with the good when it came to Ehlers, and the bad is our “two-fer” second truth: he struggled with injuries and in the playoffs.

After only missing 10 games over his first three seasons, he missed 110 of the Jets’ 548 regular-season games from 2018-19 through 2024-25, or 20 per cent. Ehlers hitting the shelf has been nearly a yearly tradition and he often got hurt in odd ways, like while working out or by backing into a linesman. It’s often said that the best ability is availability, and he was far from reliably available.

He also battled the narrative that he was a postseason choker. It took him 23 postseason games to score his first goal (yes, he had zero in the 2018 run to the Western Conference Final) and has just 21 points in 45-career playoff contests. However, he took a step toward shedding that reputation in this year’s playoffs by recording seven points in eight games after missing the first five (again with injury.)

Truth 3: Ehlers Rejected Winnipeg

This may not be what the Jets’ fanbase wants to hear, but Ehlers has rejected Winnipeg and deemed it not a good enough place to continue his career in. Despite general manager (GM) Kevin Cheveldayoff’s pitch to make Ehlers a “Jet for life”, he did not care about that like Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele.

We’ll never know if Ehlers ever actually considered re-signing with the Jets or about his thought process as a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA), because unlike most of his teammates, he did not do an end-of-season interview after the Jets were eliminated in mid May by the Dallas Stars. We’ll also never know if Cheveldayoff’s offer was close, equal, or better dollars-wise than Hurricanes GM Eric Tulsky’s. Ehlers will be reaching out to Jets fans in a few days with a message, but it likely won’t contain much, if anything, substantive.

It just seems Ehlers saw a better opportunity elsewhere and took it. As a UFA, he had every right to do so. Hockey is a business, as it painfully reminds from time to time.

His departure will likely lead to some fans to ask “was it him or was it us?” The answer is an unsatisfying “maybe both.”

Ehlers reportedly wanted to sign in a market with “less intensity.” What that means is anyone’s guess. Does it mean Jets fans were too intense and cared about hockey too much for his liking? Does it mean he felt too much like the centre of attention in a small city by NHL standards and would prefer some place he can blend in and be left alone? Does it mean that the local media asked tough questions at times and put hockey articles on Page 1 of the sports section instead of Page 7? If that’s indeed what it means, then fans and media will gladly plead guilty. Winnipeg lost an NHL team once and it really cares about the one it has now.

(As an aside, this author’s not sure Ehlers will get “less intensity” in North Carolina. While Raleigh is an “untraditional” hockey market, the Hurricanes have an extremely enthusiastic and passionate fanbase who know their puck very well. They’re not called “Caniacs” for nothing.)

How Jets fans choose to receive Ehlers when he returns to Canada Life Centre in a Hurricanes’ jersey is up to them. This author won’t tell them to wish him success or not, cheer during the video tribute or not, boo him when he touches the puck or not, wear his jersey to games or not. Just like Ehlers had the right to leave, paying customers have the right to feel however they want about him and express it.

While many fans will miss Ehlers, it doesn’t appear he’ll miss Winnipeg. If he liked it, he would have stayed. While his on-ice contributions will surely be tough to replace, the fourth bonus truth is that the Jets don’t need any players who don’t want to be there. They have enough who do.