<a href='https://www.nhl.com/jets/' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>The Winnipeg Jets</a> will have to prepare for a very hectic summer, as some of their cornerstone players become free agents, causing huge headaches. The <a href='https://www.nhl.com/standings/2025-01-27/wildcard' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Winnipeg Jets are one of the NHL's top teams this season</a>, featuring the league's best goaltender and one of the league's most skilled rosters. With Stanley Cup hopes within reach, there is pressure to take advantage of this championship-level roster. But the roster hangs in the balance on a precarious future with some contract issues hanging in the balance. While cornerstones Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, and Josh Morrissey are locked up tight, Winnipeg's roster security is in the balance. A deluge of soon-to-be free agents are set to rebuild the roster after this season, and big decisions are in the balance. <h3>The Jets have five unrestricted free agents set to hit the market</h3> Five unrestricted free agents, Nikolaj Ehlers, Alex Iafallo, Mason Appleton, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Neal Pionk, play a gargantuan role in the Jets' roster. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/BudsandPucks/status/1839701709267808539'> </a></blockquote></div> <a href='https://www.nhl.com/jets/player/nikolaj-ehlers-8477940' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Ehlers</a>, a 20+ goal scorer every year, is a building block player. With his value so high, he might be able to command a huge payday that Winnipeg can't match. Iafallo, Appleton, and Namestnikov are good depth players, all of whom are posting 15+ points this season. <a href='https://www.nhl.com/jets/player/neal-pionk-8480145' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Pionk</a>, however, is a great defender, with seven goals and 32 points in 51 games. His excellent play puts him in a position to be at the center of a huge raise, pricing him out of Winnipeg in the process. <div align='center' class='pl20 pr20'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/HockeyDaily365/status/1882295628593815700'> </a></blockquote></div> <h3>Gabe Vilardi is also a free agent</h3> And then there is restricted free agent Gabe Vilardi, a key player with back-to-back 20+ goal seasons since the Jets signed him. His estimated raise is just one part of Winnipeg's balancing act. With all these building block pieces probably in the mix, how the Jets are going to navigate this summer is what will determine their long-term contender status.