# 1985–86 Winnipeg Jets season

The 1985–86 Winnipeg Jets season was the 14th season of the Winnipeg Jets, their seventh season in the National Hockey League. General Manager John Ferguson replaced coach Barry Long late in the season and guided the club on an interim basis to a 7–6–1 record. The Jets placed third in the Smythe, and despite their dismal 26–47–7 record, qualified for the playoffs only to lose to the Calgary Flames in the first round.

## Offseason

After a record breaking 1984–85 season, in which the Jets posted 43–27–10 record, earning 96 points, the team had a very quiet off-season. Winnipeg participated in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft on June 15, 1985, and with their first round pick, 18th overall, the Jets selected Ryan Stewart from the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL. Stewart had 33 goals and 70 points in 54 games with the Blazers during the 1984–85 season. Some other notable selections by the Jets were goaltender Daniel Berthiaume in the third round, defenseman Fredrik Olausson in the fourth round and forward Danton Cole in the sixth round.
On June 25, 1985, the Jets signed team captain Dale Hawerchuk to an eight-year, $3.2 million contract. Hawerchuk, who was the first overall draft pick by Winnipeg in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft was coming off a 53-goal and 130 point season with the club in the 1984–85 season. The club signed undrafted free agent goaltender Pokey Reddick on September 25, 1985. Reddick spent the 1984–85 season with the Brandon Wheat Kings, going 14-30-1 with a 5.64 GAA in 47 games.

## Regular season

The only thing to keep fan interest near the end of the season was the three-way turtle derby between the Jets, Vancouver Canucks, and Los Angeles Kings for the final two playoff spots in the Smythe Division, since the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames were well ahead of them and had already locked up the top two spots in the division. After a dreadful February in which they went 3-8-1 to drop to 19th overall in the NHL (ahead of only Vancouver and a woeful Detroit squad), the Jets went 5-4-1 in their last ten to finish tied with Vancouver for third place in the Smythe with 59 points, while Los Angeles was out with 54. But since the Jets had more wins than the Canucks (26 to 23), Winnipeg won the tiebreaker and claimed third place in the Smythe, drawing the Calgary Flames in the first-round thus avoiding a matchup with the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion and Presidents Trophy winning Edmonton Oilers.

### Final standings

Smythe Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Edmonton Oilers | 80 | 56 | 17 | 7 | 426 | 310 | 119 |
| Calgary Flames | 80 | 40 | 31 | 9 | 354 | 315 | 89 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 80 | 26 | 47 | 7 | 295 | 372 | 59 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 80 | 23 | 44 | 13 | 282 | 333 | 59 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 23 | 49 | 8 | 284 | 389 | 54 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

### Record vs. opponents

Smythe Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Smythe Division
1985–86 NHL records
Team
CGY
EDM
LAK
VAN
WIN
Total
Calgary
—1−6−17−14−2−26−1−118−10−4
Edmonton
6−1−1—6−0−27−0−16−225−3−4
Los Angeles
1−70−6−2—1−5−25−2−17−20−5
Vancouver
2−4−20−7−15−1−2—3−3−210−15−7
Winnipeg
1−6−12−62−5−13−3−2—8−20−4
Vs. Norris Division
1985–86 NHL records
Team
CHI
DET
MIN
STL
TOR
Total
Calgary
1−22−0−10−2−11−22−16−7−2
Edmonton
3−03−02−11−1−12−111−3−1
Los Angeles
0−1−21−22−11−1−12−16−6−3
Vancouver
0−33−02−10−32−0−17−7−1
Winnipeg
1−23−02−11−21−1−18−6−1
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Adams Division
1985–86 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
HFD
MTL
QUE
Total
Calgary
1−21−1−11−21−21−25−9−1
Edmonton
2−11−23−03−02−111−4−0
Los Angeles
0−32−11−21−21−25−10−0
Vancouver
0−1−21−20−30−31−1−12−10−3
Winnipeg
0−31−21−21−22−15−10−0
Vs. Patrick Division
1985–86 NHL records
Team
NJD
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WSH
Total
Calgary
2−0−11−1−12−11−22−13−011−5−2
Edmonton
3−01−0−21−22−12−10−39−7−2
Los Angeles
1−21−21−20−31−21−25−13−0
Vancouver
1−21−1−10−31−21−20−2−14−12−2
Winnipeg
1−20−2−11−21−21−21−1−15−11−2 :

## Schedule and results

| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record | Record |
| 1 | L | October 10, 1985 | 3–4 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) | 0–1–0 | 17,498 |
| 2 | L | October 11, 1985 | 3–8 | @ Calgary Flames (1985–86) | 0–2–0 | 16,762 |
| 3 | L | October 13, 1985 | 2–5 | Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) | 0–3–0 | 14,374 |
| 4 | W | October 16, 1985 | 4–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) | 1–3–0 | 14,766 |
| 5 | W | October 19, 1985 | 4–3 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) | 2–3–0 | 15,009 |
| 6 | W | October 20, 1985 | 8–5 | Calgary Flames (1985–86) | 3–3–0 | 15,527 |
| 7 | W | October 23, 1985 | 9–3 | Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) | 4–3–0 | 13,269 |
| 8 | T | October 25, 1985 | 7–7 OT | Washington Capitals (1985–86) | 4–3–1 | 12,472 |
| 9 | W | October 27, 1985 | 5–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) | 5–3–1 | 11,913 |
| 10 | L | October 30, 1985 | 3–7 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) | 5–4–1 | 17,243 |
| 11 | W | November 2, 1985 | 3–1 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) | 6–4–1 | 13,026 |
| 12 | L | November 3, 1985 | 3–4 OT | St. Louis Blues (1985–86) | 6–5–1 | 11,376 |
| 13 | L | November 6, 1985 | 3–7 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) | 6–6–1 | 10,828 |
| 14 | L | November 8, 1985 | 3–7 | New York Rangers (1985–86) | 6–7–1 | 15,296 |
| 15 | L | November 9, 1985 | 2–7 | Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) | 6–8–1 | 11,324 |
| 16 | T | November 13, 1985 | 3–3 OT | @ Calgary Flames (1985–86) | 6–8–2 | 16,762 |
| 17 | W | November 15, 1985 | 5–3 | New Jersey Devils (1985–86) | 7–8–2 | 11,348 |
| 18 | L | November 17, 1985 | 4–5 | Calgary Flames (1985–86) | 7–9–2 | 14,155 |
| 19 | W | November 20, 1985 | 3–1 | St. Louis Blues (1985–86) | 8–9–2 | 10,494 |
| 20 | L | November 22, 1985 | 1–8 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) | 8–10–2 | 10,338 |
| 21 | L | November 23, 1985 | 1–8 | @ Hartford Whalers (1985–86) | 8–11–2 | 11,957 |
| 22 | L | November 26, 1985 | 3–4 | @ New Jersey Devils (1985–86) | 8–12–2 | 9,835 |
| 23 | L | November 27, 1985 | 1–6 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) | 8–13–2 | 17,211 |
| 24 | L | November 29, 1985 | 1–4 | New York Islanders (1985–86) | 8–14–2 | 15,426 |
| 25 | W | December 1, 1985 | 2–1 | Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) | 9–14–2 | 13,528 |
| 26 | T | December 3, 1985 | 4–4 OT | @ New York Islanders (1985–86) | 9–14–3 | 15,362 |
| 27 | L | December 4, 1985 | 4–7 | @ New York Rangers (1985–86) | 9–15–3 | 16,872 |
| 28 | L | December 7, 1985 | 2–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) | 9–16–3 | 13,095 |
| 29 | L | December 8, 1985 | 1–4 | Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) | 9–17–3 | 11,435 |
| 30 | W | December 11, 1985 | 6–3 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) | 10–17–3 | 8,584 |
| 31 | L | December 13, 1985 | 3–6 | Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) | 10–18–3 | 15,447 |
| 32 | T | December 15, 1985 | 3–3 OT | Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) | 10–18–4 | 14,438 |
| 33 | L | December 17, 1985 | 6–8 | @ St. Louis Blues (1985–86) | 10–19–4 | 8,865 |
| 34 | L | December 18, 1985 | 4–5 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) | 10–20–4 | 16,363 |
| 35 | W | December 20, 1985 | 7–4 | Washington Capitals (1985–86) | 11–20–4 | 14,686 |
| 36 | W | December 22, 1985 | 7–5 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) | 12–20–4 | 17,498 |
| 37 | L | December 23, 1985 | 3–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) | 12–21–4 | 10,406 |
| 38 | L | December 26, 1985 | 5–6 | Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) | 12–22–4 | 13,998 |
| 39 | L | December 28, 1985 | 4–5 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) | 12–23–4 | 9,969 |
| 40 | L | December 30, 1985 | 2–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) | 12–24–4 | 8,577 |
| 41 | L | January 3, 1986 | 3–7 | Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) | 12–25–4 | 15,461 |
| 42 | W | January 5, 1986 | 4–0 | Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) | 13–25–4 | 11,860 |
| 43 | T | January 7, 1986 | 2–2 OT | Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) | 13–25–5 | 10,879 |
| 44 | L | January 11, 1986 | 4–8 | @ Boston Bruins (1985–86) | 13–26–5 | 13,124 |
| 45 | W | January 14, 1986 | 5–4 | @ Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) | 14–26–5 | 13,848 |
| 46 | L | January 15, 1986 | 0–4 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) | 14–27–5 | 16,135 |
| 47 | W | January 17, 1986 | 5–1 | Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) | 15–27–5 | 15,577 |
| 48 | L | January 19, 1986 | 1–2 | Boston Bruins (1985–86) | 15–28–5 | 15,577 |
| 49 | L | January 22, 1986 | 3–6 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) | 15–29–5 | 11,621 |
| 50 | L | January 23, 1986 | 5–7 | @ Boston Bruins (1985–86) | 15–30–5 | 10,191 |
| 51 | L | January 25, 1986 | 2–7 | @ Hartford Whalers (1985–86) | 15–31–5 | 12,471 |
| 52 | W | January 29, 1986 | 5–3 | Buffalo Sabres (1985–86) | 16–31–5 | 12,755 |
| 53 | L | February 1, 1986 | 6–9 | Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) | 16–32–5 | 12,877 |
| 54 | W | February 2, 1986 | 6–3 | Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) | 17–32–5 | 12,540 |
| 55 | L | February 7, 1986 | 2–5 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) | 17–33–5 | 11,438 |
| 56 | T | February 9, 1986 | 3–3 OT | @ Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) | 17–33–6 | 11,353 |
| 57 | L | February 12, 1986 | 2–4 | @ Calgary Flames (1985–86) | 17–34–6 | 16,762 |
| 58 | W | February 14, 1986 | 5–4 | Hartford Whalers (1985–86) | 18–34–6 | 14,620 |
| 59 | L | February 17, 1986 | 4–8 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1985–86) | 18–35–6 | 17,211 |
| 60 | L | February 19, 1986 | 2–5 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) | 18–36–6 | 12,558 |
| 61 | L | February 21, 1986 | 2–5 | Chicago Black Hawks (1985–86) | 18–37–6 | 13,317 |
| 62 | W | February 23, 1986 | 4–2 | Quebec Nordiques (1985–86) | 19–37–6 | 14,354 |
| 63 | L | February 26, 1986 | 2–8 | Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) | 19–38–6 | 14,047 |
| 64 | L | February 28, 1986 | 3–6 | New York Islanders (1985–86) | 19–39–6 | 14,614 |
| 65 | L | March 2, 1986 | 4–6 | @ New Jersey Devils (1985–86) | 19–40–6 | 10,262 |
| 66 | L | March 3, 1986 | 1–6 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1985–86) | 19–41–6 | 15,349 |
| 67 | W | March 5, 1986 | 4–1 | New York Rangers (1985–86) | 20–41–6 | 13,136 |
| 68 | W | March 8, 1986 | 4–2 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1985–86) | 21–41–6 | 14,030 |
| 69 | W | March 9, 1986 | 5–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1985–86) | 22–41–6 | 15,128 |
| 70 | L | March 12, 1986 | 5–8 | Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) | 22–42–6 | 13,335 |
| 71 | W | March 16, 1986 | 6–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1985–86) | 23–42–6 | 13,570 |
| 72 | L | March 18, 1986 | 2–6 | @ Edmonton Oilers (1985–86) | 23–43–6 | 17,498 |
| 73 | W | March 19, 1986 | 6–4 | Montreal Canadiens (1985–86) | 24–43–6 | 14,135 |
| 74 | L | March 21, 1986 | 3–5 | @ Washington Capitals (1985–86) | 24–44–6 | 18,130 |
| 75 | L | March 23, 1986 | 4–7 | Calgary Flames (1985–86) | 24–45–6 | 13,254 |
| 76 | W | March 24, 1986 | 8–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1985–86) | 25–45–6 | 13,837 |
| 77 | L | March 28, 1986 | 3–6 | @ Calgary Flames (1985–86) | 25–46–6 | 16,762 |
| 78 | W | March 31, 1986 | 5–2 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) | 26–46–6 | 9,170 |
| 79 | T | April 2, 1986 | 4–4 OT | @ Los Angeles Kings (1985–86) | 26–46–7 | 8,843 |
| 80 | L | April 6, 1986 | 4–6 | Calgary Flames (1985–86) | 26–47–7 | 15,487 |

## Playoffs

The Jets lost the Division Semi-finals in three-straight against the Calgary Flames.

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Dale Hawerchuk | C | 80 | 46 | 59 | 105 | 44 | -27 | 18 | 2 | 2 |
| Laurie Boschman | C | 77 | 27 | 42 | 69 | 241 | -29 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Thomas Steen | C | 78 | 17 | 47 | 64 | 76 | -29 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Brian Mullen | RW | 79 | 28 | 34 | 62 | 38 | -17 | 13 | 0 | 3 |
| Paul MacLean | RW | 69 | 27 | 29 | 56 | 74 | -14 | 11 | 0 | 2 |
| Perry Turnbull | C | 80 | 20 | 31 | 51 | 183 | -18 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| Randy Carlyle | D | 68 | 16 | 33 | 49 | 93 | -12 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Ray Neufeld | RW | 60 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 62 | -17 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| Dave Ellett | D | 80 | 15 | 31 | 46 | 96 | -38 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Scott Arniel | LW | 80 | 18 | 25 | 43 | 40 | -8 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Smail | LW | 73 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 32 | -10 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Mario Marois | D | 56 | 4 | 28 | 32 | 110 | -22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Babych | D | 19 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 14 | -1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Nill | RW | 61 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 75 | -6 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tim Watters | D | 56 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 97 | -10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Wilson | C | 54 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 16 | -2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Bill Derlago | C | 27 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 6 | -13 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bengt Lundholm | LW | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 | -4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Robert Picard | D | 20 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 17 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Andrew McBain | RW | 28 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 17 | -11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Silk | RW | 32 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 63 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bobby Dollas | D | 46 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 66 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Kyte | D | 71 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 126 | -21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Anssi Melametsa | RW | 27 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Hayward | G | 52 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Berry | D | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Murray Eaves | C | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Stewart | C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Bouchard | G | 32 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wade Campbell | D | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 | -12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan McFall | D | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Pooley | C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marc Behrend | G | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Douris | RW | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Martin | LW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Taglianetti | D | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Brian Hayward | 2721 | 52 | 13 | 28 | 5 | 217 | 4.79 | 0 | 1373 | 1156 | .842 |
| Dan Bouchard | 1696 | 32 | 11 | 14 | 2 | 107 | 3.79 | 2 | 790 | 683 | .865 |
| Marc Behrend | 422 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 41 | 5.83 | 0 | 220 | 179 | .814 |
| Team: | 4839 | 80 | 26 | 47 | 7 | 365 | 4.53 | 2 | 2383 | 2018 | .847 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Mario Marois | D | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | -2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Mullen | RW | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale Hawerchuk | C | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ray Neufeld | RW | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | -5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Thomas Steen | C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bill Derlago | C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul MacLean | RW | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Smail | LW | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Laurie Boschman | C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Ellett | D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Perry Turnbull | C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Arniel | LW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marc Behrend | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Berry | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Berthiaume | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Bouchard | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Dollas | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Hayward | G | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Kyte | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | -2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bengt Lundholm | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Nill | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Silk | RW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Taglianetti | D | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Wilson | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV | SV% |
| Marc Behrend | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 1.000 |
| Daniel Berthiaume | 68 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3.53 | 0 | 43 | 39 | .907 |
| Dan Bouchard | 40 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 7.50 | 0 | 22 | 17 | .773 |
| Brian Hayward | 68 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5.29 | 0 | 31 | 25 | .806 |
| Team: | 188 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 4.79 | 0 | 103 | 88 | .854 |
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Transactions
### Trades

| October 14, 1985 | To Quebec Nordiques7th round pick in 1986 – Mark Vermette Cash | To Winnipeg JetsDan Bouchard |
| November 21, 1985 | To Hartford WhalersDave Babych | To Winnipeg JetsRay Neufeld |
| November 27, 1985 | To Quebec NordiquesRobert Picard | To Winnipeg JetsMario Marois |
| January 31, 1986 | To Boston BruinsWade Campbell | To Winnipeg JetsBill Derlago |

### Free agents

| Player | Former Team |
| Pokey Reddick | Undrafted Free Agent |
| Dave Silk | Detroit Red Wings |
| Randy Gilhen | Hartford Whalers |

## Draft picks

The Jets selected the following players at the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, which was held at the Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto on June 15, 1985.

### NHL Amateur Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team |
| 1 | 18 | Ryan Stewart (C) | Canada | Kamloops Blazers (WHL) |
| 2 | 39 | Roger Ohman (D) | Sweden | Leksands IF (SEL) |
| 3 | 60 | Daniel Berthiaume (G) | Canada | Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) |
| 4 | 81 | Fredrik Olausson (D) | Sweden | Färjestad BK (SEL) |
| 5 | 102 | John Borrell (RW) | United States | Burnsville (MN) High School |
| 6 | 123 | Danton Cole (RW) | United States | Aurora Tigers (OJHL) |
| 7 | 144 | Brent Mowery (C) | Canada | Summerland Buckaroos (BCJHL) |
| 8 | 165 | Tom Draper (G) | Canada | University of Vermont (NCAA) |
| 9 | 186 | Neven Kardum (C) | Canada | Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School |
| 10 | 207 | Dave Quigley (G) | Canada | Université de Moncton (CIAU) |
| 11 | 228 | Chris Norton (D) | Canada | Cornell University (NCAA) |
| 12 | 249 | Anssi Melametsa (C) | Finland | HIFK Helsinki (SM-liiga) |