Scott Arniel was asked on Sunday, after the Winnipeg Jets lost 7-0 in Carolina for a ninth consecutive defeat, whether he was concerned about his job.
“Not in my mind,” Arniel said. “My job is to get these players ready to go, and I’ve just got to keep doing my job. I’m telling them to keep doing their jobs.”
He also said the players “have to also take some responsibility.”
Former Mike Commodore had been waiting for an opening like that for about two years.
“Finally time for that arrogant douchebag Arniel to #PackHisSh*t,” the former NHL defenseman wrote.
The Jets’ nine-game skid:
| Category | Total |
|---|---|
| Record | 0-7-2 |
| Goals for | 16 |
| Goals against | 37 |
Is Scott Arniel going to be fired?
That decision rests with Kevin Cheveldayoff, and the coach made clear he isn’t the one making it. Asked whether his players were still listening to him, Arniel declined to answer directly.
“That’s your decision to make on that call,” he said.
Captain Adam Lowry was less evasive about where this is heading.
“If it goes on, there’s gonna be changes for sure,” Lowry said. “If you don’t start winning, you gotta find the answers somewhere.”
Mike Commodore on Arniel
Commodore’s objection is worth reading with some context attached, because it isn’t neutral analysis. He played under Arniel in Columbus in 2011, spent a chunk of that season as a healthy scratch despite being one of the club’s highest-paid players, demanded a trade, and was eventually waived. He went after the appointment within days of Arniel being hired in Winnipeg in May 2024, long before there was any evidence either way.
“Massive mistake by the Jets. Scott Arniel is a loser. He’s been a loser his entire career. Got a chance years ago, his arrogance ruined everything,” Commodore wrote at the time, before a closing line too crude to print.
What has changed is that the results now support him. Winnipeg won the Presidents’ Trophy under Arniel in 2024-25 with 56 wins, and currently sit seventh in the Central Division at 4-8-3, having been outscored 37-16 during the skid. They haven’t won since beating Minnesota on October 13.
The road trip ends in Montreal on Tuesday.
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