Jets Place Tyler Myers On IR

The Winnipeg Jets have placed star defenseman Tyler Myers on injured reserve today. Myers suffered a lower-body injury and has missed the past two games. It is unclear how long Myers is expected to be out, but the 4-6-1 Jets face a tough upcoming stretch on the road against the Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers before returning home to the Dallas Stars, and would rather have the big blue liner healthy.

Myers, the 2010 Calder-Trophy winner, isn’t much of an offensive threat, but is one of the best shutdown defenseman in the league. Acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in 2015 alongside Drew Stafford, Joel Armia in a package for Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian, Myers has become one of the leaders of the young Jets squad. Myers and Dustin Byfuglien give Winnipeg some of the best depth on the right side of the blue line of any team in the league.

While Myers remains sidelined, the Jets had previously called up Julian Melchiori. The young defenseman appears likely to remain on the roster as long as Myers remains on IR. While Winnipeg would undoubtedly rather have Jacob Trouba filling in, those talks still appear to be going nowhere.

To fill the roster space created by the designation, Winnipeg announced today that they have called up Nic Petan. The 2013 second-round forward played in 26 games last season and will try to work his way into the lineup and secure a spot on the team for the rest of 2016-17.