Winnipeg Dealing With More Injuries On The Blue Line

It’s been nearly a week since Winnipeg Jets’ defenseman Ville Heinola’s season was put in question due to an infection in his surgically repaired ankle. It doesn’t appear there’s any room for optimism in Manitoba after today’s meeting between head coach Scott Arniel and the press.

Arniel indicated that Heinola underwent surgery to remove the infection from his ankle and the team would have a clearer picture of his recovery timeline shortly. The team’s bench boss also shared that defenseman Logan Stanley “tweaked” something in yesterday’s preseason contest against the Edmonton Oilers and he will need testing over the next few days. Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press reports there is worry within the Jets organization that Stanley will be out longer than day-to-day.

It would be a major three-month swing for Winnipeg’s blue line if Stanley can’t start the season on time. The team hoped Heinola and Stanley could fill valuable spots on the back end after losing Nate Schmidt and Brenden Dillon this offseason through a buyout and free agency, respectively. Now, it appears depth defensemen Dylan Coghlan and Haydn Fleury will carry more responsibility than expected to start the year.

This could create major challenges for a Jets organization that has largely relied on their defense to win games over the last two years. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Winnipeg’s offense has finished 21st and 15th in goals per game, respectively, and 21st and 17th in shots compared to the rest of the league. They’ve had much better results on the flip side by finishing 10th and 1st in goals against per game over that same span and finishing 10th and 11th in shots against.

If the Jets are put into a situation early in the year where Coghlan and Fleury are expected to maintain even bottom-pairing minutes these results shouldn’t be expected to last. Winnipeg does have the benefit of deploying Connor Hellebuyck between the pipes but a weak defense has impacted even his performance in the past.

The Jets may need to pivot relatively soon to one of the existing free-agent options to hold their blue line steady or pick up one of the inevitable blue liners to hit the waiver wire over the next few days. The team will have a clearer picture of what they’re dealing with over the next couple of days and it could impact their decision-making leading into the start of the regular season.