9:38 a.m.: The Jets made Ford’s recall and Barron’s IR placement official with a team announcement.
9:05 a.m.: Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports Thursday that the Jets are set to recall forward Parker Ford from AHL Manitoba. He takes up the Jets’ lone roster spot, which they opened by placing forward Morgan Barron on injured reserve yesterday, per PuckPedia.
Winnipeg signed Ford as an undrafted free agent out of Providence College near the end of the 2022-23 season. He was coming off a strong senior season for the Friars and has produced well in a top-nine role with the Moose in the AHL, posting 31 goals and 62 points in 116 games.
The 24-year-old Ford will make his NHL debut tonight if he plays against the Bruins, but today doesn’t mark his first recall. The Jets summoned him on an emergency recall for their final game of the 2023-24 regular season, also amid an injury to Barron, but he served as a scratch. He was returned to Manitoba the following day. This season, the undersized but feisty center/right-winger is the only double-digit goal scorer on an offensively anemic Moose squad, posting 11 goals and six assists for 17 points in 30 games with 30 PIMs and a minus-three rating.
Ford isn’t a lock to play against his hometown Bruins. The Jets still have 13 healthy forwards on the active roster without him, including fellow AHL call-up Brad Lambert, who’s likely due for a game after sitting out Tuesday’s 4-1 trouncing of the Canadiens. Ford, a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights, does not require waivers this season.
There’s no word on what’s keeping Barron out of the lineup. The 26-year-old fourth-liner logged 12:10 of ice time against the Habs and didn’t appear to miss any action. The IR placement rules him out of the Jets’ next three games, though, and he won’t be eligible to return until Feb. 7 against the Islanders. He’s been limited to five goals and eight points in 52 games this season, although his usual unit with Rasmus Kupari and Alex Iafallo has been sterling defensively, allowing 1.91 expected goals against per 60 minutes, according to MoneyPuck.