It has been a rough few years for Jets defenseman Ville Heinola. Once considered one of their top prospects, frequent injuries derailed that and now that he’s waiver-blocked, even playing time is hard to come by. Accordingly, Sportsnet’s Jacob Stoller argues that the time is right to move the 23-year-old even though his value is at an all-time low. Heinola has been a frequent healthy scratch in recent weeks and has just one assist in 16 games with Winnipeg when he has played this season. With the Jets atop the standings in the West, it stands to reason that they’re going to look to add some defensive depth before next month’s trade deadline which will push Heinola further down the depth chart and possibly out of a roster spot altogether. Accordingly, perhaps it makes sense to take what they could get for him now over potentially losing him for nothing later on via waivers.
More from the Central:
- Blackhawks center Jason Dickinson will be out a little longer than originally anticipated. Head coach Anders Sorensen told reporters including Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link) that the middleman will likely be out a couple of weeks after the break due to a high left ankle sprain. After a breakout effort that saw him pot 22 goals and 35 points last season, Dickinson has been quieter offensively this year with just seven goals and nine assists through 53 games.
- The Blues could have winger Alexandre Texier back in the lineup on Saturday versus Chicago, relays NHL.com’s Lou Korac (Twitter link). He missed Thursday’s game versus Florida due to illness. It has been a bit of a quiet first year in St. Louis for Texier as he has just nine points in 27 games while averaging a career-low 12:35 per contest so far. Meanwhile, Korac adds that Tyler Tucker’s upper-body injury will keep him out of the lineup for at least one more game. The defenseman has missed the last two games after leaving early on Sunday against Utah. He has two goals and two assists in 19 NHL appearances so far.
- The Predators announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Adam Wilsby was scratched tonight versus Chicago due to an upper-body injury. He’s listed as day-to-day. The 24-year-old has impressed in his first season at the top level, logging over 18 minutes a night through his first 23 outings. Nashville has one more game before the break, that coming on Saturday so it’s possible they rest Wilsby for that one, allowing him two full weeks of recovery time.