The Winnipeg Jets announced today that they have placed defenseman Neal Pionk on injured reserve. In a corresponding move, they recalled defenseman Elias Salomonsson from their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. Pionk’s IR placement is retroactive to Jan. 13.
Pionk was labelled as week-to-week with an undisclosed injury today. Pionk missed the Jets’ game last Friday with a foot injury, but there is no word at this time if Pionk’s injury news today is related to that ailment.
Losing Pionk on a week-to-week basis is a significant blow to the Jets’ hopes of climbing out of the lower rungs of the NHL standings. He’s Winnipeg’s No. 2 defenseman in terms of ice time, averaging 22:47 per game. That includes 2:48 time on ice per game on the penalty kill, the highest among Jets blueliners. He also skates 1:35 per game on the power play, quarterbacking their second unit.
As the Jets as a whole have experienced a significant year-over-year downturn, Pionk’s production has suffered. He scored 10 goals, 39 points in 2024-25 but has just eight points in 40 games this season. But even as Pionk’s offense has declined to uncharacteristically low levels this season, the Jets are still likely to find it difficult to replace what he brings to the table.
The Jets’ recall of Salomonsson from Manitoba doesn’t signal the club’s intention to utilize the young blueliner as an exact one-to-one replacement for Pionk. Instead, he’s likely to see some of Pionk’s vacated minutes, while other Jets defensemen are also likely to see a bump in ice time.
Salomonsson , 21, was a second-round pick of the Jets at the 2022 draft, and made his North American pro debut in 2024-25 in Manitoba. He became a steady top-four force for the Moose, scoring 35 points in 78 career AHL games. Salomonsson earned his first NHL recall earlier this season, skating in a total of four games. He averaged 14:43 time-on-ice, including a little over a minute per game short-handed.