Jets’ Logan Stanley Suspended One Game
4:30 PM: A second player has received discipline today, as Stanley is suspended one game for yesterday’s actions, per the NHL Department of Player Safety. The decision proves to be Stanley’s first supplemental discipline in the NHL.
An imposing force at 6’7″, the defenseman has really leaned into physicality to make an impact at the highest level. He has already surpassed his career high in penalty minutes, at 82, in just 40 games this season. Stanley will have to miss Tuesday’s home tilt against Vegas, but figures to return Thursday as Winnipeg hosts Edmonton in step two of a five game home stand.
10:40 AM: The NHL Department of Player Safety announced that a second player will have a hearing for actions in a game last night: Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley. More specifically, Stanley will have a hearing for roughing committed against Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk.
The incident in question occurred away from the play, near the Senators’ bench. Stanley and Tkachuk were engaged with one another and Tkachuk ended up losing his helmet in the process. After shoving Stanley, Tkachuk grabbed onto his stick, after which Stanley dropped his gloves and delivered a punch to Tkachuk’s face. In that moment, Tkachuk did not appear to be looking at Stanley when Stanley delivered the punch.
The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie wrote yesterday that the Senators were left “outraged” by the incident and its aftermath, and head coach Travis Green spoke on it after the game, saying: “You never like to see a guy get suckered in the face. It’s unfortunate, we’re lucky he came back. He’s an All-Star player. I’m sure their team wouldn’t be happy if (Kyle) Connor got suckered in the face and there was just a two-minute minor for roughing called.”
Tkachuk managed to finish the game and registered an assist, beating the Jets by a score of 4-2 and handing Winnipeg its ninth straight loss. Based on today’s announcement from the Department of Player Safety, it appears the Jets may be forced to try to end their losing streak without Stanley, as he could miss their next game (or more) with a potential suspension.
Stanley, 27, skated on the Jets’ third pairing last night. He’s been Winnipeg’s No. 5 defenseman in terms of ice time this season, averaging 16:09 per game with only sporadic usage on special teams. He has seven goals and 13 points in 40 games this season, and is playing out the final year of a two-year, $1.25MM AAV contract. Barring an extension, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Logan Stanley Set To Be Healthy Scratch For Jets
Despite a clean bill of health, Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley is expected to be a healthy scratch for Game 4 against the Dallas Stars, per Mike McIntyre of Winnipeg News.
Known for his physical presence, Stanley was injured in Game 6 of the team’s first-round matchup against the St. Louis Blues. Before his injury, he posted 42 penalty minutes in five games and had no points and a negative plus-minus to show for it. The massive 6’7” presence could give the team a physically imposing force on the back end, but his style of play may not be the best matchup against Mikko Rantanen and the Stars’ skill-heavy attack. The 26-year-old recorded one goal, 14 points, 88 hits, 76 blocked shots, and 78 penalty minutes in 63 regular-season contests this season.
As the Jets look to even the series, Haydn Fleury will remain slotted into the lineup on the team’s third defensive pairing alongside veteran Colin Miller. Fleury recorded seven assists and a minus-12 in 39 regular-season games. However, his playoff metrics have looked much better, as he’s produced a plus-two rating and chipped in two assists in five games thus far. Additionally, he has averaged 17:24 of ice time per game in the playoffs — a solid increase from his regular season average of 15:56 — showcasing a growing level of trust in the 28-year-old’s play. That figure was certainly inflated by their double-overtime victory in Game 7 of the first round. However, that opportunity provided Fleury with the platform to highlight the impact Fleury can have on the blue line, as he logged a career-high 33:02 after Josh Morrissey left in the first period with an injury.
Winnipeg coach Scott Arniel recently told media, including NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers, that Fleury provides the team with a mobile option on the back end. “Again, another skillset. He’s real mobile, he can skate out of trouble. Another guy that can be a part of that rush, a part of what we’re talking about getting after Dallas here and getting on our toes. And that’s what he brings to our game,” Arniel said.
Winnipeg Jets Recall Parker Ford
Needing additional depth due to the unknown status of a few key players, the Winnipeg Jets have made a small recall from their AHL affiliate. The Jets announced they’ve recalled forward Parker Ford from the Manitoba Moose for tonight’s contest against the Dallas Stars.
Earlier today, head coach Scott Arniel told reporters that forward Mark Scheifele, defensemen Josh Morrissey and Logan Stanley are game-time decisions for tonight’s contest. Scheifele has arguably been the most notable loss, missing Game 5 and Game 6 in the Jets’ opening-round matchup against the St. Louis Blues. He scored two goals and six points in the five games he played.
Ford won’t be tasked with replicating Scheifele’s offensive capabilities, but he’s an interesting plug-and-play option for Winnipeg. The Wakefield, RI native debuted in the NHL this past season in late January, scoring his first goal in his first NHL game.
Appearing in a postseason contest, on the fourth line or not, would be a big step for the former collegiate free agent out of Providence College. He’s only in his second full professional season and is on the heels of an 18-goal, 41-point campaign in 2023-24. Ford’s offensive output understandably decreased with fewer games played, as he scored 14 goals and 21 points in 41 contests for the Moose during the 2024-25 season.
Jets’ Mark Scheifele To Miss Game 7, Logan Stanley Questionable
The Winnipeg Jets received grim news to start their Sunday, as it’s been revealed that star center Mark Scheifele won’t be health enough to dress for Game 7, per Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press. Both players were absent from Winnipeg’s morning skate. The details of Scheifele’s injury haven’t been disclosed. He exited Game 5 in the first period a few shifts after receiving a big hit from St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn. Scheifele sat out of Game 6 but took the ice at Saturday morning’s practice, donning a track suit. Wiebe also shares that defenseman Logan Stanley will be a game-time decision.
Scheifele will stick in the track suit as Winnipeg faces a must-win game on Sunday. He’s been a true star for the Jets all season long, having appeared in all 82 games of the regular season and scoring 39 goals and 87 points – both second on the team behind Kyle Connor‘s 41 goals and 97 points. Scheifele’s strong scoring carried nicely into the postseason, where he managed two goals and six points in five games, or 13 periods, of action.
The Jets offense simply doesn’t function the same without their high-motor, high-speed center leading the charge. Winnipeg turned to Vladislav Namestnikov and Adam Lowry to fill the roles of top-six center in Game 6, which added plenty of pressure to the shoulders of top wingers Connor, Gabriel Vilardi, and Nikolaj Ehlers. The Jets only managed two goals with that makeup – both coming on the power-play, where they had the clearest advantage over the Blues. That could be Winnipeg’s silver lining, as St. Louis has recorded the second-most penalty minutes in the postseason so far, with 148 through six games. Unfortunately, the only team above them is indeed the Jets, who have recorded seven more penalties than St. Louis.
Efforts to balance out penalties could be made a bit easier if hard-hitting defender Logan Stanley is forced to sit. He leads the entire postseason with 42 penalty minutes in five games played, and has no scoring and a negative plus-minus to show for it. Stanley is an imposing six-foot-seven and capable of squaring up opponents seemingly every time they try to break into Winnipeg’s zone. That will be a tough role to fill should Stanley indeed be forced out of the lineup. Winnipeg’s next man up would likely be Haydn Fleury, who recorded seven assists and a minus-12 in 39 regular season games.
Injury Updates: Stanley, Arvidsson, Kochetkov, Kylington, Chinakhov
The Jets welcomed back Logan Stanley to their lineup tonight with the team announcing (Twitter link) that the blueliner has been activated off injured reserve. The 26-year-old has been banged up this season, missing time with a knee issue and most recently a mid-body injury that kept him out for the last eight games. Between those, Stanley has three points, 17 blocks, and 12 hits in 11 games while averaging 15:13 per night, the second-highest ATOI of his career. With his activation, Winnipeg now has a full 23-player roster.
Other injury updates from around the NHL:
- Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters including Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link) that winger Viktor Arvidsson won’t suit up on their current road trip, meaning he’ll miss the next three games. The 31-year-old has missed the last six games due to an undisclosed injury and is currently on injured reserve. Arvidsson is in his first season with Edmonton after signing a two-year, $8MM contract over the summer. However, he’s off to a quiet start with just two goals and three assists in 16 games.
- Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov is listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s game against Florida, team reporter Walt Ruff reports (Twitter link). Kochetkov remains in concussion protocol but head coach Rod Brind’Amour wants to get him in a practice before getting him back into a game. Kochetkov has a 2.42 GAA and a .909 SV% in 13 games so far this season. With him and Frederik Andersen out, Spencer Martin and Yaniv Perets are Carolina’s tandem between the pipes for the time being.
- The injuries continue to pile up for the Avalanche. Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette relays (Twitter link) that defenseman Oliver Kylington is dealing with an injury and isn’t with the team in Dallas. The 27-year-old has had a quiet start to the season for Colorado, missing time due to illness and being healthy scratched at times. Overall, Kylington has suited up in eight games so far, picking up a goal and an assist but his playing time is just 12:10 per night, more than five minutes below his ATOI with Calgary last season.
- Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov was scratched in today’s victory over Calgary due to an upper-body injury, notes team reporter Jeff Svoboda (Twitter link). After a breakout performance last season that saw him record 16 goals and 13 assists in 53 games, the 23-year-old is on pace to beat those numbers as he has seven goals and seven helpers in 21 appearances so far, good for fourth on Columbus in scoring. Cole Sillinger returned from his upper-body injury to take Chinakhov’s spot in the lineup.
Central Notes: Predators, Novak, Wild, Hall, Stanley
Originally announced in Elliotte Friedman’s ’32 Thoughts’ and expanded upon by Alex Daugherty of the Tennessean, the Nashville Predators are looking to buy. The Predators are looking to claw their way out of an early 6-10-3 record after spending $108MM on Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei this past offseason.
Friedman suggests Nashville is looking to add a top-four defenseman with term and a center to no surprise. In our recent diagnosis of the issues plaguing Nashville, a second-line center and a top-four defenseman topped the list of priorities.
The Predators have used a combination of Juuso Parssinen and Colton Sissons as the team’s second-line centers to unfortunate results. The two have combined for seven points this season and simply haven’t generated the offense required to keep them in the top six long-term. The defensive pairing of Jeremy Lauzon and Alexandre Carrier have combined for an abysmal 39.2% xGoals% according to MoneyPuck despite playing the most minutes of any defensive pair on the roster.
Other Central notes:
- Nashville could get a boost to their second line in the form of forward Thomas Novak who’s expected to return tonight after missing the team’s last six games (X Link). Novak has disappointed like many players on the Predators with three goals and four points in 13 games but is only a year removed from scoring 35 goals and 88 points in 122 games for Nashville.
- There’s no long-term injury concern for either Joel Eriksson Ek or Jonas Brodin for the Minnesota Wild. Michael Russo of The Athletic reported that both players are still waiting on medical clearance but should be available for tomorrow night’s contest. Eriksson Ek has only missed the last game for the Wild while Brodin has missed the past two.
- The Chicago Blackhawks made a surprising move in their most recent game against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday as they made forward Taylor Hall a healthy scratch. He’s had a subpar season for his standards scoring two goals and six points through 17 contests. Still, the scratch caught him off guard with Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN quoting Hall saying, “I was surprised by it. It was unexpected from the standpoint of I just didn’t know I was even close to being in that spot, really. If there were some conversations in the days leading up about my game or if I was constantly being shown video it would be one thing, but I was a bit surprised.”
- There was good news on the blue line for the Winnipeg Jets this afternoon with the team sharing that Ville Heinola has been activated off the team’s injured reserve. Still, it’s not all positive news concerning Jets’ defensemen as color analyst Mitchell Clinton reports that although Logan Stanley is expected to join Winnipeg on their upcoming road trip, he’s not expected to skate for the next four to five days. Stanley has been on Winnipeg’s injured reserve since November 12th with an undisclosed injury.
Jets Reclaim Kaapo Kähkönen From Avalanche, Place Logan Stanley On IR
Nov. 12, 1:33 p.m.: The Jets confirmed Kähkönen’s claim and also announced they’ve placed defenseman Logan Stanley on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 9. It was reported earlier Tuesday that Stanley would miss the team’s three-game road trip this week with a mid-body injury. He’ll be eligible to come off IR when the Jets return home.
Nov. 12, 1:05 p.m.: The Jets submitted a claim and were the only team to do so, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He’ll report to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.
Nov. 11: After the Avalanche claimed Kaapo Kähkönen off waivers from the Jets last month, the team announced they’ve placed him back on the wire today.
Issues with Kähkönen’s work visa significantly delayed his arrival in the Mile High City. Colorado claimed Kähkönen from Winnipeg on Oct. 11, and he was held out of action for over a week until the Avs got him some AHL action on a conditioning loan.
Kähkönen made two appearances on his brief stint with the Colorado Eagles, his first minor-league action since the 2019-20 campaign. He lost both contests but still put up solid numbers, recording a .919 SV% and 2.57 GAA. He’d been on the NHL roster since Oct. 29 but only made one appearance for the Avs, allowing four goals on 20 shots in a loss to the Lightning on Halloween Eve. He’s dressed as a backup or been a healthy scratch for every game since.
24-year-old Justus Annunen has been passable, and starter Alexandar Georgiev appears to be getting his feet back under him with a .904 SV% in his last three games. Thus, there was no longer much of a need for the Avs to carry three goalies on their roster, especially with injuries continuing to plague their forward group. Kähkönen, who signed a one-year, $1MM deal with the Jets in free agency over the summer, now must hope for a third team to take a flyer on him this season if he wants to keep an NHL roster spot.
If Winnipeg submits a claim for Kähkönen and is the only team to do so, they may directly assign him to their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. The 28-year-old has a 49-68-15 record, four shutouts, a 3.34 GAA, and a .898 SV% in 140 career NHL appearances over the past six years.
Central Notes: Heinola, Stanley, Bedard, Predators
Jets defense prospect Ville Heinola has had his past couple of seasons derailed by injuries. 2023-24 saw him play no NHL games and 41 AHL games before an ankle injury that required surgery ended his campaign. The 2019 first-round pick was then expected to compete for a roster spot after Winnipeg lost Brenden Dillon to free agency and bought out Nate Schmidt, but he didn’t even partake in training camp after an infection stemming from the screws placed in his ankle to repair the fracture arose during physicals.
The 23-year-old is getting closer to a return to play, though. He started skating on his own at the end of October and was spotted at practice Tuesday without a non-contact designation, team color analyst Mitchell Clinton reports.
Heinola is on injured reserve and would require waivers to head back to Manitoba on a full-time basis. However, the Jets could allow him to get back up to game speed in the AHL by assigning him on a conditioning loan, which could last for up to two weeks.
The left-shot Finn has never logged more than 12 NHL appearances in a single season. He has 35 career games under his belt more than five years after being drafted, recording 11 points with a -6 rating while averaging 15:15 per contest.
It’s not all good injury news for the Jets, though. Logan Stanley sustained a mid-body injury in Saturday’s win over the Stars and isn’t traveling with the team on their three-game road swing this week, head coach Scott Arniel said (via Clinton). The hulking 6’7″ defender already missed the first four games of the campaign after undergoing minor knee surgery. When in the lineup, he has three points and a +6 rating in 11 games while averaging 15:13 per night. His customarily poor possession numbers haven’t changed despite Winnipeg’s hot start – he’s only managed to control 45.5% of shot attempts at even strength, a career-low.
Elsewhere in the Central Division:
- Blackhawks sophomore Connor Bedard is off to a slow-ish start with just three goals through his first 16 games, although he has added 10 assists for 13 points. A horrid 5.8 shooting percentage will ultimately improve and he likely deserves to be on the score sheet more than he is, but he’s still looking to jumpstart his game and has a sense of urgency about doing it. “You can look everywhere, but just feeling like I’m having more impact on the game,” Bedard told The Athletic’s Scott Powers on Monday. “I felt like earlier in the year, I was making a lot of plays, pretty dangerous out there. Lately, I’ve been (making) less of an impact and not really making a difference, so hopefully I can contribute more.”
- The Predators are still last in the league with a 5-9-2 record, but general manager Barry Trotz foresees improvement on the horizon, he told Nicholas J. Cotsonika of NHL.com after yesterday’s overtime loss to the Avalanche. “We got off to a bad start,” Trotz said. “We tried to be something that we weren’t. I think we’re coming around. After the 0-5 start, we’re 5-4-1 in the last 10. We’ve played some good teams. I see us being more consistent, getting more balance in our game.”
Afternoon Notes: Ullmark, Sogaard, Stanley, Blumel, Petrovic
Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark has returned to full health, prompting the team to return Mads Sogaard to the AHL, shares Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Ullmark has been working back from a muscle strain that’s held him out of the team’s last three games. Previous reports shared that Ottawa wanted to be patient not to aggravate the injury as they worked Ullmark back to full speed.
Ullmark has been strong in the two games he’s played with Ottawa, saving 53 of 58 shots faced en route to a 1-1-0 record and .914 save percentage. The same hasn’t been true for Ottawa’s other goaltending options, with Anton Forsberg allowing 10 goals on 73 shots (.863 save percentage) and Mads Sogaard allowing four goals on 17 shots (0.765) in Ullmark’s absence. The Senators have managed to win in front of all three goalies regardless, largely thanks to each of Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, and Jake Sanderson recording seven points through the first five games of the season. Ullmark’s return could give Ottawa the back-end consistency to ramp up their early winning-record, though it seems the team could still be in the process of easing their franchise goaltender back to strength.
Other notes from around the league:
- Winnipeg Jets defenseman Logan Stanley has been activated off of injured reserve and will step into the lineup for Haydn Fleury, per Mike McIntyre of The Winnipeg Free Press. Stanley missed the first four games of the season with a knee injury that required surgery during training camp. Stanley has played in just 44 games over the last two seasons, recording five points, 57 penalty minutes, and an average of 13:45 in ice time. He faces an uphill battle to an everyday role, but will get a chance to take the first step when the Jets take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.
- The Dallas Stars have returned forward Matej Blumel and defender Alexander Petrovic to the AHL. Blumel stepped into one game with Dallas during his recall, recording eight minutes of ice time and two shots on net. Petrovic spent the extent of his time in the press box, leaving two games and one point in the AHL as his only stats this year. The Texas Stars will get two big additions with this move – readding the stout, veteran presence of Petrovic and the 30-goal upside of Blumel back to the lineup.
Defensemen Notes: Gudbranson, Durzi, Stanley
The early prognosis for the upper-body injury keeping Columbus Blue Jackets’ defenseman Erik Gudbranson on the injured reserve isn’t positive. Frank Seravalli of DailyFaceoff reports that Gudbranson is potentially set to miss months due to the injury but the team will have an exact timeline tomorrow after tests are performed.
It’s unfortunate news for an organization that can’t seem to catch a break. Columbus entered the season with injuries to captain Boone Jenner and Dmitri Voronkov up front and will now have to contend with a weakened blue line for the foreseeable future.
The Blue Jackets will reintroduce veteran Jack Johnson into the lineup tonight against the Buffalo Sabres in Gudbranson’s stead rather than former sixth-overall pick, David Jiříček. The young defenseman was the obvious choice originally to replace Gudbranson as he hasn’t factored into any games yet this season. Despite being the second defenseman taken off the board in the 2022 NHL Draft Jiříček sits fourth amongst defensemen in his draft class in games played.
Other happenings from the blue line:
- Earlier this afternoon, the Utah Hockey Club gave a vague injury update regarding defenseman Sean Durzi. The organization announced Durzi “would be out for the foreseeable future” with an upper-body injury without any additional context. Durzi’s prognosis could be similar to that of Gudbranson’s where the organization won’t have a firm recovery timeline until more tests are performed.
- The Winnipeg Jets should get some welcome news regarding their back end shortly. Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun reported earlier that defenseman Logan Stanley was a full participant at practice this morning. Stanley has been rehabbing a knee injury that’s kept him sidelined for much of training camp and the regular season. Once he is fully healthy, he should have a home in the Jets’ bottom-pairing next to Colin Miller.