Snapshots: Ylönen, Lipinski, Concussion Protocol
Former Montreal Canadiens winger Jesse Ylönen is reportedly considering signing a deal in the SHL this summer, per Johan Svensson of Swedish news site Expressen (subscription required). Svensson didn’t specify what club the Finnish wing could be headed to. Nonetheless, the potential for a move seems high after Ylönen spent a full season in the AHL for the first time in his four-year career in North America. His minor-league stint was split between the Syracuse Crunch and Milwaukee Admirals, sparked by a late-February trade that swapped Ylönen and fellow minor-leaguer Anthony Angello.
Ylönen was slightly less productive in the Midwest – netting 14 points in 26 games for Milwaukee, including playoffs, after totaling 25 points in 47 games with Syracuse. The full-year total of 39 points in 73 games is far below the scoring pace Ylönen managed through his first two seasons in the AHL in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He spent both seasons with Montreal’s AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, and scored 36 points in 52 games and 32 points in 39 games respectively. That latter hot streak earned Ylönen his NHL rookie year during the 2022-23 season – and he managed a modest 16 points in 37 games to show for it. Montreal responded to positive numbers by keeping Ylönen all the lineup for the entirety of the 2023-24 campaign – but the upside bet didn’t pan out. Ylönen managed just eight points in 59 NHL games last season, and landed in the Lightning organization after Montreal declined a qualifying offer at the start of last summer.
Ylönen could be a proper match in Sweden. He grew up in Finland’s youth hockey program and played pro games in each of the country’s top two leagues. That includes totaling a combined 56 points in 127 games across three seasons in the Liiga, before he came over to North America. The SHL has certainly risen above its peers this season, but Ylönen could be well equipped for the challenge after finding, and then losing, his scoring touch in the NHL and AHL.
Other quick notes from around the league:
- Calgary Flames prospect Jaden Lipinski is headed to the University of Maine next season, per the club’s Instagram. Lipinski will be one of the very few NCAA players with pro hockey experience – after playing one game at the end of the 2023-24 season, and two games this season, in the AHL. He recorded no notable stat changes. Lipinski is still eligible to attend college because all three games were played on an amateur try-out with the Calgary Wranglers, which kept him from earning any compensation for the matchups. NCAA revokes collegiate eligibility once players accept payment, or promise of payment, from a pro sports league. Since he didn’t, Lipinski will enter the league as a junior player who played up one year, akin to Vancouver Canucks prospect Tom Willander, who played two SHL games before joining Boston University last season. The Maine Black Bears will get a hardy addition with this news. Lipinski scored 58 points in 59 WHL games this season, and seemed to improve his ability to play physical and productive hockey. Those are the hallmarks of Maine’s style, and should create a golden stage for the Flames prospect to continue growing.
- NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly shared that the league is satisfied with how the concussion protocol has performed this season in an interview with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Daly shared that the league has embedded due diligence into the process, even when players don’t formally enter the protocol. He shared that, with an additional layer of consideration, he feels the league has been able to properly answer any open questions about the process. Rates of concussions have risen and fallen in the NHL over time, but concerns around long-term effects of head injuries continues to ring louder. News site NPR published an op-ed on the link between lengthy hockey careers and CTE in December, sparking newfound debate over the effectiveness of the NHL’s concussion spotting.
Jets Notes: Lowry, Ehlers, Vilardi
The Winnipeg Jets are holding their final interviews of the 2024-25 season on Wednesday, offering a chance for many players to share insight on their futures with the club. The first up was team captain Adam Lowry, who will be eligible for an extension on July 1st and set to hit free agency next summer. Lowry emphasized to reporters that he’ll be ready to sign a deal as soon as the Jets are, and that he wants to stick with the club through the end of his career, per Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press.
Lowry was named Winnipeg’s captain at the start of the 2023-24 season, after wearing an ‘A’ in the year prior. The title rewarded Lowry’s career-long commitment to supporting Winnipeg’s bottom-six. He was originally drafted in the third-round of the 2011 NHL Draft, and made his NHL debut three seasons later in 2014-15. Lowry carved out a gritty role in the depth of Winnipeg’s lineup right away, recording 24 points and 46 penalty minutes in 80 games as an NHL rookie. He was full time in the league within two seasons, and quickly found a knack for tenacious plays, full-ice impacts, and routine 20-point seasons.
But he’s started to blossom in his later years, recording a career-high 36 points in the 2022-23 season – followed up by 35 points last year and 34 this year. He also scored a career-high 16 goals this season – all while continuing to operate from a strong role on Winnipeg’s second and third lines. Lowry will flirt with free agency throughout the 2025-26 season, but it’s hard to envision Winnipeg letting such a carved-out piece of their lineup walk away.
The same can be said for winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who will face the pressures of free agency this summer rather than next. Ehlers is another lifetime Jet, having spent the last decade with the club and totaling 520 points in 674 career games. that includes a dazzling 24 goals and 63 points in 69 games this season. That’s the highest scoring pace of Ehlers’ career, though it falls one point shy of his career-high total set in the 2016-17 season. Like Lowry, Ehlers has dedicated significant time to finding the lineup role that works for him.
With his deal set to expire this summer, Ehlers’ teammates have made sure to know how much they like having him around. Cole Perfetti called Ehlers a “joy to life” to reporters, and shared that he both hopes and knows that Ehlers feels how much the Jets franchise appreciates him – shares Murat Ates of The Athletic. Perfetti and Ehlers rotated as wing partners throughout the season, and outscored opponents 25-to-18 at even-strength in their minutes together. It was a career year for both players, and with his public words of encouragement – Perfetti could give Ehlers yet another reason to find a deal that works this summer.
Forward Gabriel Vilardi has also expressed interest in re-signing with the Jets when he hits restricted-free agency this summer, per Ates. Vilardi added that he hasn’t yet thought about if he wants a short-term or long-term deal, though. Either option could be a sensible bet, after Vilardi broke out with 27 goals and 61 points in 71 games this season. Both marks were new career-highs, confidently lapping the 23 goals and 41 points he scored in 63 games of the 2022-23 season. Vilardi’s rise in scoring coincided with a rise in ice time and lineup trust. He performed well with added responsibility, though only managed four points in nine postseason games.
71 games of this season is the most Vilardi has ever played in a single year. Those signs of newfound health could go a long way in solidifying Vilardi’s projection as a staple of the second-line. Winnipeg will have a chance to put a price to that faith in exclusive negotiations this summer.
Islanders Hold Second Interviews With Marc Bergevin, Mathieu Darche
The New York Islanders have reportedly held second interviews with two general manager candidates. The first is former Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. The second is Tampa Bay Lightning assistant general manager Mathieu Darche, per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. Seravalli went on to add that Bergevin and Darche are expected to be the final two horses in the race for New York’s GM role.
Little has come out about the Islanders’ search for a new GM, but the final picture of the race features two very different candidates. Bergevin is among the most tenured front office staff in the hockey world, headed for the 20th anniversary of his first hockey management role this summer. Meanwhile Darche was hired in Tampa Bay just six seasons ago, and has only served as assistant general manager for the last three years.
That imbalance helps Bergevin’s resume look particularly bolded. He served 10 years as the Canadiens’ GM from the start of 2012-13 to the end of 2021-22. His tenure was headlined by six postseason appearances, including a flash-in-the-pan run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. Bergevin managed the careers of iconic Canadiens players like Carey Price, Max Pacioretty, Shea Weber and P.K. Subban – including the shocking trade that swapped the latter two in 2016. He also managed the draft warrooms that selected Artturi Lehkonen (2013), Mikhail Sergachev (2016), and Cole Caufield (2019).
Bergevin’s management of his stars, and his control over Montreal’s heap of draft picks each year, earned criticism as Montreal dragged into a decade with little significant postseason success. But his extended tenure, and recent advisor role with the emerging Los Angeles Kings, could entice the Islanders as they look to change GMs for the first time since 2018.
If the Islanders are willing to be a bit more flexible with their job requirements, they could find a candidate-with-upside in Darche. The 48-year-old has already won two Stanley Cups in his young managerial career, serving as Director of Hockey Operations while the Lightning won back-to-back Cups in 2020 and 2021. Darche was promoted to assistant general manager one year later, and has quickly built a reputation for lucrative contract management and negotiations. That could be invaluable expertise as he eyes an Islanders roster with three contracts north of $8MM.
The Islanders missed the postseason for just the second time since 2019-20 this season. Their GM hire will be quickly tasked with reversing those fortunes, with a roster that wields stars Mathew Barzal, Ilya Sorokin, and Bo Horvat; as well as the first-overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Both candidates have plenty of postseason experience, though their management careers are a competition of quality versus quantity.
Flyers Sign Oscar Eklind To One-Year Extension
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Oscar Eklind to a one-year contract extension. His deal is a one-way contract with a flat $800K salary. Eklind was set to become a restricted free agent this summer.
This is great news for Eklind, who will get his stay in Philadelphia reaffirmed after playing his first season in the AHL. The six-foot-four winger scored five goals and 22 points in 64 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season, after joining the Flyers organization from Sweden last summer. Eklind had spent the prior nine seasons playing at various levels of Swedish pros. He made his SHL debut at the age of 17 and played through his first 15 pro games between 2016-17 and 2017-18. Without any pro points through those appearances, Eklind was moved to Pantern IK of Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan – the second-tier pro league.
Eklind scored six points in 28 games in his first year in the HockeyAllsvenskan, but grew to 30 points in 52 games just four seasons later. That was enough to earn a move back to the SHL, and to Brynas IF, where Eklind found a bit more footing at the top level. He managed 30 points in 97 games and two seasons with Brynas, then capped off his time in Sweden with 28 points in 48 games with Lulea HF last season. He’s a lumbering, heavy-hitting winger who finds impacts away from the scoresheet. Those attributes, and a one-way deal, could be enough to earn Eklind an NHL debut next season.
Young Prospects Will Give Blues A New Look In 2025-26
St. Louis Blues fans went through a true roller-coaster this season. The team was coming off a disappointing 2023-24 campaign – marked by disappointing scoring from much of the roster, a second consecutive playoff absence, and the handoff of coaching duties from Stanley Cup winner Craig Berube to rookie NHL coach Drew Bannister. That turnover made it clear that the Blues were in quick need of a retool and a productive offseason.
But general manager Doug Armstrong didn’t lead a flashy charge over the summer. The Blues were relatively quiet through June and July, save for the risqué first-round draft pick of injured defenseman Adam Jiříček and low-cost acquisitions of Radek Faksa and Mathieu Joseph. It was an uninspiring offseason, until Armstrong shocked the hockey world by signing top Edmonton Oilers youngsters Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg to offer-sheets in August. The deals, shockingly, went through – making the Blues the first club to pull off a successful offer sheet since the Carolina Hurricanes landed Jesperi Kotkaniemi in 2021. The last successful offer sheet before Carolina was in 2007.
Broberg and Holloway made an instant impact on the Blues lineup. Alongside a shock hire of Jim Montgomery, the Blues were able to use their new additions to will out a run to the postseason, against early-season odds. But a first round exit draws attention back to the roster make up. With little offseason cap space to work with – just over $7MM after Torey Krug goes on long-term injured reserve – and only two pending free agents, it seems the Blues are already set to roll out the same group that lost hold this year.
But that’s where their prospect pool begins to sneak in. The Blues have a rare lineup of top y
oung players ready to carve out an everyday role. Winger Jimmy Snuggerud has seemed to already do such, after netting eight points in his first 14 career games this Spring. While he occupies a strong role in the middle-six, centerman Dalibor Dvorsky will enter a winnable competition against Brayden Schenn and Oskar Sundqvist for a role in the team’s center depth. Dvorsky ranked third on the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds with 45 points in 61 games this season, and showed the heft and grit needed to play at an NHL level in his first two career games, even despite recording no scoring.
It seems wise to bet that Dvorsky will find his way into routine NHL minutes next season. He could be supported by upcoming forwards like Aleksanteri Kaskimaki and Otto Stenberg, who both flashed strong play in their first AHL season. Theo Lindstein could be a much-needed injection of youth on defense, after spending all season in a daily lineup role in Sweden’s SHL. He recorded just 14 points in 61 games on the year, but reminded the hockey world of his prowess with four points in seven games at the World Junior Championship. St. Louis even has a strong next-man-up in net, after goaltender Colten Ellis managed a dazzling 22-14-3 record and .922 save percentage in 42 AHL games. It was a continuation of Ellis’ strong play in the minors, after he posted a .924 in 16 games of the 2023-24 season.
All of those options will ensure that St. Louis’ deck stays full, even amid a summer with minimal roster flexibility. Getting a full year out of the productive Snuggerud – who already looks at home as a career-Blue – or adding the gut punch of Dvorsky down the lineup chart could go a long way towards making St. Louis a foe to fear in the Western Conference. The Blues finished fifth in the Central Division in each of the last two seasons, but managed a postseason berth by the skin of their teeth this year. With additions of more young and budding talent, their chances of more confidently locking up a summer bid should only continue to rise through the next few years.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Sabres Hire Eric Staal As Special Advisor
The Buffalo Sabres have hired former NHL forward Eric Staal as a special advisor to general manager Kevyn Adams. Staal’s role will involve supporting multiple aspects of the hockey department, including scouting and direct involvement with players and prospects. That could mean supporting the team’s pre-season rookie or training camps, which would offer invaluable experience to a young Sabres playerbase.
Staal brings 18 years of NHL experience, and a 2006 Stanley Cup win and Finals appearances in 2021 and 2023, to the Sabres organization. He only played in 32 games with the Sabres over his extensive career – coming at the start of the shortened 2020-21 campaign. Staal recorded 10 points and a minus-20 with the Sabres, before being dealt to the Montreal Canadiens mid-season, where he finished the year with 11 points in 42 games, between the regular and postseason.
The bulk of Staal’s career was spent across the Eastern Conference with the Metropolitan Division’s Carolina Hurricanes. He was drafted second-overall in the 2003 NHL Draft and moved to the NHL right away. He was immediately impactful and scored 11 goals and 31 points in 81 games of his rookie season. But that was only a glimmer of Staal’s upside and, after spending the lockout 2004-05 season in the AHL, he posted a true breakout campaign in the 2005-06 season. Staal led the Hurricanes in scoring with an incredible 45 goals and 100 points in the regular season, then added 28 points in 25 postseason games to push Carolina to the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Staal never topped his performance in 2005-06, but he did continue to rival 30 or 40 goals and/or 70 or 80 points throughout the next 10 years in Carolina. That scoring stuttered when he left Carolina for the New York Rangers partway through the 2015-16 season, but Staal rediscovered it by joining the Minnesota Wild from 2016 to 2020. He added two more seasons of 65-or-more points, and one 40-goal campaign in his age-33 season, during his time in Minnesota. Staal left for the Sabres in the 2020 off-season, and lost his grip on top scoring soon after that – though he had a pair of final hoorays as the 2021 Canadiens and 2023 Panthers carried him to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Both teams lost, but the experience gave Staal a hint of the Cup-winning heights he reached early in his career. He’ll now turn his attention towards the operational side of hockey, looking to bring a habit of Cup pursuits to a desolate Sabres squad. With the right momentum, this could be the move that sparks a long managerial career for Staal.
Kings Notes: Jeannot, Kopitar, Lewis, Bergevin
The Los Angeles Kings held exit interviews on Monday, providing a chance for many players to share their final thoughts on this year and first impressions of next season. For forward Tanner Jeannot, it was a chance to share more about the injury that held him out of the final 19 games of the season. Jeannot told with Kings insider Zach Dooley, that he sustained a groin injury and was doing all he could to make a return during the first round. It appeared to be a non-contact injury suffered when he went down to block a shot in the Kings’ March 25th win over the New York Rangers.
Jeannot is one of four Kings forwards set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer. He’ll be coming off a two-year, $5.33MM contract originally signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Los Angeles reeled him in last summer for a second-round and fourth-round draft pick. Jeannot delivered 13 points, 89 penalty minutes, and 11 minutes of average ice time through 67 games. That’s likely not strong enough to earn a raise over his $2.67MM cap hit this season. But L.A. seemed to miss his physical presence – and team-leading 211 hits in the regular season – in their first-round loss to the Edmonton Oilers. That could make him a candidate for a low-cost deal as the Kings look to build a team that can run deep into the playoffs.
Other notes out of Los Angeles:
- Kings captain Anze Kopitar affirmed his desire to play out the final year of his contract next season, per John Hoven of Mayors Manor. It will be Kopitar’s age-38 season. He still looked in prime form this year, netting 21 goals and 67 points. It was his third consecutive season of netting at least 20 goals and 65 points – though he did cross the 70-point mark in the other two. With confirmation of one more season, Kopitar will be on pace to play his 1,500th career game with the Los Angeles Kings – which will make him only the ninth player to play so long with one club, assuming Alex Ovechkin also reaches 1,500 with the Washington Capitals. Kopitar managed nine points and 21:30 in average ice time over the Kings’ six playoff games – and will now return as the Kings’ steady leader next year.
- Trevor Lewis also expressed his desire to continue his career for another year, per Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period. Lewis will have to find that year on the open market, after the conclusion of a one-year, $800K extension with the Kings. He recorded 12 points in 60 games while operating from a fourth-line role. It was a quiet season that could be hard to market in free agency, though Lewis would become just the sixth King to appear in 15 or more seasons with the club with one more year. It will likely only cost Los Angeles a league-minimum contract to honor that milestone, if they choose to do so.
- Bernstein also shared that he believes Marc Bergevin could be in the race for the Kings vacant general manager role. Los Angeles hired Bergevin as a special advisor soon after the Montreal Canadiens fired him from his general manager role in 2021. Bergevin served 10 years managing the Canadiens before then. He led the team to six playoff appearances and one Stanley Cup Final loss in 2022. Bergevin wasn’t a stranger to controversy over his time in Montreal, whether it be for his management decisions or personality clashes. But with four years of adjusting to the Kings’ innerworkings, and a decade of experience, his resume for the role could be pretty strong against what Los Angeles could find on the open market.
Team Czechia Announces 2025 World Championship Roster
Team Czechia has named their roster for the 2025 World Championship. The Czechs face the tough task of maintaining their top play after winning Gold at this tournament with a 4-0-2 record last season. Only 10 players from the championship-winning roster will participate this year. That includes goaltender Karel Vejmelka, who operated as the third-string behind Lukáš Dostál and Petr Mrázek last summer. Vejmelka could be in line for the starer’s role this summer, after posting a stout .904 save percentage and 26-22-8 record with the Utah Hockey Club this season. That consistency, in an NHL starting role, should be enough to win a role over Daniel Vladař, who served as the Calgary Flames backup, and Josef Kořenář, a starter in the Czcehia Extraliga.
Czechia’s announcement of the roster made sure to specifically mention that Boston Bruins superstar David Pastrňák will join the team sometime during the tournament. Pastrnak also joined last summer’s tournament midway through, and uncharacteristically scored just one goal in four games en route to the Gold medal. But Pastrnak once again posted an incredible season in the NHL, with 43 goals and 106 points in 82 games. This is his first season not participating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2017, which could provide a bit more reason to play hard for his country. Pastrnak will be joined by Roman Červenka, leading scorer of the country’s 2024 squad, on Czechia’s top line. The 39-year-old Cervenka scored 11 points in 10 games last year, and recently posted a dazzling 19 points in 15 games of the Czechia Extraliga’s Playoffs.
With old and new leading the charge up front, and Vejmelka looking to duplicate Lukas Dostal’s performance in back, Czechia balances out their lineup with an experienced blue-line group. Their defense is headlined by top-pair Vancouver Canucks defender Filip Hronek, who will likely be partnered up with former New York Ranger Libor Hájek. Hronek scored 33 points in 61 NHL games this season, while Hajek scored 10 in 47 Extraliga games.
In the race for their first back-to-back titles since 2000/2001, Czechia’s current roster is as follows:
F Ondřej Beránek (Karlovy Vary, Extraliga)
F Roman Červenka (Padubice, Extraliga)
F Jakub Flek (Brno, Extraliga)
F Adam Klapka (Flames)
F Petr Kodýtek (HIFK, Liiga)
F Jáchym Kondelík (Pardubice, Extraliga)
F Jakub Lauko (Bruins)
F David Pastrňák (Bruins)
F Lukáš Sedlák (Pardubice, Extraliga)
F Matěj Stránský (Davos, NL)
F Daniel Voženílek (Zug, NL)
F Filip Zadina (Davos, NL)
D Daniel Gazda (Ilves, Liiga)
D Libor Hájek (Pardubice, Czechia)
D Filip Hronek (Canucks)
D Jakub Krejčík (Praha, Extraliga)
D Tomáš Kundrátek (Třinec, Extraliga)
D Filip Pyrochta (Mladá Boleslav, Extraliga)
D David Špaček (Wild, AHL)
D Jiří Ticháček (Karpat, Liiga)
G Josef Kořenář (Praha, Extraliga)
G Karel Vejmelka (Hockey Club)
G Daniel Vladař (Flames)
Morning Notes: Marner, Stars, Buium, Lindholm
The Toronto Maple Leafs were without star winger Mitch Marner at Sunday morning’s practice, as Marner attends to the birth of his first child. He isn’t expected to miss any time, helped along by Toronto’s second round matchup against the Florida Panthers beginning at home on Monday. Marner finally broke through the 100-point glass ceiling this season, scoring a career-high 102 points in 81 games played. He also recorded just 14 penalty minutes – a career-low. Those marks have carried into the postseason, with Marner netting one goal, eight points, and no penalties in six games of the first round. He is notably just under two months away from hitting the open market, unless Toronto can manage an eight-figure contract extension before July 1st. Marner is performing at a top mark at the perfect time – but he’ll have to hold onto the scoring role if Toronto wants to get by a Panthers lineup that averaged the fifth-most goals-per-game in the first round.
Other notes from around the league:
- Dallas Stars head coach told the media on Sunday that it is still unlikely Jason Robertson or Miro Heiskanen are ready for the start of the second round, per Lia Assimakopoulos of Dallas News. DeBoer did share a glimmer of hope, though, adding that both players should be good to go at some point during round two. The Stars lineup will undeniably improve when they receive their top goal-scorer and top defender back from prolonged injury – an exciting thought to consider after they beat the Colorado Avalanche in a seven-game series. Robertson and Heiskanen – who both have returned to skating at optional practices – will have at least four more games to work their way back into the lineup.
- Star prospect Zeev Buium only appeared in four games before the Minnesota Wild were eliminated from playoff contention. He performed well in those appearances, netting one assist and four penalty minutes from a depth role, and now faces the a transitional summer as he moves from college to the NHL full-time. Buium hasn’t shared too many details of what the summer will look like, but he did announce that he’ll join Team USA at the World Championship, per Michael Russo of The Athletic. Buium represented his country at the World U18 Championshp in 2023 – netting six points in seven games – and at each of the last two World Juniors – where he combined for 11 points in 14 games. Now, he’ll get to join the Americans at the top flight – stepping onto a blue-line full of young-and-upcoming defensive talent. Buium will fight for a role over Mason Lohrei, Jackson LaCombe, and Michael Kesselring.
- Speaking of Worlds, the Boston Bruins have shared that centerman Elias Lindholm will join the Team Sweden roster immediately. Lindholm hasn’t played at this tournament since 2019, when he scored six points in eight games. That was Lindholm’s third-consecutive season joining the Swedes at the World Championship. Across the trio of years, he combined for 19 points in 26 games. Lindholm’s only opportunity to represent Sweden since 2020 came earlier this year, when he participated in three games of the 4-Nations Face-Off and managed no scoring. Lindholm totaled 47 points in 82 games of the NHL season, his lowest scoring pace since he recorded 21 points in 58 games as a rookie.
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.