Jets Notes: Heinola, Dillon, DeMelo
Winnipeg Jets defenseman Ville Heinola has recovered from the ankle injury that wiped out the start of his season and is ready to return to the ice, according to Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff. (via TSN’s John Lu) Heinola will be activated off of injured reserve, and assigned to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose where he can get some game action under his belt before he becomes a consideration for an NHL call-up.
Heinola, 22, is a 2019 first-round pick who was excellent in the AHL last season but has not yet played in more than 12 NHL games in a single season in his career. He appeared to be making real strides in preseason and training camp in the fall, but the injury he suffered scuttled his hopes of making the season-opening roster. Now back and healthy, he’ll look to work towards a more lasting call-up to the Jets’ NHL roster.
Some other Jets notes from Cheveldayoff’s media availability today:
- Cheveldayoff told the media that they have had some conversations about a new contract with defenseman Brenden Dillon, but added that the discussions are not “ongoing.” The 33-year-old is currently entrenched as the club’s second-pairing left-shot blueliner and averages nearly 19 minutes per night, including 2:20 on the penalty kill. He’s making $3.9MM against the cap and could very well have an argument to match that number on his new deal, despite his age.
- Another blueliner Cheveldayoff confirmed some, but not ongoing, conversations with on a contract extension is Dylan DeMelo. DeMelo is currently number-one defenseman Josh Morrissey‘s partner on the team’s top pairing, and is playing the second-most minutes per night of any Winnipeg Jet. He’s chewing nearly 22 minutes per night and nearly three minutes short-handed. Seeing as he’s making $3MM on his current expiring contract, the 30-year-old’s big campaign on one of the NHL’s best teams is likely to set him up nicely for a pay raise this summer.
Winnipeg Jets Activate Rasmus Kupari From LTIR, Loan To AHL On Conditioning Stint
In an announcement today coming directly from the organization, the Winnipeg Jets have activated forward Rasmus Kupari from long-term injured reserve, and have subsequently assigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, for a conditioning sting. Kupari has been out of the lineup for Winnipeg since November 14th, as he has been sidelined with a shoulder injury ever since.
Kupari originally came to the Jets organization as one of the many pieces handed over by the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois this past summer. In his three years with the Kings organization, Kupari struggled mightily to produce and to gain ice time, but due to his status as a former-first-round selection relatively recently, he still garnered some upside value from Winnipeg.
Unfortunately for both him and the Jets organization, Kupari has once again struggled to get ice time, now only averaging around nine minutes a game in his first 15 contests on the year. His defensive play has left a lot to be desired, while his offensive production has only given him one assist in total on the season.
Only having one year left on his contract after this season, the clock may be ticking on Kupari’s time in the NHL if he is unable to round out his game. Having been built with similar depth to Los Angeles, it’s going to prove extremely difficult for Kupari to become a top-six option in Winnipeg if he is unable to take his game to another level.
The current conditioning sting will give Kupari his return to AHL action, after being regularly shuffled up and down by the Kings organization throughout much of his tenure with the team. Last season, Kupari suited up in 11 games for Los Angeles’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, scoring five goals and nine points overall.
Jeffrey Viel Sent Back To Manitoba
- One day after being brought up on an emergency recall, the Jets announced (Twitter link) that winger Jeffrey Viel has been returned to AHL Manitoba. The 26-year-old didn’t suit up versus Minnesota and has nine points in 24 games with the Moose this season along with 70 penalty minutes.
Morning Notes: Gustafsson, Viel, Emberson
Carter Brooks of The Hockey News is reporting that Winnipeg Jets forward David Gustafsson will be out of the lineup for the next handful of games as the team has placed the 23-year-old on injured reserve. Gustafsson was a game-time decision on Wednesday night as the Jets came out of the break, but didn’t end up dressing against the Chicago Blackhawks
The native of Tingsryd, Sweden suffered a lower-body injury in a game against the Boston Bruins on December 22nd as he tried to end a 21-game goalless drought. He skated yesterday and Jets head coach Rick Bowness said he was feeling better, however, the team was not yet comfortable with letting him play. Gustafsson has two goals and two assists in 27 games this season.
In other morning notes:
- With the injury to Gustafsson, the Winnipeg Jets recalled Jeffrey Viel from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL on an emergency loan (CapFriendly). Viel is in his first season with the Jets organization after spending the previous five years with the San Jose Sharks. The 26-year-old has yet to dress in an NHL game for Winnipeg but does have 49 career NHL games to his name with the Sharks. He’s posted three goals and two assists in his NHL career, all of which came in the 2021-22 season. Viel did not play against the Minnesota Wild last night and will likely serve as the Jets’ 13th forward during his recall.
- The San Jose Sharks have activated Ty Emberson off the injured reserve as per Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News. The rookie defenseman has been out with a lower-body injury since December 1st and will be able to dress today when the Sharks take on the Colorado Avalanche. The 23-year-old has dressed in 16 games this season and has a goal and three assists while averaging 17:51 of ice time per game. The Eau Claire, Wisconsin native was acquired by San Jose from the New York Rangers via waivers before the start of the season and should give the Sharks a physical presence on the back end as he has averaged over two hits a game thus far this season.
Kyle Connor Makes Return To Skating
Winnipeg Jets’ leading goal-scorer Kyle Connor is making progress in his return from a knee injury, returning to the Jets’ practices in a no-contact jersey. The winger has been out for 20 days but still leads Winnipeg with 17 goals scored across 26 games, a mark tied for 11th in the NHL – despite Connor playing in at least five games fewer than any other player in the top 20. Winnipeg has leaned even heavier into Mark Scheifele in Connor’s absence, with the recently-extended centerman scoring eight points in the seven games that Connor has missed. The Jets have proven surprisingly successful for a team missing their top goal-scorer, setting a 4-1-2 record without Connor. And while that’s a great sign for optimism, the Jets were on a four-game winning streak leading up to Connor’s injury, and had a five-game winning streak just a few games prior. They will look to get back on that winning run as Connor continues to progress back to play.
Colby Barlow Returns From Injury
- One of the Winnipeg Jets’ top prospects, Colby Barlow, is returning to the lineup of his OHL team the Owen Sound Attack. (News via Jets reporter Jamie Thomas) Barlow was selected 18th overall by the Jets at this past summer’s draft and is in the midst of a crucial development season with Owen Sound. He has not played since November 8th, but when healthy scored nine goals and 14 points in 14 games.
- Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon has a “decent chance” of returning from injury to play in the team’s game Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo. That would be a big add for the Wild, as Spurgeon has not played since December 10th. The Wild have fared well in his absence but they surely miss the heavy minutes he plays. If nothing else, his return could help lessen the workload placed on the shoulders of rookie Brock Faber, who has gotten close to 30 minutes in several games since Spurgeon got hurt.
Jets Recall Dominic Toninato
- The Jets brought depth forward Dominic Toninato back up from AHL Manitoba prior to yesterday’s 2-1 loss to the Blackhawks, Jets color analyst Mitchell Clinton relayed. Toninato, who was waived just over two weeks ago, slotted into the lineup against Chicago in the wake of a lower-body injury to David Gustafsson, logging an assist in his first appearance of the season for Winnipeg in 8:23 of ice time. The Jets did not assign Toninato to the minors immediately after he cleared waivers, however, instead waiting until just before the holiday break to do so. Toninato, 29, was a healthy scratch in all 17 Winnipeg games he’d been rostered for this season before last night’s showing.
World Juniors Notes: Salomonsson, Jiříček, Wolf
Jets prospect and Team Sweden defenseman Elias Salomonsson has been suspended for one round-robin game at the ongoing 2024 World Junior Championship for checking Latvian forward Emīls Veckaktiņš during yesterday’s contest, the IIHF announced.
The incident occurred seconds into the game, meaning Salomonsson took just one shift in his tournament debut. He racked up as many penalty minutes on the play (25) as he did seconds logged in the contest. The IIHF ruled that Salomonsson “recklessly endangered the safety” of Veckaktiņš, resulting in a de facto two-game absence for one of Sweden’s top defenders.
Winnipeg’s 55th overall pick in the 2022 draft is playing in his first and final World Junior tournament, as he’ll age out of eligibility before the 2025 edition. A smooth-skating two-way defender with size, Salomonsson is under contract with Winnipeg but is on loan to Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League. He has four assists and a +1 rating in 15 games this season while factoring in on the team’s second and third pairing. He’s been impressive on the pro international stage against other opponents from across Europe, notching a goal and three assists in eight Champions Hockey League games.
Other notes from the ongoing 2024 WJC this morning:
- Team Czechia defenseman Adam Jiříček will reportedly miss the remainder of the tournament with a knee injury sustained in yesterday’s round-robin opening loss against Slovakia. It’s a tough break for the 2024-draft-eligible defender, who is widely viewed as a likely top-15 pick. The 17-year-old younger brother of Blue Jackets standout prospect David Jiříček is also a right-shot defender and, at 16 years old last season, led all defensemen in goals with 12 in the Czech U20 league. Playing with HC Plzeň in the top Czech men’s league this year, the Tipsport Extraliga, he has one assist and a -10 rating in 19 games. Czechia has replaced him on the roster with Tomáš Galvas, another 2024-draft-eligible defenseman, although he’s not projected as a first-round caliber prospect.
- The injury bug has also hit Team Germany, who will be without projected starting goaltender Simon Wolf for the entire tournament, per Rinkside.de’s Chapin Landvogt. Wolf has returned to Germany from Gothenburg with an undisclosed ailment. The 19-year-old has put up good numbers in the Austrian circuit this season, posting a .916 SV% and 2.52 GAA in 13 games with EC Salzburg’s junior club in the second-tier AlpsHL and a .933 SV% in two appearances with the main club in the top-tier ICEHL. 19-year-old Philipp Dietl, who plays for EV Landshut in the second tier of German pro hockey, started today’s tournament opener against Finland.
Jets, Michael Hutchinson Had Discussed Contract Over The Summer
- While Michael Hutchinson wound up inking a two-way deal with the Red Wings earlier this week following a stint with their farm team, he acknowledged to Ken Wiebe and Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press that his preference was to go back to Winnipeg, the franchise he has had the most success with over an 11-year NHL career. Hutchinson noted that he did hold contract talks with the Jets but they ultimately opted to go with Collin Delia as their third-string option. Meanwhile, with Detroit missing both Ville Husso and Alex Lyon at the moment, the 33-year-old finds himself back at the top level for the time being so it’s safe to say that things wound up working out well for him after all.
Jets Loan Artemi Kniazev To KHL
The Jets assigned defenseman prospect Artemi Kniazev to the KHL’s Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod on Sunday, a team release states.
Kniazev, 22, will play out the remainder of 2023-24 in his home country. It will be his first stint in the Russian top league, as he’s been a full-time player in North America since coming over to play junior hockey with the QMJHL’s Chicoutimi Saguenéens in 2018.
The 6-foot, 181-pound blueliner has one NHL game under his belt, coming with the Sharks in 2021-22. He was a San Jose draft pick, selected 48th overall in 2019, but Winnipeg acquired him last summer in exchange for the signing rights to 24-year-old German defense prospect Leon Gawanke.
Gawanke, who led the Jets’ AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, in points by defensemen last season, was frustrated with the lack of NHL time and signed a four-year deal to return to Germany before the trade to the Sharks. He then signed a one-year, two-way deal in San Jose, voiding his overseas contract. Gawanke hasn’t received an NHL call-up yet with San Jose, but he’s again leading his minor-league team in points by defensemen with 20 in 26 games for the San Jose Barracuda.
It hasn’t gone quite as well for Kniazev in his new home, however. He was a higher-ceiling point-producing prospect, notching over a point per game in his final junior season with Chicoutimi. He’d failed to crack the 30-point mark in two seasons with the Barracuda, however, and has five assists and a -12 rating through 20 games with Manitoba this season. It’s unclear whether Kniazev requested a loan back to Russia, if the Jets wanted to free up a spot on their farm squad, or if the decision was mutual.
The loan marks Kniazev’s first stint in the Nizhny Novgorod organization. He’d spent his mid-teen years developing in the Ak Bars Kazan system, also spending a short time in Kazan on loan in 2020 while the NHL was on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nizhny Novgorod is home to quite a few top prospects for the 2024 draft, none larger (literally) than 17-year-old 6-foot-7 blueliner Anton Silayev. It’s also the team of 21-year-old free-agent winger Vasili Atanasov who, after being passed over in the past few drafts, is reportedly garnering NHL interest after notching 19 goals and 38 points through 40 games.
Winnipeg will retain Kniazev’s rights through the end of the season, at which point his entry-level contract will expire and make him a restricted free agent. If the Jets do not issue him a qualifying offer, he will be eligible to sign with any NHL team. He is not eligible for salary arbitration. If the Jets do elect to issue Kniazev a qualifying offer, but he signs a contract overseas, he will remain on their reserve list. He will need to sign with Winnipeg if he wishes to return to the NHL unless the Jets trade his signing rights elsewhere.