- The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Jansen Harkins under emergency conditions as several forwards deal with a non-COVID illness. To make room, Ville Heinola has been sent back to the minor leagues. Harkins, 25, has scored five goals in 22 games this season with the Jets, but was getting just a handful of shifts the last couple of times he dressed in the NHL. Heinola, meanwhile, has appeared just eight times, recording his first point of the season earlier this month.
Jets Rumors
Winnipeg Jets Activate Saku Maenalanen
The Winnipeg Jets have announced that forward Saku Maenalanen has been activated off of injured reserve. In a corresponding move, forward David Gustafsson has been placed on injured reserve due to an upper-body injury.
The move allows the Jets to dress Maenalanen for tonight’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, a move that became necessary when forward Morgan Barron went down with a non-COVID-related illness, per the Jets’ radio color commentator Jamie Thomas.
Maenalanen has been out since December 8th, when he was sidelined by an apparent shoulder injury after being driven into the boards by St. Louis Blues defenseman Niko Mikkola.
The Jets signed Maenalanen last summer, inking him to a one-year $750K deal with a hefty $225K AHL guarantee. The team made the signing after Maenalanen authored an impressive 2021-22 season in his native Finland, scoring 41 points in 47 games for Karpat.
This season Maenalanen hasn’t been able to translate his scoring success from Liiga but has nonetheless managed to skate in 25 total names. He has six points in that span, operating largely in a depth role with some limited penalty-killing time.
This activation gives Maenalanen the chance to get into some more NHL games, with the hope of him playing well enough to earn a contract extension, as his deal expires at the end of the season.
Replacing Maenalanen on injured reserve is Gustafsson, a 22-year-old 2018 second-round pick. Gustafsson had an impressive year in the AHL in 2021-22, scoring 30 points in 47 games. He has just five points in 38 games this season and now lands on injured reserve.
With just six points in 66 NHL career games, generating offense at the game’s highest level has been a challenge for Gustafsson. But he has managed to feature on the Jets’ penalty kill, and has a well-regarded defensive game. He’ll now land on injured reserve, setting back what has been an underwhelming first run as a regular NHLer.
Winnipeg Jets Loan Brad Lambert, Chaz Lucius To WHL
The Winnipeg Jets have decided to send a couple of top prospects from their minor league club to the WHL. Brad Lambert and Chaz Lucius are headed to the Seattle Thunderbirds and Portland Winterhawks, respectively. This is huge news for the junior clubs, who get to add difference-making talent for their stretch drives.
Lambert, 19, was the 30th overall selection in 2022 and made quite an impact in the preseason before eventually being assigned to the Manitoba Moose. Despite having played two seasons of professional hockey in Finland before coming to North America this year, Lambert has struggled in the AHL, scoring just two goals and three points in 14 games. Those frustrations continued at the World Juniors where he was only able to record a single goal for Finland, even in his third go-round at the tournament.
Still, he should be a dominant player for Seattle as he moves back to junior hockey. The experience he has in Finland and at the AHL level will only serve to make him more effective in the WHL, and Lambert is joining an incredibly talented club that has its sights set on a Memorial Cup.
To do that, they’ll have to get past the Winterhawks, though, who may be adding the more effective player of the two. Lucius, 19, was the 18th overall pick in 2021 and just showed how good he could be at the World Juniors, recording five goals and seven points for the U.S. squad. That comes after 12 games with the Manitoba Moose, his first taste of professional hockey after one season of college hockey. It’s not very often you see the NCAA->AHL->CHL route for prospects, but Lucius is going to get an opportunity to play huge minutes and help a Winterhawks team that is just a few points behind Seattle for first place in the Western Conference.
These assignments could be game-changing moments for both franchises, who recently saw the third-place Kamloops Blazers (hosts of this year’s Memorial Cup) send a huge package to the Everett Silvertips for Olen Zellweger. It’s an arms race in the WHL, and it should make for outstanding hockey down the stretch.
Winnipeg Jets Expected To Loan Brad Lambert To WHL
- Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman is out tonight against the Winnipeg Jets, although it’s for a positive reason. Lightning beat writer Chris Krenn notes that Hedman has returned to Tampa and is expecting the birth of his family’s second child over the next few days. Mikhail Sergachev, who actually leads all Lightning blueliners in points, steps up to the top pairing in Hedman’s absence.
- After playing the first half of the season in the AHL, Winnipeg Jets 2022 first-round pick Brad Lambert could head to junior hockey for the first time in North America. Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek expects Lambert to end up with the top-ranked Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL “at some point” this weekend. Lambert has struggled somewhat in his post-draft season after seeing his stock fall heavily out of the top five, as he posted just one point in five games at the 2023 World Junior Championship and managed three points in 14 games with Winnipeg’s AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.
San Jose Sharks Claim Mikey Eyssimont Off Waivers
1/6/23: According to Curtis Pashelka of Bay Area News Group, the San Jose Sharks have claimed Eyssimont off of waivers. In order to create room for the claim on their roster, the Sharks have placed Radim Simek on injured reserve.
1/5/23: As expected after he was absent from practice today with the Winnipeg Jets, Mikey Eyssimont is on waivers according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets.
This would clear room for Blake Wheeler, who was a surprise participant in practice today, to be activated from injured reserve along with Nikolaj Ehlers and Nate Schmidt. Cole Perfetti, the other injured player who was a full-go today, was never actually moved to IR.
Eyssimont, 26, has played in 19 games this season for the Jets, recording the first five NHL points of his career. A fifth-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2016, he didn’t receive an opportunity at the highest level until arriving in Winnipeg last season.
After breaking out with the Manitoba Moose to the tune of 18 goals and 42 points in 58 games, he received his NHL debut in April. This year he has been a regular since the team lost several key forwards, averaging ten minutes a night and scoring his first goal.
Given his lack of NHL experience, Eyssimont will likely go unclaimed, though perhaps there is a team that believes he can give them better fourth-line minutes than what they are currently using.
Either way, it seems like his time in the Jets lineup is coming to an end for now, as three top-six forwards return at the same time. He’s probably ticketed for the Moose, just as Jansen Harkins and Kristian Reichel have been in recent days.
Blake Wheeler Makes Surprise Return To Practice
Cole Perfetti, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Nate Schmidt were all expected to jump back into the lineup soon for the Winnipeg Jets, but they had another nice surprise at practice today. Blake Wheeler was present in a full-contact sweater and practicing on the top line. All four players were taking regular turns, suggesting that the team is getting a huge group of reinforcements all at once. To make room, they will need to move at least one other player off the roster. Ken Wiebe of Sportsnet reports that Michael Eyssimont is not on the ice.
While it still leaves Mason Appleton, Logan Stanley, and Saku Maenalanen on injured reserve, getting Wheeler back is big news for the Jets. The 36-year-old seemed rejuvenated this season (like so many other Winnipeg players) and had 26 points through 29 games before going down to injury. Though he is seeing the lowest average ice time since his days with the Boston Bruins, Wheeler has been great and should be another big boost for a Jets team that is still within striking distance of the Central Division crown.
Winnipeg Jets Reassign Kristian Reichel
Jan 5: Reichel has been loaned back to the AHL, potentially clearing room for the return of Cole Perfetti, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Nate Schmidt. During his two-game recall, the young forward recorded an assist and averaged just over 10 minutes of ice time.
Dec 29: The Winnipeg Jets have recalled minor league forward Kristian Reichel from the Manitoba Moose, giving them an extra body as they prepare for tonight’s match against the Vancouver Canucks.
This is Reichel’s first call-up of the season after signing a new two-year, two-way contract last spring. The son of former NHL forward Robert Reichel, Kristian played in 13 games for the Jets last year, recording two points.
Undrafted, Reichel has just two goals and eight points in 25 games with Manitoba this year but is a responsible defensive player and can slide onto the fourth line if needed. With the Jets on a bit of a slide, losing three in a row and six of their last ten, they may shake things up with a new face to try and generate a win.
The club takes on the red-hot Canucks, who have turned around an early season swoon and are right back in the Pacific Division race. Vancouver has won seven of ten and now find themselves just five points behind the Edmonton Oilers with two games in hand.
Snapshots: Austria, Harkins, Kirkland
Despite scoring twice with the goaltender out, Austria came up short in the relegation series at the World Juniors and will be dropped out of the next tournament. Norway will take their place next year, with Latvia (the other team in the relegation round) staying put. Austria was playing with house money already after finishing last in the previous two tournaments. There was no relegation in those years, meaning they got extra chances in the top tournament.
Norway won gold at the Division I level after going a perfect 5-0 against Denmark, Slovenia, France, Hungary, and Kazakhstan. Their group is incredibly young and will get the chance to bring back nearly the entire roster for next year, meaning they should be competitive at least. Only three of their skaters (and one goaltender) are 19.
- After clearing waivers yesterday, the Winnipeg Jets have sent Jansen Harkins to the minor leagues as expected. The depth forward will get a chance to play big minutes again, as he re-joins the Manitoba Moose. In six games to start the year with Manitoba, Harkins had five goals and nine points.
- The Anaheim Ducks have recalled Justin Kirkland once again, after sending him down just yesterday. The 26-year-old forward made his NHL debut this season and has appeared in five games so far, failing to register a point.
Jansen Harkins Clears Waivers
Jan 3: Harkins has cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minor leagues.
Jan 2: According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Winnipeg Jets have placed Jansen Harkins on waivers, as Nikolaj Ehlers and Cole Perfetti close in on a return to the lineup. Harkins already cleared at the beginning of the season but has played far too many games to be assigned to the minor leagues without going through the process again.
The 25-year-old forward has played more than 150 games for the Jets over the last four years, after developing into a dominant presence in the minor leagues. Last season he set career highs with 77 games played, seven goals, and 13 points, while averaging fewer than ten minutes a game. This year the ice time has gone up, but the production has remained limited, with just two goals and five points for Harkins so far.
Ehlers has been out for nearly the entire season and Perfetti since before Christmas. The pair are expected to slot right back into top-six roles upon their return, moving everyone down a peg and pushing fourth-line players like Harkins out of the lineup. With a two-year, one-way contract on the books that carries a cap hit of $850K it is unlikely that any other team will claim him.
Still, it’s not impossible, and that shows how recent waiver claim Karson Kuhlman has played his way up the depth chart in Winnipeg. The 27-year-old is averaging more than 15 minutes a night since arriving and was practicing on Mark Scheifele’s wing again today. When Ehlers and Perfetti return, Kuhlman can move down and into the role vacated by Harkins, should he be assigned to the minor leagues or claimed tomorrow.
Schmidt, Perfetti, Ehlers All Close To Return
- If it were the playoffs, Nate Schmidt, Cole Perfetti, and Nikolaj Ehlers would all be in the Winnipeg Jets lineup, according to head coach Rick Bowness, who spoke with reporters including Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun today. None of them will play, against the Calgary Flames but are on the verge of returning to the lineup. For Ehlers, a return would be his third appearance of the season and first game since October 17. Josh Morrissey, who has also missed practice recently, is expected to play.