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Neal Pionk, Jason Spezza To Have Hearings With Department Of Player Safety

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After what Auston Matthews aptly called a “gong show” last night in the third period of the Toronto Maple Leafs-Winnipeg Jets game, several players are receiving supplementary discipline. Jason Spezza has been offered an in-person (via Zoom) hearing for kneeing Neal Pionk, opening him up to a suspension of more than five games. Spezza has accepted and will meet with the DoPS tomorrow. Pionk will also have a hearing (not an in-person one) for his knee on Rasmus Sandin, which started the festivities. Wayne Simmonds, who was involved in several altercations, has been fined $2,250 for his cross-check on Jansen Harkins.

Things kicked off with Pionk’s hit on Sandin, which went unpenalized by the on-ice officials. The Maple Leafs, incensed by the hit that took out their young defender–Sandin left the game immediately and did not return–had several responses, including Spezza’s targeted hit on Pionk while he was in a vulnerable position.

With the in-person hearing offered, Spezza could be facing a suspension of more than five games. That would open him up for an appeal process as well which would be presided over by a neutral arbitrator. Pionk meanwhile can only receive a maximum of five games, though that is unlikely given the precedent for dangerous kneeing incidents.

Simmonds escapes suspension, as his incidents were penalized by the on-ice officials and did not rise to the level of further supplementary discipline. His fine in this case is the maximum allowable under the CBA.

Jets Captain Blake Wheeler Set To Play 1,000th Game

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The Winnipeg Jets could get quite the emotional boost tonight, as captain Blake Wheeler is expected to play in his 1,000th career NHL game Sunday at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Winnipeg is just 4-5-1 in their last ten games and has fallen out of playoff position in the Western Conference, but they’re carrying some momentum after a chaotic 8-4 win against the New Jersey Devils on Friday. The Leafs, however, enter the game without the services of Mitch Marner for a second straight game and are on the second half of a back-to-back. Saturday night saw them erase a 3-0 second-period deficit against the Minnesota Wild but only took home one point with a 4-3 shootout loss. It’s an important game for the Jets and Wheeler, who’s yet to score a goal this season and has just 10 assists in 18 games. It’s a slow start for the normally consistent Wheeler, who’s had at least 15 goals in every season of his 14-year career. He enters his 1,000th game with 279 goals and 538 assists for 817 points.

Paul Stastny Could Return Friday

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The Jets are hoping to have center Paul Stastny back in the lineup on Friday against Minnesota, relays Postmedia’s Scott Billeck.  The veteran has been out for a little more than two weeks due to a lower-body injury which put a strong start to his season on hold; Stastny has four goals and four assists in 11 games in the early going while logging over 18 minutes a game.  Winnipeg is set to begin a road back-to-back set so it’s possible that Stastny only suits up for one of those contests if they want to ere on the side of caution.

Department Of Player Safety Announces Several Fines

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The Department of Player Safety is working this holiday, as they’ve issued a pair of fines for actions in last night’s Winnipeg Jets-Columbus Blue Jackets game. Max Domi has been fined $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct, while Josh Morrissey has earned a $5,000 fine for slashing. Both are the maximum allowable under the CBA.

That’s not all, however, as Ottawa Senators defenseman Nikita Zaitsev has earned a $5,000 fine in his first game back from the COVID protocol for cross-checking Timo Meier of the San Jose Sharks.

Morrissey especially seems lucky to have escaped without a suspension, given the violent slash he gave to Alexandre Texier as an empty-net goal went in. He was given a two-minute minor penalty for the play, but the game was out of reach at that point late in the third period.

Domi meanwhile already received six minutes in penalties during the game, but the league did not reveal what exactly the fine was for. The Blue Jackets forward did cause a scrum to happen after shooting a puck into the net well after the whistle, and attempted to fight an unwilling Evgeny Svechnikov while the linesmen were trying to split them up.

Zaitsev meanwhile cross-checked Meier in the face, though not with the force of some previous incidents that have merited suspensions. He didn’t receive a penalty on the play and Meier did not suffer a serious injury.

Ryan Getzlaf Sets Anaheim Ducks Franchise Points Record

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In what could be potentially his last season in the NHL, Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf set the team’s all-time points record today with his 989th point. In doing so, he passed previous record holder Teemu Selanne.

The 36-year-old center, historically known for his playmaking ability, set the record with a primary assist on a Troy Terry breakaway game-winning goal today in a 4-2 win against the Montreal Canadiens.

While there was some speculation about Getzlaf’s future playing status this offseason, the longtime Ducks captain signed a one-year, $3.0MM deal on July 28, 2021, to stay with the team. Getzlaf’s had a hot start this season, notching seven assists in 10 games while averaging over 18 minutes a game still. It looks to be a solid uptick on last year’s production, where he had just 17 points in 48 games, the lowest totals of his career.

Getzlaf’s played in every Ducks season post-lockout, he’s now had eight seasons with 50+ assists. He’s played over 1,100 games as a Duck and his 17 seasons in Anaheim eclipse Selanne’s 15 years.

NHL Will Not Discipline Kevin Cheveldayoff

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The NHL has announced that they will not be handing out any discipline to Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff for his role in the 2010 Brad Aldrich situation with the Chicago Blackhawks. Cheveldayoff was an assistant general manager with the Blackhawks at the time, and one of the men present in the now-infamous meeting that took place on May 23, 2010.

Commissioner Gary Bettman released the following statement:

While on some level, it would be easiest to paint everyone with any association to this terrible matter with the same broad brush, I believe that fundamental fairness requires a more in-depth analysis of the role of each person. Kevin Cheveldayoff was not a member of the Blackhawks senior leadership team in 2010, and I cannot, therefore, assign to him responsibility for the Club’s actions, or inactions. He provided a full account of his degree of involvement in the matter, which was limited exclusively to his attendance at a single meeting, and I found him to be extremely forthcoming and credible in our discussion.

The investigative report, released earlier this week, has so far been followed by the resignations of Stan Bowman, Al MacIsaac, and Joel Quenneville.

Cheveldayoff released the following statement through the Jets:

First and most importantly, I want to express my support of and empathy for Kyle Beach and all he has had to endure since 2010. He was incredibly brave coming forward to tell his story. We can all use his courage as an inspiration to do a better job of making hockey a safer space for anyone who wants to play the game.

Further, I want to express my gratitude to the National Hockey League for the opportunity to meet with Commissioner Gary Bettman, in person, and directly share my role in and recollection of events while I was Assistant GM of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010. 

Cheveldayoff is returning to Winnipeg and will speak with the media on Monday.

Blake Wheeler Clears COVID Protocol

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Oct 27: After ten days away from the team, Wheeler has cleared the protocol and rejoined the Jets at their morning skate today.

Oct 18: The Winnipeg Jets had Blake Wheeler for Saturday night’s game against the San Jose Sharks, but may not have him for tomorrow night’s matchup against the Minnesota Wild. That’s because he’s been placed in the COVID protocol, though no other information was released from the team.

As a reminder, inclusion in the protocol does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list–which actually won’t be released for the first time until tomorrow–are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol.

In this case, it would be a huge blow for the Jets to lose their captain for any length of time, but especially when they’re off to such a poor start. The team is 0-2 on the year and has scored just four goals, one of them coming from fourth-liner Jansen Harkins. Wheeler himself has registered just three shots on net and one assist through two matches, despite averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time.

He also happens to be a Minnesota native who hasn’t had the chance to play in his home state for quite some time, thanks to the realigned divisions last season. If he’s held out, it would be an unfortunate outcome not only for Wheeler and the Jets but also many of the fans that were hoping to see him suit up at home. He has not yet been ruled out for tomorrow’s game.

Wheeler Can Rejoin Jets Wednesday, Scheifele's Return Date Less Certain

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  • While Jets winger Blake Wheeler will be able to rejoin the team as early as Wednesday when he is cleared to get out of isolation following his positive COVID test, Postmedia’s Scott Billeck highlights that there is still some uncertainty surrounding Mark Scheifele’s eventual availability. While he has yielded both positive and negative tests so far, he’ll need negative tests for two straight days before being cleared to return.  Scheifele’s timeline is different than Wheeler’s with him being asymptomatic.

Mark Scheifele Added To COVID Protocol

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4:20pm: Johnston reports that Scheifele produced another positive test today and will not be eligible for the Jets this evening. He is still in the COVID protocol.

9:35am: The Winnipeg Jets may not have had the widespread issue that was feared yesterday, but they didn’t come out of their COVID testing unscathed. Mark Scheifele has been added to the protocol, joining captain Blake Wheeler. Scheifele could be unavailable for tonight’s game against the Anaheim Ducks.

As a reminder, inclusion in the protocol does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the COVID Protocol Related Absences list–which actually won’t be released for the first time until tomorrow–are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol.

The Jets are in freefall right now, with losses in each of their first three games and now two of their most important forwards on the shelf. Top prospect Cole Perfetti was loaned to the AHL yesterday, but the team doesn’t have enough forwards to dress this evening without making additional recalls. Winnipeg takes on the Ducks in their home opener to try and get things back on track.

It’s not clear yet how long Scheifele will be out, but Chris Johnston of TSN sheds some light on his specific testing situation. He tested positive for coronavirus yesterday morning, is asymptomatic, and has since tested negative. If he produces another negative test, he could play tonight, but his results won’t be known until later today.

Cole Perfetti Assigned To AHL

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Usually, when a 19-year-old CHL prospect is knocked out of the NHL lineup, his team is forced to send back to junior for the whole year or just hold him as an extra. Both are sometimes detrimental for his development, so for years, teams have wished for an AHL exemption when it comes to elite prospects. This year, that exemption exists for a handful of players who spent at least 20 games at the AHL level last season.

Today, the Winnipeg Jets and Cole Perfetti will take advantage of it, as the young forward has been assigned to the Manitoba Moose. Perfetti played in 32 games with Manitoba last season when the OHL campaign was canceled and actually did quite well. Despite being younger than almost every one of his opponents, the 2020 first-round pick racked up 26 points in 32 games for the Moose. Now he’ll get the chance to build on that performance and continue his professional career, instead of returning to the OHL where he had already proved his dominance.

Perfetti made the Jets out of camp but was a healthy scratch on Tuesday night as the Jets decided to go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen against the Minnesota Wild. One thing to remember when it comes to this decision is that while Perfetti has an exemption and can play in the AHL, his contract status is no different than any other 19-year-old prospect. That is, if he plays in eight more games this season he would burn the first year of his entry-level deal. If not–even if he’s playing in the AHL–that deal will slide forward a year and not expire until 2025.

Another added bonus of sending him to the AHL instead of the OHL? Perfetti can be recalled at any point should he show enough to earn a full-time NHL spot, or if the team has injuries that need to be covered. With the team potentially bracing for more positive COVID-19 results, he could even be up within a few days. The Moose are on the road in Laval tonight, but will return home to Manitoba for a four-game homestand that starts on Friday night. If Perfetti’s to continue developing into the player the Jets projected at 10th overall, he needs to play.

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