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Paul Maurice Resigns From Winnipeg Jets

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The Winnipeg Jets have announced some shocking news, revealing that Paul Maurice has resigned as head coach effective immediately. Dave Lowry will take over head coaching duties on an interim basis.

Maurice met with the media to explain why he has made the decision to leave and said that the Jets are a very good team but they’ve consistently performed under where they could be of late. He stated that he believes it’s time for a new voice behind the bench in Winnipeg, despite noting that he doesn’t believe the team “quit” on him. Maurice spoke with general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff about the situation last summer, and there was no single breaking point, just that there needed to be a new voice.

The veteran coach is proud of the work he did in Winnipeg, explaining that he believes he helped take them from a “bottom 10 situation to a top 10 situation.” He mentioned the “law of diminishing returns” to explain that when he pushes a button now, he doesn’t get quite the same reaction.

Maurice had been the second longest-tenured coach in the NHL, behind only Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He had another year on his contract with the Jets, though it was an option that will obviously now not be exercised. He explained that he’s not embarrassed by this decision and “feels good” that he doesn’t have a game to coach tonight or a job to chase tomorrow. He noted that may be the first time in 26 years that he has felt that way.

It’s been “more of a grind” for Maurice to come to the rink the last two years, as the excitement has waned for him after a long career. That was especially true during last year’s season without fans; the coach asked the collected media “what’s the point” without the energy in the building.

To sum it up, Maurice said this:

I just don’t want to watch those guys fight for the rest of the year, when I think they could be better with someone else. 

Cheveldayoff explained that Lowry is expected to serve as head coach the rest of the season.

Blake Wheeler Won't Need Surgery

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While the Jets will be without their captain Blake Wheeler for a while, head coach Paul Maurice recently provided a positive update to reporters including Postmedia’s Scott Billeck, indicating that the winger won’t need to undergo surgery:

Wheeler had been off to a tough start to his season in the goal department having only scored his first of the year on Friday, the game he was injured in.  However, he had chipped in with a team-leading 16 assists in 21 games.  While Winnipeg will get some short-term cap relief by transferring Wheeler to LTIR which would allow them to at least carry a full 23-player roster, the fact that the 35-year-old will return this season will prevent the Jets from going outside the organization to add a more prominent veteran to take his place.

Blake Wheeler To Be Out For A While

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Friday’s game against Vancouver got off to a positive start for Jets captain Blake Wheeler as he picked up his first goal of the season.  However, it ended on a much worse note as he left the game early with a lower-body injury and following the game, head coach Paul Maurice told reporters including Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe that it’s not going to be a short-term issue:

It’s going to be a while. We’ll get him looked at tomorrow. I’m not a doctor, but it’s going to be a while.

We’ll get him healed up, we’ll find other players and we’ll find a way to do it without him.

Winnipeg isn’t scheduled to practice this weekend so a full update with an estimated timeline for Wheeler’s return won’t come until Monday at the earliest.

While the 35-year-old hadn’t scored until last night, he had still been one of their better point producers with his 16 assists leading the team.  Wheeler has still logged heavy minutes – 19:24 per game which is more than a minute higher than last season – which will make replacing him a little more difficult.

The Jets have basically used all of their allowable LTIR for Bryan Little and have still only been able to carry a dozen forwards on the roster, three of which have an AAV at or below the league minimum.  Assuming Wheeler will miss at least 10 games or 24 days, they’ll be able to add him to LTIR which will give them plenty of short-term cap space to recall a replacement forward.  However, trading for one will be out of the question unless he was to be ruled out for the rest of the season as they’d have to get back into cap compliance before being able to activate Wheeler.

Winnipeg only has eight forwards on NHL contracts that aren’t up with the team already.  The most promising of those is winger Cole Perfetti although he won’t be an option for a better part of a month following his loan to Team Canada for the World Juniors yesterday.  Most of their other options are basically only fits for the fourth line so Wheeler’s absence will be a tough one to overcome for a Jets team that is in a very tight battle in the Central Division.

Cole Perfetti Loaned To Canada WJC Selection Camp

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The Canadian World Junior selection camp has received a huge boost, as Winnipeg Jets prospect Cole Perfetti was officially loaned from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. The Jets could have blocked Perfetti from competing in the tournament if they wanted him to continue his strong play in the minor leagues, but the 19-year-old forward will be there to compete with Canada at the upcoming event.

This isn’t the first time Perfetti will compete for Canada. He took home a silver medal last year with the World Juniors, and then was eventually selected for the World Championship team in the summer. Though he played a limited role on that NHL-level squad, Perfetti still scored twice and took home a gold medal when Canada stormed back late in the tournament.

This year saw his NHL debut, as the young forward played two games with the Jets. It also has seen even more dominant play from him in the minor leagues, with 15 points in 17 games for Manitoba. Overall, the teenager has 41 points in 49 AHL games to this point, numbers that will quickly have him rising the depth chart in Winnipeg. Selected tenth overall by the Jets in 2020, he very well could be wearing a letter for Canada at the tournament later this month.

Tampa Bay Lightning Claim Riley Nash

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are going to take a shot with another veteran player, this time claiming Riley Nash off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

There’s no doubt that Nash’s best days are behind him, but the Lightning have made a habit out of finding specific roles for depth players over the years in order to maximize their efficiency. The 32-year-old center can still play the defensive side of the puck, meaning he could help out the Tampa Bay bottom-six and penalty kill if deployed correctly. Still, he has exactly zero points this season in 15 games and just 33 since the end of the 2017-18 season.

The Lightning have dealt with several serious injuries to key forwards though, as both Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point remain out. That has meant some of their younger players have been forced into bigger roles, leaving the depth of the organization a bit lacking. Against the Philadelphia Flyers in their most recent game, the trio of Taylor Raddysh, Gabriel Fortier, and Boris Katchouk each played fewer than 12 minutes. If Nash can show that he can provide a strong, defensive presence on the fourth line, it seems likely that Fortier (who is currently on an emergency recall) would be returned to the minor leagues to continue his development with the Syracuse Crunch.

Neal Pionk Placed In Concussion Protocol

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The Winnipeg Jets weren’t going to have Neal Pionk for the next two games as he was given a suspension yesterday, but he will be out even longer than that. Pionk is in the concussion protocol according to team reporter Mitchell Clinton, and will not play tonight or travel with the team to Seattle and Vancouver this week.

Injured on a hit from Jason Spezza which triggered an in-person disciplinary hearing for the Maple Leafs forward, it’s unclear how long Pionk will actually be out of the lineup. For his part, Spezza faces a suspension that could eclipse five games, though that won’t be announced until later this afternoon (the hearing is ongoing as of this writing). Importantly, this injury sustained by Pionk will be considered and his absence could result in a longer suspension.

In his three years with the Jets, Pionk has turned into one of the team’s most important players, averaging over 22 minutes a night this season. His 16 points in 24 games lead all Winnipeg defenders, while he is just five hits behind Adam Lowry for the club lead in that category as well. The 6’0″ defender is no stranger to the rough stuff, having racked up more than 135 hits in each of his three full seasons in the league.

Neal Pionk Suspended Two Games

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The Department of Player Safety has decided on a two-game suspension for Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk. The reason for the suspension was a dangerous knee on Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin, which caused the third period of last night’s game to become a “gong show” according to Auston Matthews. As the accompanying video explains:

It is important to note that Pionk is in control of this play. We acknowledge Pionk’s argument that this is an attempted full body check, but this play cannot be classified as merely a collision between players where one or both move reflexively or defensively at the last moment to avoid contact.

If he wants to deliver this hit, the onus is on Pionk to take an angle of approach that ensures that he is in a good position to make a legal, full body check. Instead, having taken an angle which has him lined up outside of Sandin’s path, Pionk turns his right leg and extends his knee, jutting it forward to avoid missing the check entirely. 

Not only is Pionk getting suspended, but Toronto’s Jason Spezza will have an in-person hearing tomorrow to determine what level of supplementary discipline will follow his retaliatory hit on the Jets’ defenseman.

The fact that Pionk’s hit went unpenalized by the on-ice officials, along with the fact that Sandin suffered what appears to be a serious injury on the play, helped make the decision on a two-game suspension. Pionk will miss games against the Carolina Hurricanes and Seattle Kraken as he serves his time.

Kevin Connauton, Riley Nash Placed On Waivers

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According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Winnipeg Jets have placed Riley Nash on waivers today, but he won’t be there alone. The Florida Panthers have put Kevin Connauton on waivers as well, after announcing that Gustav Forsling will accompany the team on their upcoming road trip.

Nash, 32, hasn’t played in over two weeks and has zero points in 15 games so far this season. A player that was once a perfect bottom-six center, capable of checking the opponent’s best and chipping in some offense, Nash now looks like he’s on his way out of the league. He’s averaged fewer than nine minutes of ice time when he has been in the Winnipeg lineup, so at this point it makes more sense to give a younger player an opportunity. That, and the Jets are facing a potential suspension for Neal Pionk, meaning they could require some additional defensive depth in the coming days.

Still, he costs only $750K and is a pending free agent, so there certainly wouldn’t be much risk if a team thought Nash could still hold his own at the NHL level. He does have more than 600 games of NHL experience, certainly enough to make him at least a bit intriguing to other teams.

Connauton meanwhile has suited up in 13 games for the Panthers this season after inking a one-year, two-way deal in the offseason. Simply defensive depth at this point in his career, the 31-year-old hasn’t been an NHL regular since the 2018-19 season. In the years since he’s played just 28 games at the highest level, recording just two points in that time.

He too could be claimed if a team is desperate for some defensive help, but more likely he’ll clear as he did last season.

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.

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