Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers suffered an upper-body injury in Friday’s loss to Pittsburgh. Head coach Paul Maurice told reporters, including Mitchell Clinton of the Jets’ team website (Twitter link), that Ehlers will be out until early-to-mid February as a result, meaning he will miss the next four-to-six weeks.
The injury occurred during the first period in a collision with Penguins center Sidney Crosby. While Ehlers tried to return later in the period, he left once again after completing one shift and did not return for the rest of the night.
This is another big blow to Winnipeg’s attack. The 22-year-old sits third on the team in goals with 15 (behind only Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele) and sixth in points with 27. He joins defenseman Dustin Byfuglien on the shelf; the blueliner is also expected to be out until late January or early February.
His absence provides an opportunity for Kyle Connor to move back onto the top line. The 22-year-old winger is in a significant slump at the moment having been held off the scoresheet in ten straight games after playing at nearly a point-per-game pace through the first 30 games of the year.
Winnipeg is one of the lowest-spending teams in the league and they have more than enough salary cap room to add to their lineup if they feel a trade is necessary. However, given that Laine and Connor, as well as defenseman Jacob Trouba, are all restricted free agents after the season, a roughly $2.5MM raise to winger Blake Wheeler on the books already, and defenseman Tyler Myers’ looming unrestricted free agency, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff will almost assuredly be restricted to pursuing players in the final year of their contracts to ensure as much cap flexibility for next offseason.