- There was good news on the blue line for the Winnipeg Jets this afternoon with the team sharing that Ville Heinola has been activated off the team’s injured reserve. Still, it’s not all positive news concerning Jets’ defensemen as color analyst Mitchell Clinton reports that although Logan Stanley is expected to join Winnipeg on their upcoming road trip, he’s not expected to skate for the next four to five days. Stanley has been on Winnipeg’s injured reserve since November 12th with an undisclosed injury.
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Jets Rumors
Winnipeg Jets Activate, Re-Assign Ville Heinola On Conditioning Stint
In a positive update on his recovery from ankle surgery, the Winnipeg Jets organization announced they have activated defenseman Ville Heinola off injured reserve and have reassigned him to the American Hockey League on a conditioning stint. Heinola has been shelved since September 20th after undergoing a procedure to remove an infection from his previously fractured ankle.
The 2024-25 NHL season was expected to be big for the former 20th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft. Thanks to a few departures this past offseason, Heinola was thought to have a consistent role on the Jets’ blue line this season. Heinola hasn’t suited up for Winnipeg since January 19th, 2023 because of his ankle fracture and subsequent surgery a few months ago.
He’s spent much of the last three seasons playing for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose and has performed quite well. He’s scored 19 goals and 90 points in 130 games for the Moose since the start of the 2021-22 season with an additional one goal and eight points in 11 postseason contests.
The conditioning stint will allow Heinola to spend a maximum of two weeks with AHL Manitoba while still collecting his NHL salary. Once the conditioning loan has run its course it will be interesting to see how the Jets incorporate Heinola into the lineup.
He should have a guaranteed spot in the bottom pairing next to Colin Miller as an objective upgrade over Haydn Fleury. Winnipeg may even choose to move Dylan Samberg down a pair allowing Heinola minutes next to fellow puck-moving blue liner Neal Pionk.
In all likelihood, Winnipeg will slowplay Heinola back into the NHL especially considering the team’s average defensive play despite the impressive start. The Jets have allowed the 15th most shots against of all the teams in the league and are sitting 24th in Expected Goals Against according to Hockey Reference. Winnipeg’s fourth-best GA/G average to start the campaign is primarily because of the stellar play of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck which may give the team the confidence to give more responsibility to Heinola out of the gate.
Jets Reassign Fabian Wagner To AHL
The Jets assigned forward prospect Fabian Wagner to AHL Manitoba on Sunday, per a team announcement. The 20-year-old began the season on loan to Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League, but the team said Saturday that they would be mutually terminating their agreement with Wagner.
Linköping sporting director Peter Jakobsson said Wagner wanted to come to North America, and it’s easy to see why. The 2022 sixth-round pick has averaged just 6:23 per game through 16 appearances in 2024-25 and has a -5 rating without recording a point.
The Jets selected Wagner out of the Linköping organization two years ago after he posted 38 points and a +20 rating in 43 appearances for their U-20 club. He’s played primarily for the professional squad since in top-level SHL action but has been used sparingly, totaling just one goal and five assists in 87 games in light usage, almost always dressing as the club’s 13th forward.
Wagner, a 6’0″ forward who can play both center and wing, has suited up for Sweden at the past two World Junior Championships, where he has two goals and four assists for six points in 14 games. All of those points came in seven games at the 2023 tournament – he went pointless at the 2024 edition.
It’s not quite a last-ditch effort to get Wagner’s development back on track – he is still just 20 years old, after all. However, his inability to climb up Linköping’s depth chart over the past few years is concerning, and as a result, few scouting services rank him within Winnipeg’s top 15 or 20 prospects.
The Jets signed Wagner to his entry-level contract back in June 2023. It slid last year since he spent the whole campaign overseas, but it will go into effect for 2024-25, regardless of whether he sees NHL action. He’ll be a restricted free agent in 2027.
Morning Notes: Peeke, Pionk, Goncalves, Kastelic, Tufte
The Boston Bruins will soon receive some relief on the blue-line, with defenseman Andrew Peeke returning to the team’s practices per Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. Peeke hasn’t played since leaving Boston’s November 5th match against Toronto following a hit from Max Pacioretty that seemed to bounce Peeke’s shoulder awkwardly off the boards. He was ruled out week-to-week with an upper-body injury soon after, though participating in practice marks a big step in his path back to the lineup. Peeke isn’t expected to play in Boston’s Monday game against Columbus but could suit up when the team hosts Utah on Thursday.
Peeke was joined on the shelf by Hampus Lindholm, who’s week-to-week with a lower-body injury. The pair of absences quickly drained Boston’s top-four of its impactful, defensive stalwarts. Peeke rotated through the lineup when healthy, serving anywhere from 13 minutes in a sheltered role to 20 minutes on the top pair. He’s recorded two assists, 18 hits, and 21 blocked shots in 13 games. While not a thrilling stat line, Boston has felt every bit of Peeke’s absence – averaging the fifth-highest goals-against per-game (3.60 in five games) since he left the lineup. Upcoming matchups against Columbus, Utah, and Detroit should give Boston a chance to ease Peeke back into the lineup.
Other notes from around the NHL:
- Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk has been fined $5K, the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement, for “clipping” Florida Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist on Saturday. Pionk went in for a hip-check but caught more of Boqvist’s knee than anything else. No penalty was issued for the hit. Boqvist nursed his left-knee for a while, but didn’t need helped off the ice. Pionk played 20 minutes in the 5-0 loss, going without any major stat changes – but still boasting 17 points in 18 games this season. He’ll continue to be a main fixture of the Jets lineup – and likely continue delivering heavy hip-checks – after avoiding suspension here.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have once again assigned forward Gage Goncalves to the minor leagues, after he stepped into a third-line role in the team’s Saturday night win over New Jersey. Goncalves played a career-high 15:32 worth of ice time in the outing, though he only put up two hits and one shot. Goncalves has yet to record his first NHL point, despite four appearances this year and two last year. He’ll return to the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, where he’s already posted six assists in five games – the only Crunch still scoring above a point-per-game pace.
- The Boston Bruins received a couple more updates at Sunday’s practice, with forwards Mark Kastelic designated as day-to-day with a lower-body injury and Riley Tufte expected to be sent to the minor leagues per Steve Conroy. Tufte played in 7:46 of Boston’s Saturday overtime-loss to St. Louis, with a -2 his only stat change. Tufte has yet to record a point in three games this year, though he’s managed three points in 21 career NHL games while serving as a go-to call-up since 2021. Kastelic has been much more productive – posting seven points in 19 games this season – while still serving a fourth-line role.
Jets Could Be Looking To Add To Roster
Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin will miss tonight’s game with an upper-body injury and is being called day-to-day (as per Michael Russo of The Athletic). The 31-year-old has become somewhat injury-prone in the last few seasons and appeared in just 62 games last year for the Wild. This season, Brodin has dressed in 15 contests and has registered one goal and five assists for six points.
Brodin’s injury doesn’t appear to be a long-term issue, but the frequency of his injuries is likely starting to concern him and the Wild. Especially given that the Karlstad, Sweden native has three years left on his current contract at a cap hit of $6MM annually.
In other Central Division Notes:
- Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Alec Martinez will be a game-time decision this evening when the Blackhawks take on the Seattle Kraken (as per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times). Martinez was activated off injured reserve earlier today and while his move paves the way for him to return to action, the team will decide closer to puck drop. No word yet on who will come out of the lineup if Martinez does return. The 37-year-old is in his first year with the Blackhawks after signing a one-year $4MM deal as a free agent this past summer. The three-time Stanley Cup Champion has played just four games this year and is -1 with a single assist.
- David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period is reporting that the red-hot Winnipeg Jets could be looking to add to their already impressive lineup. Winnipeg is off to an incredible 15-1-0 start to the season and looks to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender in the first month and a half of the season. Pagnotta notes that the Jets have a good chunk of cap space that could be utilized to add to the roster if they are so inclined. Pagnotta believes that Winnipeg would target a defenseman if they were to make a move in the season and mentions Penguins defender Marcus Pettersson as a possibility. Given that Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas just declared nearly the whole Penguins roster is available, it is highly likely that Pettersson is in play. If Winnipeg was to show interest in the 28-year-old they would likely be competing with much of the league for the services of the stable defender.
Central Notes: Heinola, Stanley, Bedard, Predators
Jets defense prospect Ville Heinola has had his past couple of seasons derailed by injuries. 2023-24 saw him play no NHL games and 41 AHL games before an ankle injury that required surgery ended his campaign. The 2019 first-round pick was then expected to compete for a roster spot after Winnipeg lost Brenden Dillon to free agency and bought out Nate Schmidt, but he didn’t even partake in training camp after an infection stemming from the screws placed in his ankle to repair the fracture arose during physicals.
The 23-year-old is getting closer to a return to play, though. He started skating on his own at the end of October and was spotted at practice Tuesday without a non-contact designation, team color analyst Mitchell Clinton reports.
Heinola is on injured reserve and would require waivers to head back to Manitoba on a full-time basis. However, the Jets could allow him to get back up to game speed in the AHL by assigning him on a conditioning loan, which could last for up to two weeks.
The left-shot Finn has never logged more than 12 NHL appearances in a single season. He has 35 career games under his belt more than five years after being drafted, recording 11 points with a -6 rating while averaging 15:15 per contest.
It’s not all good injury news for the Jets, though. Logan Stanley sustained a mid-body injury in Saturday’s win over the Stars and isn’t traveling with the team on their three-game road swing this week, head coach Scott Arniel said (via Clinton). The hulking 6’7″ defender already missed the first four games of the campaign after undergoing minor knee surgery. When in the lineup, he has three points and a +6 rating in 11 games while averaging 15:13 per night. His customarily poor possession numbers haven’t changed despite Winnipeg’s hot start – he’s only managed to control 45.5% of shot attempts at even strength, a career-low.
Elsewhere in the Central Division:
- Blackhawks sophomore Connor Bedard is off to a slow-ish start with just three goals through his first 16 games, although he has added 10 assists for 13 points. A horrid 5.8 shooting percentage will ultimately improve and he likely deserves to be on the score sheet more than he is, but he’s still looking to jumpstart his game and has a sense of urgency about doing it. “You can look everywhere, but just feeling like I’m having more impact on the game,” Bedard told The Athletic’s Scott Powers on Monday. “I felt like earlier in the year, I was making a lot of plays, pretty dangerous out there. Lately, I’ve been (making) less of an impact and not really making a difference, so hopefully I can contribute more.”
- The Predators are still last in the league with a 5-9-2 record, but general manager Barry Trotz foresees improvement on the horizon, he told Nicholas J. Cotsonika of NHL.com after yesterday’s overtime loss to the Avalanche. “We got off to a bad start,” Trotz said. “We tried to be something that we weren’t. I think we’re coming around. After the 0-5 start, we’re 5-4-1 in the last 10. We’ve played some good teams. I see us being more consistent, getting more balance in our game.”
Jets Set NHL Record With 14 Wins Through 15 Games
- After today’s 4-1 win against the Stars, the Jets have become the first team in NHL history to win 14 of their first 15 games. It’s not quite the best start to a season in league history – that belongs to the 2012-13 Blackhawks and their 21-0-3 run through the season’s first 24 games. But it’s an impressive feat nonetheless, and it has them six points clear of the Wild for first in the NHL, Western Conference and Central Division.
Poll: Who Will Win The 2025 Jack Adams Award?
Of all of the trophies in hockey, the Jack Adams Award has become the most debated. Meant to award the coach determined to have most contributed to their team’s success, the trophy has instead become a way to award coaches that tally extended win-streaks, resilient comebacks, or unexpected runs to the postseason. Recent winners include Vancouver’s Rick Tocchet, Boston’s Jim Montgomery, and now-replaced Calgary head coach Darryl Sutter. All three kicked off their award-winning year with hot starts in the first two months, making now a great time to check in on this year’s early favorites.
The easy early choice has to be Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel, who’s inspired an incredible 13-1-0 record to start the new year. Arniel was promoted to replace Rick Bowness full-time this summer, after covering for the 800-game pro coach at multiple points last season. The hire was hotly debated at the time, with Jets fans split between whether Arniel’s role as the team’s penalty-kill coach would push slow-paced defense onto a roster that clearly needed to lean into fast-paced offense. But that hasn’t proven a worry on the ice, with Winnipeg’s 63 goals and +11 goal-differential both proudly leading the league. That’s been inspired by the usual suspects playing well – with Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Josh Morrissey rightfully leading the team in scoring. But the depth of production is perhaps the biggest testament to Arniel’s impact. Winnipeg has 10 players with at least 10 points, including Cole Perfetti and Mason Appleton – who both struggled to find their scoring consistency under Bowness. Arniel’s Jets also boast the best power-play in the league (42.1 percent) and a league-average penalty-kill (80 percent success).
Arniel headlines a long list of first-year head coaches finding immediate success. John Hynes has led his Minnesota Wild to a second-place 10-2-2 record, and Sheldon Keefe has made the New Jersey Devils the playoff-favorites that many expected them to be last year. But it’s the mentality shift of Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube that seems to be making the biggest ripples in a new setting. The hard-nosed former pro has led a defensive charge in Toronto, with the team allowing their fewest goals-against per-game since 2020-21 under Berube’s reign. That’s helped along by summer additions like Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, but the team as a whole has shifted towards a grittier, dump-and-chase style. The downside of that shift has been Toronto’s drop from averaging 3.63 goals-per-game last year, to just 3.07 this year – though the team has still managed a hardy 8-5-2 record through their first 15 games. Berube may not be inspiring as much as his other first-year peers, but the culture shift he’s instilled could make him a strong Jack Adams candidate if the Leafs find another layer.
There’s also Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery, who won a tight race for the Eastern Conference’s second Wild Card last season. And while Washington didn’t inspire much in the postseason – getting swept by the New York Rangers – they’ve clearly used the appearance as motivation in the new year. Washington is red-hot, sat with a 9-4-0 record and ranked in the top 10 of goals-for, goals-against, and penalty kill percentage. The Capitals’ season is undeniably headlined by Alexander Ovechkin’s chase for Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record – only 34 goals away! – but Carbery has pulled together a quietly-thriving team in the backdrop. It’s a record more inspired by emerging lineup pillars – like Dylan Strome, Aliaksei Protas, and Connor McMichael – more than being led by individual stars. The Capitals still need to squeeze more out of new additions like Andrew Mangiapane and Pierre-Luc Dubois. A spark in net wouldn’t hurt either. But the momentum that Carbery has built up in his second year has Washington looking much more the part of a strong playoff hopeful than they did last year, even despite an injured blue-line.
The NHL season has hardly begun, but plenty of new and inexperienced head coaches have found their groove right out of the gates. Their momentum could spell out the Jack Adams finalists far ahead of an official announcement, or they could soon be uprooted by settled veterans like Florida’s Paul Maurice, Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour, or Vegas’ Bruce Cassidy. All have started strong, providing plenty of options for who could run away with this year’s Jack Adams Award. Who do you think will keep their hot start going and take home this year’s ’Coach of the Year’ trophy?
Jets Activate, Reassign Jaret Anderson-Dolan
In a minor move heading into the weekend, the Winnipeg Jets activated forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan and reassigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. Anderson-Dolan signed a two-year, $1.55MM with the Jets on the second day of free agency this past offseason.
Anderson-Dolan landed on the injured reserve shortly before the regular season started due to a broken foot. He featured in three preseason contests for the Jets but failed to find the scoresheet besides posting a +1 rating.
He’ll likely feature as a flex forward in Winnipeg for much of the season. If the last few seasons are any indication, Anderson-Dolan should spend most of his time in the AHL unless there’s an injury at the NHL level.
Aside from a few injuries, Anderson-Dolan suited up for the Los Angeles Kings from 2018-2023 collecting 15 goals and 28 points in 126 games. The Nashville Predators claimed Anderson-Dolan off waivers last season but he only featured in one game.
He’ll now head to a Moose team that’s struggled out of the gates to start the 2024-25 AHL campaign. After qualifying for the Calder Cup playoffs last year as the fifth-ranked team in the Central Division, the Moose have started this year 3-5-0-0 and sit seventh in the division.
West Notes: Hellebuyck, Wild, Reichel
Murat Ates of The Athletic broke down the reason Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was so frustrated by the lack of a goaltender interference call in a recent game against the Lightning. Hellebuyck has been a vocal advocate for goaltender interference calls, going as far as presenting to the NHL’s competition committee, and was incensed after the game against Tampa Bay for giving up a goal with a player sitting in his lap.
Hellebuyck has been looking for the NHL to create a clear standard for goalie interference but has been unsuccessful thus far in his advocacy. Goaltender interference remains a hotly debated topic around NHL circles as more and more instances of differing opinions seem to be occurring around the league.
In other Western Conference notes:
- The Minnesota Wild have been a feel-good story this season, beginning the year with an 8-1-2 record which matches their best start in franchise history (as per John Buccigross). The Wild have scored a franchise record 41 goals in 11 games and have been bolstered by star Kirill Kaprizov who is currently tied for the NHL scoring lead with 21 points. On the backend, the Wild have also received elite goaltending from Filip Gustavsson who appears to have returned to the form he displayed two years ago and even has a goal of his own this season.
- Scott Powers of The Athletic writes that Chicago Blackhawks forward Lucas Reichel has worked to get his confidence back and the results are beginning to show. Last season the 22-year-old went from a second line center all the way back to the AHL and it appeared in training camp that his game was in the same place. However, since being paired with veterans Pat Maroon and Craig Smith, Reichel has turned a corner and has looked like the player that the Blackhawks were hoping he would be when they took him in the first round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Reichel has a goal and five assists in nine games this season while averaging just over 12 minutes per game.