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Winnipeg Jets Claim Karson Kuhlman

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The Winnipeg Jets have claimed Karson Kuhlman off waivers from the Seattle Kraken. Kuhlman ended up on waivers after Seattle claimed Eeli Tolvanen yesterday.

The move to add the depth forward comes after Jets head coach Rick Bowness was very clear about his frustration with the bottom of his lineup. Speaking with Murat Ates of The Athletic, he explained:

I’m not happy with that fourth line at all. Last game they had two goals against and they’re not generating anything. We’re going to give it a different look tonight.

That different look is with the recalled Kevin Stenlund centering but soon could mean Kuhlman’s addition as well. The 27-year-old has played in 114 games at the NHL level – 14 of them with Seattle this season – and has 26 points. A player that brings a lot of energy, he also has connections to some other Jets from his time in college, where he played with Dylan Samberg, Neal Pionk, and Dominic Toninato.

With the claim, the Jets will take on Kuhlman’s $825K salary and fill up their roster to the maximum of 23 players. Seattle would have been able to bury his entire cap hit in the minors, but given the deal is one-way, would have been on the hook to pay him the full salary even if Kuhlman was assigned to the AHL.

Winnipeg Jets Make Several Roster Moves

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Dec 13: After the Jets returned Stenlund to AHL Manitoba for a short time, he’s back up under a regular recall now. That means he can stay even when everyone is healthy.

Dec 11: Earlier today, we covered how Winnipeg Jets players Logan Stanley and Saku Maenalanen would not be playing in today’s game against the Washington Capitals. Now, we have some more detail on each player’s situation.

The Jets have announced that Stanley and Maenalanen will be placed on injured reserve, which makes them unavailable until next weekend at the earliest. In a corresponding move, forward Kevin Stenlund has been recalled on an emergency basis from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moore.

This IR placement means Stanley, 24, will spend even more time away from the ice. The 2016 18th overall pick has skated in just seven games so far this season. He was activated off of injured reserve just three days ago, and had been out with a fractured foot since late October. Now, he’ll head back to injured reserve.

Maenalanen, 28, has not faced as much injury trouble this season as Stanley has. In 25 games Maenalanen has four goals and six points and has even seen some time on the Jets’ penalty kill. Maenalanen is in the middle of his return season after spending the past three seasons playing in his native Finland.

To fill a roster spot, the Jets have called up Stenlund. The 26-year-old Swede has been an important contributor for the Moose this season, scoring 14 points in 19 games. The big six-foot-four forward has 71 career NHL games on his resume and has 11 career goals.

Logan Stanley, Saku Maenalanen Out Sunday

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  • The Winnipeg Jets will be without forward Saku Maenalanen and defenseman Logan Stanley when they take on the Capitals this evening says Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun. No update beyond that was given by associate coach Scott Arniel. Billeck adds that the Jets are trying to get an additional player called up from the Manitoba Moose to join the Jets at home this evening. Billeck adds the Moose, who actually share an arena with the Jets, are on their way to Calgary, however getting a player back from Calgary to Winnipeg by tonight shouldn’t be an issue. As for the injured players, Maenalanen has impressed in a depth role for the Jets this year, recording six points in 25 games, averaging 11:30 a night, his first NHL action since a stint with the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2018-19. Unfortunately for Stanley, who missed a-month-and-a-half, was able to play just two games after coming back before being forced out of the lineup once again.

Update On Saku Maenalanen

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  • The Winnipeg Jets announced that forward Saku Maenalanen would not return to tonight’s contest against the St. Louis Blues. Maenalanen was driven into the boards taking a hit from Blues defenseman Niko Mikkola and immediately went to the locker room with a shoulder that appeared to be in discomfort. Maenalanen, 28, returned to the NHL with the Jets this season after a successful year in 2021-22 for Karpat in Liiga, and has six points in 24 games so far.

Winnipeg Jets Activate Logan Stanley

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Good news on the injury front for the Winnipeg Jets as they will be getting an important piece of their blueline back. The team announced they have activated defenseman Logan Stanley off of IR. Stanley had been on IR since November 2nd with a fractured foot, but has not played since October 24th.

Although Winnipeg is still dealing with injuries to a pair of key forwards in Nikolaj Ehlers and Mason Appleton, their defense has remained relatively healthy as of late. Even still, getting the massive Stanley back in the fold should make a difference. The Jets currently have the eighth fewest shots against them in the NHL, an indicator of strong defense, however the team also ranks 29th in the NHL in shots for. Stanley might not be an elite puck mover, but having a complete blueline could help the team stay out of their own end and stay in the offensive end more than they have.

Listed at 6’7 and 231 pounds, Stanley’s frame allows him to play a unique and exciting brand of physical, shutdown defense evidence by his 195 career hits in 100 career games. A 2016 first-round pick, the defenseman took some time to make it to the NHL, but has now established himself as a key piece when healthy. The 24-year-old played in a career-high 58 games last season, recording 13 points, but has played in just five this season, with zero points thus far. The Central Division-leading Jets play this evening on the road in St. Louis against the up-and-down Blues.

Evgeny Svechnikov, Dominic Toninato Clear Waivers

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Dec 7: Both players have cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the minor leagues.

Dec 6: Two more forwards have hit waivers today, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports Evgeny Svechnikov of the San Jose Sharks and Dominic Toninato of the Winnipeg Jets are available for claim.

The former’s placement is especially curious, given the Sharks just placed Matt Nieto on injured reserve today, recalling C.J. Suess to take his place. Svechnikov played a season-high 16:26 in the team’s most recent game, and has six points in 20 appearances this year. The older brother of Carolina Hurricanes star Andrei Svechnikov, the 26-year-old finally saw regular NHL action last season, playing in 72 games with the Winnipeg Jets and scoring 19 points.

Toninato, meanwhile, cleared waivers in October, but has spent enough time on the active roster to need it again if the Jets want to assign him to the minor leagues. The 28-year-old has played in just four games, registering a single point. Like Svechnikov, he too was a regular in the Winnipeg lineup last season, scoring 14 points in 77 games.

Both players come with cap hits of the league minimum $750K.

Winnipeg Jets Activate Morgan Barron, Assign Ville Heinola To AHL

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Just ahead of their game this evening against the Chicago Blackhawks, the Winnipeg Jets activated forward Morgan Barron off of IR. Barron had missed the last 10 games with a wrist injury. In order to create roster space for Barron, the Jets also announced they’ve assigned defenseman Ville Heinola to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.

Getting Barron back into the lineup is a relief for Winnipeg, who had been playing down several forwards, including Barron, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Mason Appleton. Acquired in the Andrew Copp trade this past spring, Barron had been off to a solid start in 2021-22, registering four points in nine games, appearing to establish himself as a full-time NHLer for the first time in his career. With Winnipeg’s injury issues up front, Barron should have ample opportunity to continue to establish himself.

Heinola, unlike Barron, has had trouble getting his footing in the NHL, something that has become a pretty well reported story in its own right. The defenseman has only appeared in two games this season for the Jets, but does have seven assists in 10 games for the Moose to start. For his career, Heinola has played in just 27 NHL games spread over three seasons, recording 10 points, but will have to continue to sharpen his skillset in the AHL in order to take the next step.

Could Stanley And Heinola Be Trade Options For Winnipeg?

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Despite dealing with multiple injuries up front, the Jets enter play today sitting in second place in the Central Division thanks to a resurgent season from Connor Hellebuyck and some improved defensive play from some of their veteran blueliners under new head coach Rick Bowness.  Accordingly, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press wonders if instead of moving one of those veteran rearguards to make room for a youngster, they instead turn around and move one of those younger defensemen to acquire some help up front.  Ville Heinola is just now getting his feet wet this season after starting the season in the minors while Logan Stanley has been out for a month and might have a hard time getting back into the lineup when healthy.  Both players carry cap hits under $1MM which would be enticing to cap-strapped teams while Winnipeg has a little over $1.7MM in cap room at the moment per CapFriendly which would give them some extra flexibility to take on a more expensive forward in return.

Nikolaj Ehlers Undergoes Surgery

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Nov 23: Ehlers underwent surgery today in Detroit, according to Sean Reynolds of Sportsnet. Team reporter Sara Orlesky tweets that the expected recovery period is between six and eight weeks. Even that timeline seems optimistic, and sports hernia surgeries are notorious for affecting hockey performance long after a player is medically cleared.

Nov 19: It has been a tough year so far for Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers.  He suffered an injury in the second game of the season and hasn’t played since then, missing a month.  It’ll be quite a while before he’s back as head coach Rick Bowness told reporters, including Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun that Ehlers will undergo sports hernia surgery next week with no timetable for his return.  However, he is expected to return at some point this season.

The 26-year-old has been a key part of Winnipeg’s attack for several years now and was coming off arguably his best season in 2021-22 when he had 28 goals and 27 assists in 62 games.  He was even productive in his lone two appearances with a trio of assists this year.  Unsurprisingly, his absence has been a blow to the Jets’ offense this season as they enter play today sitting 28th in the league in goals scored although strong goaltending has helped lead them to a 10-4-1 record.  Ehlers had taken part in a skate with the team back on Wednesday in the hopes of returning but clearly, something didn’t go as planned.

Winnipeg is one of only nine teams with at least $1MM in cap space at the moment, per CapFriendly which gives them at least a little bit of flexibility to work with.  They’re currently carrying eight defensemen and could move out one of those to free up a bit more space to add a replacement forward beyond a recall from AHL Manitoba which is how they’ve managed so far even with forwards Morgan Barron and Mason Appleton out after undergoing wrist surgeries.  While GM Kevin Cheveldayoff was likely wanting to hold onto his cap space to maximize his options at the trade deadline, a prolonged absence for one of his top forwards might be enough to force his hand sooner than he’d have liked to.

Heinola To Make Season Debut

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  • The squeaky wheel is getting some grease in Winnipeg, where the Jets will dress Ville Heinola for the first time this season. Earlier this month, Heinola’s agent publicly requested some additional playing time for his client, who has been stuck in limbo somewhere between leagues for much of his professional career. Now 21, Heinola has seven points in 11 games for the Manitoba Moose but will make his season debut against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight, according to Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun.

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