- Another name that was brought up as being on the market is that of veteran Philadelphia Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk. The 33-year-old has scored a healthy 21 points in 34 games this season, and would in all likelihood give a team additional scoring help at a lower cost than some of the other forward options on the market, such as Meier or Bertuzzi. Marek linked van Riemsdyk to three teams: the Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, and Vegas Golden Knights.
Jets Rumors
Jets Activate Mason Appleton, Place Dylan DeMelo On IR
The Jets will welcome back one of their injured forwards tonight as they announced (Twitter link) that winger Mason Appleton will return to the lineup tonight against Chicago. To make room for him on the active roster, defenseman Dylan DeMelo has been placed on injured reserve.
The 27-year-old had gotten off to a nice start to his season, picking up a goal and five assists in 14 games before suffering a wrist injury back in mid-November. Appleton had been logging 16:34 per contest which was considerably above his career average of 13:00. With his return, this will be pretty much as close to Winnipeg having their full complement of forwards with fourth liner David Gustafsson being the only one left on IR.
That is of particular importance to Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff. Not only does Appleton’s return give him a chance to assess what his full forward group looks like to help determine their needs heading into the trade deadline, it also has allowed them to get back to banking cap space. At one point not that long ago, they were nearly in a spot where they had to dip into LTIR. Now, per CapFriendly, their current roster sits about $2MM below the cap with Winnipeg projecting to have more than $9MM in cap room before next month’s trade deadline. Not many buyers will have that type of financial flexibility to work with.
Meanwhile, although the Jets moved DeMelo to IR, he’s making progress in returning to the lineup, per Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun. The veteran has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury but is skating on his own. He won’t obviously play tonight but hasn’t been ruled out for Tuesday’s contest against Seattle. Once DeMelo is cleared to return, Winnipeg will have to open up another roster spot and their only three waiver-exempt players are forwards Cole Perfetti and Morgan Barron along with blueliner Dylan Samberg.
Latest On Timo Meier
The Timo Meier-to-New Jersey train has been gathering speed for the last few weeks. It seems like a perfect fit, and now with the New York Islanders and New York Rangers both loading up with Bo Horvat and Vladimir Tarasenko respectively, the Devils might have to keep pace.
Today, though, on the 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman suggested that two other teams could be involved in Meier trade talks. The first, which shouldn’t surprise many, is the Toronto Maple Leafs. Friedman noted that Kyle Dubas’ recent comments about not spending high picks and prospects were contingent on the term “rentals,” which, technically, Meier isn’t. The San Jose Sharks forward has a $10MM qualifying offer this offseason and has reportedly been open to potentially signing an extension wherever he lands, should it make sense.
One guy said to me that there are teams out there thinking that Toronto, at the very least have considered: ’do we go get Meier for this run, and then sort it out later.’ Basically punt the decision to the summer.
Toronto isn’t the only one, though. Friedman notes there are a number of Eastern Conference teams after Meier and at least a few from the West. One of those is the Winnipeg Jets, apparently, who Friedman has also heard about in regard to Meier. With a new coaching staff the Jets look like a lock for the playoffs again and could even still compete for the Central Division crown with a good stretch run. With Blake Wheeler coming off the cap after the 2023-24 season, they’ll also have some flexibility in terms of a long-term extension if they were to land the star winger.
Almost everything surrounding Meier right now is speculative, though. The Sharks appear ready to wait out the market and make sure they get the biggest haul possible, and for a good reason. The 26-year-old Meier is a legitimate difference-maker, who already has 30 goals this season and can drive a line by himself. You don’t always have a chance to acquire in-their-prime assets at the deadline, especially not forwards that can play 20 minutes a night.
If Toronto and Winnipeg do get involved, it won’t be an easy bidding war. Things are set up to be quite beneficial for the Sharks, even if they are selling off a beloved homegrown star.
Mason Appleton Will Return On Saturday
- Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness issued a variety of injury updates to reporters today, but most notably said that forward Mason Appleton is on track to play Saturday. The 27-year-old played 14 games this season before sustaining a wrist injury that has cost him much of the 2022-23 campaign. Appleton was off to a strong start with six points and elevated ice time before going down with the injury. Bowness also mentioned that forward David Gustafsson and defenseman Dylan DeMelo, who are both day-to-day, aren’t ready to rejoin full practice.
Chaz Lucius Undergoes Surgery; Will Miss Rest Of Season
The Winnipeg Jets have announced disappointing prospect news, tweeting that Chaz Lucius underwent shoulder surgery today and will miss the rest of the season. The young forward had been playing with the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL after being loaned back to junior last month.
Lucius, 19, was the 18th overall pick in 2021 and has taken an odd development path in the time since. He first went to the University of Minnesota for just one year, before turning pro and joining the Manitoba Moose at the beginning of this season. After just 12 games there (and a shoulder injury that kept him out for a while), he was headed to the CHL.
The NCAA-AHL-CHL route isn’t often taken, but it appeared to be paying off for Lucius, who had five goals and 15 points in his first six games for Portland. He dominated the younger, more inexperienced competition and built plenty of confidence along the way.
Now with this injury, he’ll have an odd little six-game footnote on his career. Given that he will turn 20 in May, Lucius will almost certainly return to the AHL next year instead of going to junior as an overage player, meaning his time in the WHL is over. His contract, meanwhile, will slide forward, meaning he will now reach restricted free agency in the summer of 2026.
Kristian Vesalainen Signs Extension In Finland
Last summer, after his entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets expired, Kristian Vesalainen went back to Europe. The young forward signed first with the Malmo Redhawks of the SHL, and then a few months later went back home to Finland to play with HIFK. The Jets retained his exclusive NHL rights by issuing a qualifying offer.
That meant they could potentially bring him back, should Vesalainen want to return to North America at some point. Not so fast, as HIFK announced a one-year extension for the 2023-24 season.
Vesalainen, 23, was selected 24th overall by the Jets in 2017, and it didn’t take long for him to see some NHL action. He played five games in the 2018-19 season, before playing in the minor leagues and eventually the KHL. The following year he was in the AHL full-time, and then in 2020-21 he once again split time in three different leagues.
Last year, though, he was given a great opportunity with Winnipeg. He dressed in 53 games, and even though he was only getting a few minutes a night, it was regular time in the NHL. Unfortunately, that resulted in just three points, and his departure in the summer.
Now, it’s unclear where his future lies. According to CapFriendly, his rights will be owned by the Jets through his 27th birthday, and his NHL upside is completely unknown at this point. It would be hard for another team to trade for him without a good grasp on whether he’d come back, and whether he could make an impact.
It very well could just mean another first-round pick that never does anything in the NHL. Through 70 games, Vesalainen has just five points. He has averaged 8:33 during those and is still something of a mystery. With HIFK this season he has 17 points in 24 games, not exactly lighting the world on fire. For now, he’s just another name on the Winnipeg reserve list.
Mason Appleton To Return After All-Star Break
- While the Jets didn’t have Mason Appleton back in the lineup tonight for their final game before the All-Star break, TSN’s John Lu relays (Twitter link) that the winger is expected to play in their first game back on February 11th. The 27-year-old has been out since mid-November with a wrist injury and has been limited to just 14 games this season where he has a goal and five assists. Appleton’s eventual return will certainly bolster Winnipeg’s bottom six and will also open up some extra cap space heading to the deadline as they will have to move someone off the roster before they can activate him from IR.
Latest On Dylan DeMelo
- Per the Winnipeg Sun’s Scott Billeck, Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo will be out for the Jets’ next two games with a lower-body injury. DeMelo is an important blueliner for coach Rick Bowness. Not only does the respected defensive defenseman lead the Jets in short-handed ice time per game, but his steady defensive style has provided number-one blueliner Josh Morrissey with the freedom to play a more aggressive offensive game, something that has resulted in career-best production for Morrissey. While his absence for these next two games will not cripple a talented Jets team, it will be something for the team to monitor as they continue their playoff push.
Winnipeg Jets Activate Logan Stanley
The Winnipeg Jets have activated defenseman Logan Stanley from injured reserve today, according to a team tweet. In a corresponding transaction, the Jets reassigned youngster Ville Heinola to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.
Associate coach Scott Arniel told reporters last weekend that Stanley could return on Tuesday, and it turns out he was correct. The roster move suggests Stanley will be ready to go when Winnipeg takes on the Nashville Predators in an important divisional matchup tonight.
A pair of lower-body injuries have limited Stanley to seven NHL games this season, recording one assist in just 13:34 of ice time per game. He’s been on injured reserve with a lower-body injury since December 11 and missed 18 games earlier in the season with a fractured foot.
He’ll have to fight for minutes with another 24-year-old left-shot defenseman: Dylan Samberg. Samberg has impressed defensively in his first steady NHL season, is averaging over 15 minutes per game, and has eight points in 37 games.
Heinola, Winnipeg’s 2019 first-round pick, continues to scratch and claw for NHL time in Winnipeg. He’s played in just 10 out of Winnipeg’s 48 games and has been given little opportunity, playing 13:16 per game and recording one assist. The 21-year-old returns to Manitoba, where he has 11 points and a staggering +17 rating in just 14 games.
Logan Stanley Could Return Tuesday
- Jets defenseman Logan Stanley wasn’t in the lineup tonight against Philadelphia but associate coach Scott Arniel told Jeff Hamilton of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link) that the blueliner could be ready to return on Tuesday. Stanley has been out of the lineup for a little more than six weeks with a lower-body injury. The 24-year-old has been limited to just seven games this season which is a hardly ideal platform year for someone eligible for salary arbitration for the first time this summer.