Note: The Jets hit the ice in the afternoon on Wednesday and all eyes were on practice watching to see if Gabriel Vilardi would be on the ice after he got tangled up in the 1st period with the Kings Blake Lizotte on Tuesday evening and did not return. Not surprisingly he was not on the ice for practice (neither was Mason Appleton) and it turns out that Vilardi is dealing with a sprained MCL which is expected to take about 4-6 weeks for him to recover from although the positive is it won’t require surgery.
Note II: In addition to the Vilardi update coach Rick Bowness said Appleton was given a maintenance day on Wednesday and they expect him to play tonight. If he is good to go then he is also expected to get bumped up to the top line alongside Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. Will he or won’t he? Questions become answers at morning skate which gets underway at 10:30 AM so be sure to check back for the pre-game report. Puck drop is at 7 PM and we want you to join us after the final buzzer on the Illegal Curve Post-Game Show.
Note III: The Moose continue to practice this week as they get set to host the Iowa Wild this weekend. Yesterday we had a chance to catch up with Axel Jonsson-Fjallby and Parker Ford as well as with head coach Mark Morrison all of which you can watch in the Practice Report.
Jets news:
Winnipeg Sun: Gustafsson bringing renewed confidence to lineup return. You could see more confidence in his play during training camp and being the Jets leader in pre-season goals probably didn’t hurt given his lack of goals last season. Lots of times guys just need an opportunity to get back into the lineup and this would be that opportunity for number 19.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Winnipeg Sun: Jets players have noticed feeble Winnipeg crowds. The organization has had folks clamouring for tickets for well over a decade but that novelty has worn off to a certain degree while at the same time you do also have to take into the account the reality of economic conditions post-pandemic. Nashville used to send their season ticket holders a jersey with credit card info built into it so they don’t have to bring a wallet to the game. This summer the Jets sent season ticket holders a flimsy BBQ apron that I cannot imagine anyone would actually use to BBQ.
Winnipeg Free Press: Kings crush Jets in more ways than one. (Paywall). It was a bad loss by Winnipeg who played one solid period followed by two sleepy ones but obviously the bigger issue is losing Vilardi for over a month.
Winnipeg Free Press: Stanley Cup champion goalie to face ex-mates in season debut. (Paywall). You could feel the excitement for Brossoit to get a chance to go up against his former club.
The Athletic Winnipeg: Gabriel Vilardi out 4-6 weeks with sprained MCL: Who moves up to replace him? (Paywall). The easy answer is Mason Appleton because Jets bench boss Rick Bowness essentially told us that yesterday in his scrum.
The Athletic: How Mark Scheifele and the Jets ended months of trade rumors with a face-to-face sitdown. (Paywall). Not a shocker that it’s easier to get something done in person than when you remove that element. It’s why media chats with players are so much more significant in person than they were during the “zoom years”.
NHL.com: Ville Heinola in good spirits following ankle surgery. Jamie caught up with the defender as he was heading back to Finland to be with his family as he gets set to recover from surgery.
Jets video:
TSN Overdrive: The Winnipeg Jets can not afford to go into a rebuild. Bryan Hayes, Jamie McLennan and Jeff O’Neill are joined by TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger to discuss how concerned the Winnipeg Jets should be about their low attendance numbers early in the season.
Sportsnet: How concerning are the low attendance numbers in Winnipeg this early in a new season? NHL insider Scott Laughlin joins the Jeff Marek Show to weigh in on the Winnipeg Jets very low attendance numbers, especially this early in a season, in a game where Pierre-Luc Dubois was making his much-anticipated return.
Winnipeg Sun: Jets Setting – Small crowds at Winnipeg Jets games, dud at home are red flags. In this week’s edition of Jets Setting Ted, Paul and Scott discuss the record-low attendance number at Tuesday’s game vs. Los Angeles, the game itself, a 5-1 loss, and Connor Hellebuyck’s tough start to the season.
Jets audio:
The Chirp: GM Kevin Cheveldayoff chats with Daren Millard. Cheveldayoff provides an inside look on how the Jets went about signing two of the franchises most important players at the same time, offers an outlook on the season and discusses the expectations surrounding the Jets as the season gets underway.
