The Winnipeg Jets went into training camp with just a handful of roster spots up for grabs. And those spots were for the “extras” up front and on the blue line.
When the final decisions were made, the Jets coaching staff and management on Sunday afternoon submitted a 23-player roster ahead of Monday’s 4 p.m. CT deadline. The victors emerging from the two-and-a-half-week battle were David Gustafsson as the 13th forward, along with Logan Stanley and Declan Chisholm as the seventh and eighth defencemen.
That was the end result of forward Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, defenceman Kyle Capobianco, and goalie Collin Delia being placed on NHL waivers. All three went unclaimed when the 24 hour waiver period expired at 1 p.m. CT on Monday afternoon and were assigned to the AHL Manitoba Moose.
On Friday, the Jets placed Ville Heinola on injured reserve after the 22-year-old blueliner suffered a fractured left ankle in the first period of Winnipeg’s final preseason game versus Ottawa on Thursday Night.
Heinola had pretty much secured a roster position with a strong training camp and preseason performance, but has gone back home to Finland where he’ll rehab and recover for the next two to three months.
Going into the weekend, there was also a question surrounding the health of Nikolaj Ehlers. The veteran forward was not on the ice for Friday’s practice after missing most of training camp and all of the exhibition schedule with neck spasms.
Winnipeg did not skate on Saturday or Sunday.
The Jets open their 13th season since relocating from Atlanta on Wednesday night when they take on the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome.
It will be the second time Winnipeg has met the Flames in their regular season opener. The first matchup was during the pandemic season, when Patrik Laine scored the game-winner in overtime for a 4-3 victory at an empty Canada Life Centre. Jan. 14, 2021 , would also turn out to be Laine’s final game in a Jets uniform as nine days later he would be traded to Columbus, along with Jack Roslovic, in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois and a 2022 third-round draft pick (Dani Zhilkin).
Winnipeg is 7-5 in 12 previous regular season openers, including records of 4-2 on the road and 2-3 versus Canadian opponents.
Wednesday night’s broadcast on 680 CJOB begins with the Mid-Canada Fasteners pregame show at 6:30 p.m. CT followed by the play-by-play at 9 p.m. CT from Calgary with Paul Edmonds and Mitchell Clinton.
Forward Lines
Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Gabriel Vilardi
Nikolaj Ehlers-Cole Perfetti-Nino Niederreiter
Alex Iafollo-Adam Lowry-Mason Appleton
Morgan Barron-Rasmus Kupari-Vlad Namestnikov
Defense Pairings
Josh Morrissey-Dylan DeMelo
Dylan Samberg-Neal Pionk
Brenden Dillon-Nate Schmidt
Goalies
Connor Hellebuyck
Laurent Brossoit
Healthy Scratches
David Gustafsson, Logan Stanley,
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