The news could have been a whole lot worse, but the Winnipeg Jets will still be without top line winger Gabriel Vilardi for more than a month.
Vilardi has been diagnosed with a sprained MCL in his right knee and will miss the next four to six weeks of action. But it’s not a torn ligament, so he doesn’t need surgery. He left Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings after an awkward looking fall in the first period.
“It could have been a lot worse,” said Jets head coach Rick Bowness after Wednesday’s practice. “And then he would have needed an operation, then he’s done for awhile. And then even the rehab after that becomes a lot more strenuous. Best case scenario is a sprain. We’ll take that.”
Vilardi had one assist in the first three games of the season. He was acquired from the Kings in the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade and has a lengthy history of long-term injuries.
“I feel terrible for him,” said Bowness. “Listen, he’s a big part of our team. He was on the number one line, number one power play, and he looked good doing it. He was a really good fit for KC (Kyle Connor) and Mark (Scheifele) and it’s unfortunate that happened. It’s something he’s had — a tough time with injuries. Hopefully this is it for the year and he comes back and be a major contributor as the season goes on.”
Mason Appleton missed Wednesday’s practice for maintenance, but the ripple effect from the Vilardi injury means Appleton gets elevated to the top line alongside Connor and Scheifele, if, as expected, he’s healthy enough to play against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday to conclude the homestand.
“They played together before last year when we had all those injuries,” Bowness said. “Mason went up there before. He’s a right-hand shot. I know Mark and KC both like playing with a right-hand shot on that side, so, we’ll see where it goes.”
That is just one of a number of changes planned for Thursday’s game after the Jets’ poor showing against the Kings.
David Gustafsson will take Vilardi’s spot on the roster and will go to the fourth line with Morgan Barron and Rasmus Kupari, while Nikolaj Ehlers will move into the number one power play unit for Vilardi.
With Appleton moving up, Nino Niederreiter goes to the third line with Adam Lowry and Alex Iafallo.
And despite saying earlier they would be patient with their young forward, the Cole Perfetti experiment at centre lasted all of three games. He is sliding back to the wing with Ehlers and Vladislav Namestnikov to try and give the second line a boost.
“Be fair to the kid, he hasn’t played a lot of hockey in three years,” said Bowness. “Now we’re saying, ‘We’re going to throw you into the centre ice and see how it looks’ because I know we drafted him as a centre. It probably takes a little pressure off of him. He’s very hard on himself.
“It goes back to the chemistry that we saw between Vladdy and Nik last year. We’re hoping that creates itself again and that will help Cole.
“But right now that line is just not generating nearly enough consistent offence, so, we’ve got to give it a different look.”
And the changes aren’t just limited to forwards as Bowness has also flipped his defensive pairings. Brenden Dillon is now skating with Neal Pionk and Dylan Samberg and Nate Schmidt will make up another pairing after the Jets lost two of their first three games.
Goalie Laurent Brossoit will make his first start of the season against his ex-team as Connor Hellebuyck gets a rest after making three consecutive starts.
With Vilardi out long term, the team is expected to make a call-up from the Manitoba Moose on Thursday.
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