The Winnipeg Jets may be without key second-line forward Mathieu Perreault for what’s left of the regular season, Jets coach Paul Maurice told reporters on Wednesday:

Perreault was injured on Monday night when he was checked awkwardly into the boards by Edmonton Oilers defender Jeff Petry. You can watch a vine of that hit here. 

The 27-year-old centre has been a crucial contributor for the Jets this season and has generally factored in on their first unit power play. While logging second-line minutes and playing mostly on the wing, Perreault has managed 18 goals and 18 assists for 36 points this season. He’s the fourth most efficient Jets point producer at even-strength, behind only Winnipeg’s three top-liners, and he’s the second best Jets forward by team-relative Corsi For percentage.

In the meantime a weakness of this club, forward depth, will be exacerbated in Perreault’s absence. This has to be particularly frustrating for Keven Cheveldayoff and the Jets management team, since they only just completed a trade for Drew Stafford that seemed to largely address the issue. 

At least Stafford, who also left Monday night’s game with injury, is only listed as day-to-day.