The Winnipeg Jets hit the ice this morning for practice, following a much needed day off on Sunday. A 1-2-0 3 game road Eastern road trip is the first real “struggling” moment of the Jets season. Even if the Jets have lost 2 games in a row, you shouldn’t panic yet, as the Jets are still at the very top of the NHL standings at 15-3-0.
In other Winnipeg sports news, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers unfortunately lost their 3rd straight Grey Cup, falling 41-24 to the Toronto Argonauts. I was in attendance for Grey Cup 111 (if you didn’t know, I live in Vancouver), and had some Grey Cup content up on the Jets Nation IG page during the yearly Canadian football championship and overall grand event. Despite the Blue Bombers loss, I highly recommend attending a Grey Cup game, and hey, the Grey Cup will be hosted in Winnipeg next year, so hopefully the Blue Bombers will be back in the big game in November 2025.
All of that being said, a 2 game losing streak for the Jets, paired with a tough Grey Cup loss for the Blue Bombers, makes today one of those “reset” days for Winnipeg sports fans. It’s never fun seeing your sports team lose (depending on your level of fandom), but you can always look forward to the next chance for them to win a game. The Jets will be back in action tomorrow night at home against the Panthers, and it would be a perfect time for them to get back in the win column, before heading back on the road for 6 straight games.
On another short side note, since this is my 1st full year covering the Jets, I’ve noticed that compared to other teams around the NHL, the Jets remain relatively quite in terms of news and announcements on their off days. Perhaps this is because they are sitting at the top of the league in standings, or maybe it’s just because not much has gone wrong for them in terms of results and injuries. If the Jets were like 9-9 now instead of 15-3-0, I’d assume there would be more changes being made in terms of call ups, line shuffling, and other news around the team at this point in the season.
The latest piece of significant Jets news was that Neal Pionk was hit with a $5000 fine for his “clipping” hit on Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist. This morning, Pionk was at Jets practice, and the only player missing from practice continues to be Logan Stanley, who missed the latest Jets road trip with a mid body injury. At practice this morning, Jets head coach Scott Arniel told reporters that Stanley is “still gonna be a little bit here. He’s gonna come on the road trip with us but he won’t be skating here yet for another four or five days I don’t think”.
Ville Heinola remains without a timeline to return. Heinola and Stanley remain as the only Jets to be out “long” term with injuries this season (fingers crossed), but Haydn Fleury has been a solid replacement at that left side on the 3rd defence pairing with Colin Miller. At practice today, the Jets stuck with the same line combinations they have used all season. David Gustafsson was the extra forward, rotating in on the 4th line at times, while Ville Heinola and Dylan Coghlan served as the extra defence on the “4th” pairing.
Reflecting on the season up until this point, Jets captain Adam Lowry told reporters this morning that “I think it’s important to zoom out and kind of recognize the start we’ve had and recognize the areas we have to improve upon to be successful…. It’s nice to get back home, have a good practice… and you get another crack at the team that kind of just dominated you.” The Jets schedule ahead doesn’t get too much easier, so it’s good that they get a chance to work on what has made them successful before taking on the team that just beat them 5-0.
Remember, take it easy today Winnipeg sports fans, because tomorrow the Jets take on the Panthers at Canada Life Centre at 7 pm CT. Check back here at Jets Nation tomorrow for pre and post game articles, including the latest Winnipeg Jets news and stories.
