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David Zalubowski \/ The Associated Press<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Jets winger Nino Niederreiter celebrates after scoring in the first period of the preseason game against the Colorado Avalanche, Friday in Denver.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
EL NINO \u2014 Forecasters are calling for a Super El Nino winter, which would bring unseasonably warm weather to Winnipeg and other parts of northern North America.<\/p>\n
The Jets would love to see their version heat up on the ice.<\/p>\n
Nino Niederreiter had a miserable 2025-26 NHL season, one which produced 19 points (8G, 11A) in 61 games. Now 34 and entering the final year of his contract at US$4 million, there\u2019s been plenty of speculation the Jets have been looking to move on.<\/p>\n
But when neither a buyout nor a trade came this summer and training camp rolled around last week, there was Niederreiter seemingly at status quo.<\/p>\n
Not so fast.<\/p>\n
With plenty of young players knocking at the door \u2014 including the likes of Brayden Yager and Danny Zhilkin who are currently with the club \u2014 Niederreiter shouldn\u2019t be assuming anything. A spot in the starting lineup is certainly in jeopardy, with human bumper car Cole Koepke pushing for full-time work as well.<\/p>\n
Offensive nights like Friday will help Niederreiter\u2019s cause.<\/p>\n
He opened the scoring in the first period, showing he still has silky smooth hands from in tight \u2014 a place where he\u2019s scored the majority of his 248 career goals \u2014 as he beat Mackenzie Blackwood.<\/p>\n
Then, in the second period, Niederreiter displayed veteran vision as he fired a beautiful backhand pass on to the stick of Vlad Namestnikov, who buried it to put the visitors up 2-1.<\/p>\n
Niederreiter also took a pair of minor penalties, including one where a lack of foot speed was evident and another where a lack of discipline was on display. He\u2019ll have to keep those to a minimum.<\/p>\n
But the Swiss winger, who says he\u2019s now finally healthy after dealing with knee issues which required surgery last spring, may still have some fuel left in the tank, which would help both him and the Jets going forward.<\/p>\n
He skated on an intriguing fourth line with Namestnikov \u2014 who is also looking to rebound after a tough season and is also in the final year of his deal \u2014 and Alex Iafallo. The trio are a combined 99 years old and have more than 2,500 games of NHL experience.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t David Zalubowski \/ The Associated Press<\/p>\n Colorado Avalanche left wing Jaden Schwartz, centre, drives past Winnipeg Jets defenceman Neal Pionk to get a shot on Jets goalie Stuart Skinner.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n NO.2 FOR STUUUU: Stuart Skinner had a great debut with the Jets earlier this week at Canada Life Centre, stopping 31 of 32 shots in a 3-1 victory over a much more youthful, inexperienced Avalanche team.<\/p>\n The club\u2019s new starting goaltender stopped 28 of 32 in this one. He had no chance on Colorado\u2019s first goal, off the stick of Jaden Schwartz, nor could he do anything about one from T.J. Hughes with 92 seconds left in the middle frame.<\/p>\n However, Skinner would certainly want Hughes\u2019 second goal back \u2014 a bank shot from a bad angle with 11 seconds left in the second period which proved to be the game-winner.<\/p>\n Cale Makar scored Colorado\u2019s fourth on a beautiful Tic-Tac-Toe play late in the third period to seal this one, and then Hughes \u2014 a college free agent signing who just finished up at the University of Michigan last spring \u2014 finished the hat trick into an empty net.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t David Zalubowski \/ The Associated Press<\/p>\n Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog, drives past Winnipeg Jets defencemen Dylan Samberg in the first period.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n UNDER THE HOOD: The eye test is one thing. However, NHL teams including the Jets are increasingly using advanced statistics \u2014 also known as analytics \u2014 to make judgement calls when it comes to the lineup.<\/p>\n So what did we learn from Friday\u2019s game?<\/p>\n Winnipeg was soundly outplayed at even strength, with the Avalanche holding an 8-5 advantage in high-danger scoring chances and a 3.04 to 1.15 gap in expected goals.<\/p>\n The Jets did create a ton more on their power plays than Colorado did to make the game appear a bit more even, with a 6-0 edge in high-danger chances.<\/p>\n Not a single Jets player was above 50 per cent when it comes to even strength Corsi, which measures the flow of play through shot attempts. In a nutshell, the higher you are, the more you are tilting the ice in your favour. The lower you are, the more you are hemmed in.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t David Zalubowski \/ The Associated Press<\/p>\n Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen, left, struggles to control the puck as Winnipeg Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey pursues in the first period.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Defencemen Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk and Dylan Samberg and forwards Kyle Connor and Adam Lowry had the best nights in this department with rates above 40 per cent, which is still not great.<\/p>\n The blue-line pairing of Mario Ferraro and Tyrel Bauer got absolutely caved in, with 15.79 and 13.04 per cent of the Corsi respectively.<\/p>\n NUMBERS CRUNCH: The Jets made five roster moves on Friday, with goalie Thomas Milic assigned to the Manitoba Moose and four other players placed on waivers.<\/p>\n Those include defenceman Isaak Philips and forwards Nikita Chibrikov, Noah Gregor and Parker Ford. The Jets will learn by 1 p.m. Saturday if another team put in a claim. If not, they can be sent to the American Hockey League affiliate.<\/p>\n The Jets now have 26 healthy players in camp and must get down to a maximum of 23 by Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t David Zalubowski \/ The Associated Press<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets centre Morgan Barron gets tangled with Colorado Avalanche centre Martin Necas in the first period.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n One of the biggest remaining questions revolves around whether they will carry 14 forwards and seven D-men or 13 forwards and eight D.<\/p>\n As of right now, there are 15 forwards and nine blue-liners in that discussion, though it should be noted that Elias Salomonsson (shoulder) is ahead of schedule according to Arniel and could be back in game action by the middle of October (rather than the end of that month).<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s healthy scratches were Koepke (who had played his veteran maximum of two pre-season games), Zhilkin and Yager up front, and defencemen Jack St. Ivany, Haydn Fleury and Henry Thrun (the latter two who had also maxed out at two games).<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t EXTRA, EXTRA: Winnipeg won the special teams battle, going 1-for-4 on the power play and killing off all three minor penalties they took.<\/p>\n The Jets finished the four game pre-season slate with a 1-2-1 record.<\/p>\n They bused to nearby Colorado Springs after the game, where they will remain until Monday afternoon doing some team building and bonding. They also are planning a pair of practices.<\/p>\n Winnipeg will also hold skates next Wednesday and Thursday in their own rink to get ready for Friday\u2019s season opener against the Boston Bruins.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/mikemcintyre<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Mike McIntyre Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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