\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"JOHN](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/3629135_web1_68dc11e5ad9b3c42f74b8215jpeg_301745.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Cole Perfetti (front) suffered a high-ankle sprain in last Friday\u2019s preseason finale in Calgary.<\/p>\n
Perfetti joins captain Adam Lowry (recovering from offseason hip surgery) and shutdown defenceman Dylan Samberg (broken wrist) on the shelf. Neither is expected back until some point in November, and it\u2019s now possible Perfetti could extend beyond that.<\/p>\n
Perfetti is coming off a career year, having played all 82 games for the first time while setting personal highs with 50 points. He was slated to start on the second line alongside free-agent additions Jonathan Toews and Gustav Nyquist, and was likely eyeing a big season with restricted free agency looming next summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s upset about it, but he understands it\u2019s early in the year here and we\u2019ll get him back up and running,\u201d said Arniel.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s frustrating, and then to see what actually happened. With five seconds left (in the second period Friday), just to go in and it was kind of a simple play and he just kind of got twisted. But at the end of the day, that\u2019s where it\u2019s at and he\u2019s going to heal and he\u2019ll be better for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
With adversity comes opportunity, and Nikita Chibrikov appears poised to get the first shot at replacing Perfetti. The 22-year-old Russian, who was on the roster bubble heading into camp, took line rushes Sunday with Nyquist and Toews, who was back on the ice after sitting out a few days nursing a lower-body ailment.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me it\u2019s something special,\u201d said Chibrikov, who scored two goals and added an assist in four games with the Jets last year before suffering a season-ending knee injury with the Manitoba Moose in January.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Winnipeg Jets\u2019 Nikita Chibrikov (90) signed a two-year contract extension with Winnipeg on Saturday worth US$875,000 per season.<\/p>\n The promotion capped a celebratory weekend for Chibrikov, who signed a two-year contract extension with Winnipeg on Saturday worth US$875,000 per season.<\/p>\n \u201cBig things are coming up. This is the first step,\u201d said Chibrikov. \u201cI hope to stay here for life and be a part of this team. I am thankful to my parents and all those who helped me (get) here this long way. It is awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n Arniel cautioned that nothing is set in stone \u2014 admitting the opening-night lineup looks far different than the one he sketched out this summer \u2014 but said he wants to see how Chibrikov handles a top-six role.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a little bugger out there,\u201d Arniel said with a grin.<\/p>\n \u201cHe gets under people\u2019s skin and he\u2019s not afraid to go into the corners first. He\u2019s got a good skillset. He\u2019s real quick. He darts, he gets in and out of holes, and he has the ability when he gets into a hole to shoot the puck as well.\u201d<\/p>\n One thing is clear: The Jets are more than ready to close the book on a bruising pre-season that took a heavy toll.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to try and get through the pre-season healthy and ready to go. But obviously injuries happen, and it\u2019s part of the game,\u201d said defenceman Josh Morrissey, whose blue-line partner Dylan DeMelo left Friday\u2019s game in Calgary after taking a stick to the throat.<\/p>\n Fortunately, DeMelo was back at practice Sunday \u2014 though unable to speak above a whisper due to swelling in his voice box.<\/p>\n \u201cI guess next year we only have four (pre-season) games, so maybe that decreases the odds (of injuries). Hopefully, knock on wood,\u201d said Morrissey.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just what happens in hockey. And obviously, we\u2019ve got lots of depth here, and guys that are gonna have to step up in some big absences to start the year.\u201d<\/p>\n All 32 NHL clubs must submit their opening-night rosters by Monday afternoon, with a maximum of 23 healthy skaters and a salary cap of US$95.5 million (including players on injured reserve).<\/p>\n The Jets \u2014 who open Thursday at home against the Dallas Stars \u2014 made a pair of roster moves Sunday, placing Ville Heinola and Walker Duehr on waivers with the intent to assign them to the Moose if they clear.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Winnipeg Jets\u2019 Ville Heinola (pictured) and Walker Duehr were placed on waivers with the intent to assign them to the Moose if they clear.<\/p>\n Duehr, a depth signing last summer, is no surprise. But Heinola, the 20th-overall pick in 2019, certainly is. The oft-injured Finn has never quite found his footing with the Jets, appearing in just 53 NHL games.<\/p>\n Waiving Heinola appears to be as much about giving him a fresh start as anything else. If there are no waiver takers, he\u2019ll at least have the opportunity to log heavy minutes with the Moose and stay sharp in case the Jets come calling. Parking the 24-year-old in the press box for extended stretches as a healthy scratch simply isn\u2019t an option.<\/p>\n The moves leave Winnipeg with 24 healthy skaters plus the injured trio of Perfetti, Lowry, and Samberg. Heinola\u2019s demotion suggests the Jets plan to carry seven defencemen: Morrissey, DeMelo, Neal Pionk, Haydn Fleury, Luke Schenn, Logan Stanley, and Colin Miller.<\/p>\n That means the final cut will likely come up front. David Gustafsson, Parker Ford, and Brad Lambert skated Sunday on a fifth line. Gustafsson would require waivers to be sent down, so it appears one of Ford or Lambert \u2014 who are waiver-exempt \u2014 could be the odd man out.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also possible the Jets trim both and start the season with 22 healthy skaters.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel has tough decisions to make before the start of the regular season.<\/p>\n \u201cReal tough,\u201d is how Arniel described these final decisions. \u201cWe\u2019ve had these injuries here just in the last few days here that really kind of changed things.\u201d<\/p>\n Perfetti\u2019s absence also opens a hole on the top power play unit, where he was expected to join Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Gabe Vilardi, and Morrissey.<\/p>\n Could Toews slide into that role?<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re still talking about that one. We\u2019re having a little bit of a chit-chat about that one and where we\u2019re going,\u201d said Arniel.<\/p>\n \u201cI want it to be so that when Cole does come back he can slide in to what it looks like. We\u2019ll kind of just see over the next couple days, you\u2019ll see Tuesday, Wednesday and kind of get a feel for how it will go Thursday.\u201d<\/p>\n The Jets are spending Monday away from the rink for some team bonding before returning to the ice to get ready for the Stars.<\/p>\n mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg<\/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
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n