Winnipeg Jets Color Analyst Mitchell Clinton tweeted that Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov has a fractured left cheekbone and will travel back to Winnipeg today. Clinton’s comments come from a conversation with Jets head coach Rick Bowness who wouldn’t rule Namestnikov out for game 5 tomorrow night. Namestnikov was sent to hospital last night after he took a slapshot from Nate Schmidt to the side of the head near the end of Winnipeg’s 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. The 31-year-old stayed on the ice for a minute before putting a towel on his head and skating off the ice with the trainer ..read more

The NHL has revealed the finalists for the 2024 Vezina Trophy, awarded each year to the top player at the goaltending position. Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark took home the award last year, after backing a historically-strong Bruins season. This year’s finalists are the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck, the Florida Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky, and Vancouver Canucks’ Thatcher Demko. Hellebuyck likely leads the pack, after vindicating his six-year extension signed last summer by leading all goalies with 30 or more appearances in save percentage. Hellebuyck posted 37 wins and a .921 save p ..read more

Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov left today’s Game 4 loss to the Avalanche after a Nate Schmidt slapshot hit him in the side of the head in the middle of the third period. He remained on the ice for nearly a minute and was able to skate off with the assistance of trainers, not requiring a stretcher. He’s still been transported to a Denver hospital for evaluation, reports Guerilla Sports’ Jesse Montano. Winnipeg head coach Rick Bowness had no update on Namestnikov’s health postgame other than confirming he was taken to a hospital. The 31-year-old had a goal and a -2 rating in the f ..read more

Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck is the odds-on favorite to take home the Vezina Trophy, but you wouldn’t know it based on his early playoff showing. While the team in front of him is conceding nearly 40 shots per game, his .871 SV% through three games is far below expectations, and his -2.3 goals saved above expected (MoneyPuck) rank 17th out of 19 playoff goalies. That led to some remote speculation that Winnipeg may turn to above-average backup option Laurent Brossoit to tie the series in Game 4, but head coach Rick Bowness confirmed today that won’t be the case (via Sportsnet’s Eri ..read more

Following a third-period collapse in Friday’s loss to Colorado which saw the Jets allow five unanswered goals, they’ve opted to make a roster move.  The team announced today (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Axel Jonsson-Fjallby from AHL Manitoba. The 26-year-old split the regular season between the Jets and Moose.  Jonsson-Fjallby started the season in the minors after clearing waivers in training camp but after coming up on emergency recall in mid-November, he wound up sticking around for nearly three months.  He played in 26 games along the way, picking up two goals ..read more

Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis told reporters today (via Sound of Hockey) that he intends to start talking with restricted free agents Matty Beniers and Eeli Tolvanen and fully expects that the sides will be able to come to agreements. Beniers is the reigning Calder Trophy winner but suffered a dramatic drop in his offensive production, posting just 15 goals and 22 assists in 77 games after posting 57 points in 81 games last season. While his play dropped off this season, he should still receive a sizeable raise on his $897,500 cap hit. Tolvanen was acquired off waivers by the Krak ..read more

Jets center Morgan Barron won’t be available for their series opener against Colorado tomorrow, relays Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link). The 25-year-old left Tuesday’s win over Seattle in the first period with a lower-body injury and did not return.  Barron was a quality fourth liner for Winnipeg this season, chipping in with ten goals despite logging just 10:30 per night.  One of David Gustafsson and Cole Perfetti will likely take Barron’s spot in the lineup ..read more

Half the league has played their last games for the 2023-24 campaign, while the other half is gearing up for postseason action starting tomorrow. Either way, squads are making roster adjustments today, whether it’s assigning players back to the minors after their NHL seasons came to a close or recalling reinforcements for their playoff runs. We’ll keep track of all of today’s moves here: The Bruins have recalled center John Beecher and defenseman Mason Lohrei from AHL Providence. Both will be available for tomorrow’s Game 1 of Boston’s first-round series against the Maple Leafs ..read more

With the last day of the regular season schedule behind us, the three major stat-based award winners for the 2023-24 season are set in stone. Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov has won his second career Art Ross Trophy as the overall scoring champion, while Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews takes home his third Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy after setting the salary cap era goal-scoring record. Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck clinched his first William M. Jennings Trophy as well, with Winnipeg allowing the fewest goals against in the league. Kucherov’s season was a franchi ..read more

It seems the Winnipeg Jets are preparing for a relaxing end to the season, recalling four minor leaguers ahead of their season-finale tonight against the Vancouver Canucks (Twitter link). The transaction includes AHL All-Star forward Brad Lambert, as well as forwards Nikita Chibrikov and Parker Ford, and goaltender Collin Delia. Each player is expected to slot into the lineup, with a long list of Jets taking the night off per TSN’s John Lu (Twitter link). Lu reports that Connor Hellebuyck, Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry, Josh Morrissey, and Brenden Dillon will all sit out on Thursday ..read more