Jets recall veteran forward after quality season in AHL

The Winnipeg Jets have recalled forward Dominic Toninato from their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. After playing 77 games last season, Toninato has spent most of this season in the AHL, save for a run of four games in November that he spent with the Jets.

The move puts the veteran forward back on the Jets’ roster in advance of Thursday night’s regular-season finale against the Colorado Avalanche, and serves as a nice reward for the quality season he’s turned in with the Jets’ farm squad. In 49 AHL contests this season, Toninato has scored 19 goals and 33 points, and he’s helped the Moose land comfortably as the third seed in the AHL’s Central Division.

At the NHL level, Toninato registered one assist in the four-game run he had in November, but he played under seven minutes of ice time in three of the four games he drew into. Last season, Toninato spent almost the entire season at the NHL level and ended up playing in 77 games, registering 14 points.

He did average about a minute-and-a-half of short-handed ice time per game, but seeing as the Jets had the fourth-worst penalty kill last season, it’s understandable that Winnipeg’s new coaching staff under Rick Bowness didn’t see Toninato occupying the same role this season.

Toninato’s stay on the Jets’ active roster could extend into the team’s first-round playoff series, assuming the organization prefers keeping him around as a reserve player for their NHL squad rather than having him return to the Moose to play in their AHL playoffs.

For what it’s worth, the Moose added two forwards to their roster on Thursday (Thomas Caron via recall from the ECHL’s Trois-Rivieres Lions and Carson Golden via an ATO from the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets), but those additions should not be seen as any sort of barrier to Toninato being sent back down for the AHL playoffs.

Assuming Toninato draws into the lineup tonight against the Avalanche, his game and any minutes he plays in the playoffs represent an important opportunity for his playing future. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent in a few months after the expiry of his league-minimum two-way deal, and any quality games he has from this point forward will help him earn his next NHL contract.