Jets recall veteran forward on emergency basis

After a victory over Buffalo Friday night, Winnipeg is back in action Saturday night against Arizona.  At least one forward who played Friday is questionable for this game, however, as the team announced that center Dominic Toninato has been recalled from AHL Manitoba under emergency conditions.

The 29-year-old has been limited to just five games with the Moose this season due to injury, but he has been productive in those appearances, notching a goal and three assists.  Toninato was similarly productive in the minors last year, tallying 19 goals and 16 helpers in 50 contests.

This is Toninato’s fourth season with Winnipeg, and he has seen NHL action in the first three, including 2021-22 when he was a regular for most of the year, suiting up 77 times.  Going back to his previous teams, he has made an appearance at the top level in each of the last seven years, spanning 169 games in total where he has a dozen goals and 18 assists.

It’s unclear which forward’s availability is in question for the game, and it’s worth noting that Winnipeg could easily go back to dressing seven defensemen anyway; Nate Schmidt was a healthy scratch against the Sabres.  But if they want to go with a standard deployment, Toninato might have a chance to extend that stretch of NHL appearances to eight straight seasons Saturday night.