Winnipeg Jets associate coach Scott Arniel told reporters Wednesday that forward Rasmus Kupari will miss four to six weeks with a “shoulder issue, via Ken Wiebe of The Winnipeg Free Press.
It marks the continuation of a tough season for Kupari, who’s struggled in a depth role in his first season north of the border. Acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade last summer, Kupari left Tuesday’s win over the Devils after taking just two shifts due to an awkward collision with the boards. It left the Jets with just 10 forwards for the remainder of the game after they opted to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen, although they were able to post six goals against New Jersey regardless.
Kupari, 23, was a first-round pick of the Kings in 2018 but has yet to make much of an NHL impact. He did play in a career-high 66 games with Los Angeles last year, recording three goals and 12 assists for 15 points while going 54.6% in the faceoff dot, but had underwhelming possession numbers against easy competition. Through 15 games with the Jets, Kupari has just one assist and a -3 rating while averaging 9:02 per game, although that number is brought down by Kupari’s short stint in Tuesday’s game.
The Jets have used Kupari as their fourth-line center between Morgan Barron and David Gustafsson for the majority of the season, although they’ve controlled just 42.4% of expected goals, by far the worst of any Jets line with at least 30 minutes together this season, per MoneyPuck. Barron is leading the pack with three goals and five points in 15 games, while Gustafsson has two markers and no helpers in 11 games.
Kupari has not been placed on injured reserve yet, although the Jets won’t need to. They have two open spots on the active roster and ample cap space for a recall from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. With just 11 healthy forwards on the active roster now, a recall will almost certainly come before Friday’s game against the Sabres.
It will be intriguing to see if they opt for a more veteran option such as center Dominic Toninato, who has 169 NHL games under his belt over the past six seasons, or if they opt to give a younger player a shot. If they opt for the latter, 2022 first-round pick Brad Lambert could get a nod after lighting up the minors with 10 points in 10 games this year.
More must-reads: