Jets defenseman out week-to-week with undisclosed injury

Jets defenseman Neal Pionk, who hasn’t practiced since Tuesday’s game against the Rangers, has been ruled out on a week-to-week basis with an undisclosed injury, head coach Scott Arniel told reporters this morning (including Murat Ates of The Athletic).

It’s unclear when Pionk sustained the injury. While his 16:18 of ice time against his former team was a season low, he never left the game and only intermittently missed shifts alongside usual defense partner Dylan Samberg. He’ll now miss a considerable portion of the stretch run while the Jets look to lock down the Western Conference regular-season title and pull ahead of the Capitals in the President’s Trophy race.

Pionk had yet to miss a game this season and hasn’t sat out of a contest since the 2021-22 campaign, when he missed a handful of games due to suspension, a concussion and COVID-19. The 29-year-old righty has enjoyed a resurgent campaign on the Winnipeg blue line, posting 9-28–37 with a career-high +21 rating in 66 games while averaging north of 22 minutes of ice time per game.

Not only is Pionk’s point production at its highest since his career-best 45 points in his first season with the Jets in 2019-20, his normally underwhelming possession metrics have rebounded too. His expected rating of +1.4 is in the positives for the first time in his eight-year NHL career, and he’s also controlled at least 50% of shot attempts for just the second time. Historically a decent second-pairing puck-mover with power-play versatility, he’s now providing some positive value defensively. His 2.5 GA/60 at even strength remains the worst among a stout Winnipeg defense, though.

His strong campaign should earn him a decent chunk of change this summer. He’s set to test unrestricted free agency for the first time after completing the four-year, $23.50M deal he signed with the Jets in 2021. AFP Analytics projects a six-year extension with a $6.95M AAV should Winnipeg manage to keep him from going to market.

Pionk’s absence will mean increased minutes for deadline pickup Luke Schenn, who’s set to move into top-four usage alongside Samberg to form a shutdown pairing. Depth options Haydn Fleury and Colin Miller will be relied upon to help replace some of Pionk’s offense from the third pairing.