Jets Defenseman to Miss Start of Season

Samberg, 26, suffered the injury on a hit by Calgary Flames forward Ryan Lomberg in a 4-2 preseason win on Sunday. Arniel described the injury as a "freak accident," and said that more information would come the following day. Unfortunately, the update wasn't a good one for Samberg and the Jets as the regular season draws closer.

Injury concerns are sadly nothing new for Samberg. Last season, he suffered a broken foot in a 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators on Nov. 23 after blocking a shot from forward Steven Stamkos, and he did not play again until Jan. 10.

However, that didn't stop the Saginaw, Minn., native from scoring a career-high six goals and 20 points in 60 games while averaging 21:08 of ice time during his breakout season. He added three assists in 13 playoff games.

Selected in the second round (No. 43 overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Samberg has nine goals and 51 points with a plus-63 rating in 216 NHL games, all with Winnipeg.

Winnipeg signed Samberg to a three-year extension worth $5.75 million annually ($17.25 million total value) on July 30. He was one of several restricted free agents to sign a new deal with the Jets this offseason, with others including Gabriel Vilardi and Morgan Barron.

The Jets open the regular season when they host the Dallas Stars on Oct. 9. The Stars eliminated the Jets, who won the Presidents' Trophy as the league's best regular season team with 116 points (56-22-4) in a six-game second-round series. Winnipeg won two of the three games at home, but lost all three on the road to lose the series. The Jets didn't win a single game outside of Canada Life Centre all postseason.

Before the playoff rematch, the Jets will conclude he postseason with matchups against the Minnesota Wild and the Flames again later in the week.

With Samberg out until November (going by the timetable given), Winnipeg will have to rely on its other blue-liners to carry the load. That group includes Norris candidate Josh Morrissey, Dylan DeMelo and Neal Pionk.