Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti is out week to week with an ankle injury, as per head coach Scott Arniel.
The 23-year-old sustained the injury while throwing a check on Calgary Flames’ defenseman Kevin Bahl in the Jets’ final preseason game on Oct. 3.
While it looks like a worst-case scenario has been avoided, losing the right winger to start the season is nonetheless a blow to the Jets’ top six. The team was depending on the 2020 first-rounder to take another step offensively after putting up a career-high 50 points last season, and for him to make up for some of the departed Nikolaj Ehlers’ production. Perfetti struggled with injuries during his first two NHL seasons but remained healthy for the past two.
The Jets had a disastrous preseason, health-wise: they also lost shutdown defenseman Dylan Samberg for six-to-eight weeks with a broken wrist and Jonathan Toews’ availability for opening night is in doubt after he suffered what is being called “tweak.” Captain Adam Lowry is also out until November as he continues to recover from offseason hip surgery.
The Jets open their season on Thursday, Oct. 9 versus the Dallas Stars.
