It’s like deja-vu all over again, to borrow a famous phrase from legendary baseball catcher Yogi Berra.
This quote can also apply to hockey, and more specifically, to the situation surrounding early injuries to Nikolaj Ehlers and Cole Perfetti.
New (Pre)Season, Old Story — Ehlers and Perfetti Injured
Not a single second of regular-season hockey has been played in the 2023-24 season. However, Ehlers and Perfetti — two of the Jets’ most injury prone-players over the past few seasons — are already dealing with ailments hampering their preseasons. While neither injury is major (knock on wood) they’re nonetheless contributing to a “here we go again” feeling.
Perfetti took a cheap blind-side elbow to the head from the Calgary Flames’ Martin Pospisil in the second period of preseason action between the clubs at Canada Life Centre Wednesday. Perfetti got up and skated around, but left the game and did not return.
Pospisil, after having to fight Logan Stanley, was ejected from the game for the hit Jets head coach Rick Bowness described postgame as “a deliberate head shot.” He noted Perfetti, despite taking the hard head contact, was not in concussion protocol.
Perfetti skated with the “extras” Thursday as training camp continued and Bowness reported Perfetti “felt fine today, but not 100 per cent.”
The 21-year-old Perfetti — heir apparent to the second-line centre role vacated by the traded Pierre-Luc Dubois — will only be able to make an impact in the role if he can stay healthy. That’s not something he’s been able to do.
His first two professional campaigns were riddled with injuries: he missed 31 games last season due to two separate injuries, and in his rookie 2021-22, was knocked out for the remainder of the season in mid-February by a Jamie Oleksiak hit and suffered a separate injury while rehabbing that one.
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That’s four injuries in 69-career games for a player who is undersized by NHL standards and — given the Pospisil hit Tuesday — still has not learned how to avoid putting himself in vulnerable positions. Opponents know he’s small, and even if the Jets’ more rugged players stand up for him, opponents will keep going after him.
Ehlers, meanwhile, injured himself before even a single second of preseason hockey had been played. He tweaked his neck working out the day before the Jets’ first on-ice session last Thursday, which spasms forced him out of. He has been slowly working his way back since, recently practicing in a non-contact jersey. Bowness reported Ehlers was unable to do half the drills due to being in no-contact and needs to get back up to speed.
The Danish winger has been analytically one of the Jets’ best players for years, but has spent a lot of time on the shelf in recent history. He has played 70-plus games just once in the past four full seasons (he suited up for 71 in 2019-20.)
Last season, he missed 45 games — first, he was out three months with a sports hernia that knocked him out of the second game and required surgery. Then, in mid April, was rocked by a dirty Ryan Hartman hit that led to a prolonged “will-he-play, won’t-he-play” saga and him missing four of five first-round playoff games. His 45 games played was a career low that came on the heels of a 2021-22 season where he played just 62.
Ehlers is aware his lack of durability. “It was a thing in the gym that I’ve done a thousand times. I couldn’t even tell you why. It seems to be happening quite a bit in the last couple of years,” he said Thursday.
Bowness said he hopes both players will be ready for final two preseason games (Oct. 2 against the Flames and Oct. 5 against the Ottawa Senators.)
Jets Better Have Contingency Plan in Place; Increased Forward Depth May Help
Given both players’ histories, though, hope is not a plan.
If Ehlers and Perfetti indeed return next week, it will give Bowness and his staff a chance to evaluate line combinations closer to the ones they’ll run when games counting for real on Oct. 11.
If not, Bowness will have to find substitutes, and the Jets’ improved forward depth will help him with that. Newcomer Gabriel Vilardi, who is slated to play right wing on the top line with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor to start the season and is already building chemistry with them, could temporarily slide to second-line centre.
Vilardi is coming off a breakout 23-goal, 41-point season and has taken 970-career faceoffs in his four-season career, winning 46.0 per cent of them. Perfetti has taken just 14-career draws over his two seasons, winning 21.4 per cent of them.
Versatile veteran Vladislav Namestnikov could also slide into the spot. The 30-year-old, slated to be part of a menacing fourth line this season, did well as second-line centre late last season after being acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Trade Deadline.
As for Ehlers’ replacement on the second line’s left wing, Morgan Barron and Alex Iafallo are both plug-and-play guys who gladly accept any assignment. Reliable point-producer Nino Niederreiter can also play left wing when called upon in addition to his usual right.
