The Winnipeg Jets have a lot of noise around them the day before the 2025-26 regular season is set to begin. Cole Perfetti is out week-to-week with an ankle injury, per Winnipeg head coach Scott Arniel. This also comes the same day as the Jets waived defenseman Ville Heinola and forward Walker Duehr.

The biggest story out of the transactions is Cole Perfetti and how it affects the Jets’ opening night roster, and the answer is simple, it’s significant. Perfetti being listed as week-to-week when projected line mate Jonathan Toews is day-to-day and defenseman Dylan Samberg is out six-to-eight weeks is a bigger blow than most realize, but it does come with an upside.

Nikita Chibrikov, fresh off signing a two-year contract extension, is one of the last of the Jets’ top prospects still up in the NHL at the time of writing. Brad Lambert is the other still battling for an NHL spot, but Parker Ford is also hot on the heels of Lambert and Chibrikov.

Looking back to the 2024-25 season, Chibrikov’s year ended prematurely as he suffered an injury in January. Lambert was dealt the same cards in April as his season wrapped up due to an ankle sprain. Over the summer, both prospects trained and got themselves ready for the upcoming season, and now opportunity knocks for both players.

While it does look like Chibrikov is set to earn his keep and be on the Jets’ opening night roster, one has to wonder if Ford is also set to earn a job. However, with the Jets likely to go 14F and 7D, the limited jobs and having waivers exempt players will force tough decisions as today is the deadline for roster submissions for the 2025-26 season.

Duehr was signed in the 2025 offseason to a one-year, $775,000 contract purely for veteran depth to help the Jets throughout the 2025-26 season. It wasn’t clear at the time of the signing if Duehr was brought in to play the full season or part of the season with Winnipeg, but with him hitting the waiver wire, it seems that he’ll start with the Manitoba Moose.

In 20 American Hockey League (AHL) games, Duehr posted 19 points (11G, 8A) for the Calgary Wranglers. He also split the season in San Jose, posting nine points (5G, 4A) in 16 more games for the Barracuda. He added three points (2G, 1A) in 24 NHL games split between the Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks.

Heinola hitting the waiver wire shouldn’t be overly surprising given he didn’t play much last season due to the depth chart and his ankle infection to start the 2024-25 season. This year, he only suited up in two preseason games and did what Ville Heinola does best, play hockey.

There won’t be too much surprise should Heinola be claimed; it gives the former 2019 20th overall draft pick a fresh start to his NHL career and a chance to prove Winnipeg wrong. If he clears waivers, which at face value would be surprising, he’d join an already strong defensive corps down in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose. The Moose’s blue line already has Kale Clague and Elias Salomonsson, adding Ville Heinola wouldn’t hurt whatsoever, and maybe it could earn him a midseason recall.

To date, Heinola has only played 53 NHL games, posting 12 points (1G, 11A) in that time. In 2024-25, he played 18 games where he only posted one assist in that time. It’s a rough break for Heinola, and injuries derailed the trajectory of his career before it could even start. Had Heinola not been injured in the preseason finale in 2023, we’d be having a different conversation about the 24 year old. Until then, Heinola either finds himself with the Manitoba Moose, a team he’s familiar with, or he finds himself a new home if he’s claimed on waivers.

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