4 hours Ago By Mike McIntyre
ST. PAUL — The Winnipeg Jets don’t have another defenceman like Dylan Samberg, who has stepped up to play a big role for the NHL’s No. 1 team so far this season.
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Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? ST. PAUL — The Winnipeg Jets don’t have another defenceman like Dylan Samberg, who has stepped up to play a big role for the NHL’s No. 1 team so far this season.
His extended absence due to a broken foot is looming large on a blue line that had, until Saturday night in Nashville, enjoyed a remarkable stretch of good health and good fortune. “He does so much for us,” said teammate Dylan DeMelo. “Not just shot blocking, but having a good stick and breaking up a lot of plays.
” Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg (54) climbs over the boards and onto the bench after being injured in Saturday’s game against the Nashville Predators. (Mark Humphrey/Associated Press files) Playing on the second-pairing with the resurgent Neal Pionk, Samberg has been an unheralded shining star for the Jets. The 25-year-old Minnesota product is averaging a career-high 20:17 of ice time per game, which is fourth overall on the team behind Josh Morrissey, DeMelo and Pionk.
He and Pionk are both plus-12 this year at even strength, which is terrific when you factor in they’re often paired against the other team’s best. Although offence isn’t his top priority, Samberg has already set a new career-high with three goals to go with three assists. And while he’s not at the physicality level of Brenden Dillon, the former teammate whose role he moved up to fill this year, the 6-4, 216-pound Samberg brings some size and grit to a back-end that doesn’t have a lot of it, especially with Logan Stanley also sidelined with an injury.
Samberg can clear out the front of his net, be a menace on the penalty kill and get his hands dirty if needed. Digging into the advanced stats, Samberg’s Corsi For Percentage is 53.11, which tops all Winnipeg defencemen, according to the Natural Stat Trick website.
That metric deals with a team’s puck possession when the player is on the ice. Anything above 50 per cent is considered good. Anything above 55 per cent is considered elite.
Samberg ranks 18th overall among NHL D who have played at least 350 minutes. It’s a similar story for the Expected Goals Metric, where Samberg’s 53.52 per cent is second only to Pionk’s 54.
92 per cent. Both are inside the league’s top 20 overall. “It would be a big loss if he’s out for any length of time,” captain Adam Lowry said following the 4-1 loss to the Predators, which wasn’t helped by the fact the Jets were playing for a second straight night and forced to go with just five defencemen for the majority of the contest after Samberg went down thanks to a Steven Stamkos slapper.
There’s no clear timeline for Samberg, but a broken foot means multiple weeks, not days, for the team’s second-best left-shot defenceman. So where does the club go from here to fill what coach Scott Arniel says is a “big hole” on a roster that is surrendering just 2.43 goals per game, which is third-best in the league? The Jets spent Sunday resting and recovering here in the Twin Cities and will return to the ice on Monday for a marquee matchup with the Minnesota Wild.
It’s a battle of 1 vs. 2 in the overall NHL standings, and who would have predicted that at the quarter-point of the campaign? Injuries are part of the game, and every team is going to deal with some key ones at various points. The Wild, for example, may not have leading scorer Kirill Kaprizov for a second straight game as he deals with a lower-body issue.
Looking at internal solutions, Ville Heinola immediately jumps out, with the planets seemingly aligned in his favour for a change. The smooth-skating, puck-moving 23-year-old has been on the wrong end of some bad timing in his young career, dating back to training camp prior to the 2023-24 season when he was set to crack the opening-night roster, only to break his ankle in the final exhibition game. Heinola spent months recovering, then never got a sniff of the NHL as the Jets were flying high and not a single regular defenceman got hurt during the 82-game campaign, which Winnipeg finished fourth-overall with 110 points.
Dylan Samberg defends against Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby in Friday’s game in Pittsburgh. (Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press files) This past September, with Dillon and Nate Schmidt both moving on in unrestricted free agency, the door was wide open for Heinola.
But an infection in his surgically-repaired ankle forced him to go under the knife once again. Now, he’s back, having resumed skating a few weeks ago and playing two games with the Manitoba Moose on a conditioning assignment. After being held off the scoresheet in Thursday’s season debut, he had the primary assist on Saturday’s game-winning goal against the Rockford IceHogs at Canada Life Centre.
Heinola flew to Minnesota on Sunday to join the Jets, and the 20th-overall pick in the 2019 draft seems likely to jump right into the lineup — perhaps beside Pionk. Arniel could opt to ease Heinola in by putting him on the third pairing beside Colin Miller and moving Haydn Fleury up to skate with Pionk. Fleury, by the way, has solid underlying metrics — his Corsi For Percentage is second on the Jets behind Samberg — albeit in much less minutes and a more sheltered role.
The only other internal option right now is Dylan Coghlan, a 26-year-old journeyman signed as a free agent this past summer who has been a healthy scratch for all 21 games so far this year. As a right shot, it’s unlikely he slots in ahead of Heinola or Fleury at this point. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions.
Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Stanley will factor in once he’s cleared, but he hasn’t played since Nov. 9 against Dallas and has only just resumed skating on his own, not taking any contact as he deals with an undisclosed mid-body injury.
The other option is via the trade route, and you have to believe bolstering the blue line was already on general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff’s wish list prior to Samberg going down. A right-shot defender is the more likely target, with the idea of upgrading over Miller (and Coghlan), especially if the team believes top prospect Elias Salomonsson needs a full year to develop on the farm with the Moose. The Jets may not have Samberg for a while, but they do have the benefit of some time and patience thanks to a sizzling 17-4-0 start.
There’s no reason to push the panic button or do anything rash, even if their resiliency is about to be tested in a big way. mike.mcintyre@freepress.
mb.ca X and BlueSky: @mikemcintyrewpg Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the before joining the in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016.
. Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and .
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Thank you for your support. Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the before joining the in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016.
. Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and .
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider . Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism.
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