Josh Morrissey Is Day-to-Day and Neal Pionk Runs the Jets Top Power Play

Josh Morrissey missed Winnipeg's game against Anaheim on Friday with an upper-body injury, and the Jets' power play looked lost without him. Neal Pionk took over as the quarterback of the first unit, Winnipeg went 0-for-4 with the man advantage, and the Ducks handed the Jets their first regulation loss of the season, 5-1, at Canada Life Centre.

Coach Scott Arniel listed Morrissey as day-to-day. The defenseman was hurt in Wednesday's 3-2 win over Colorado when he missed a bodycheck and went hard into the glass in the first period. He was seen holding his right hand as he left the ice, logged only about nine and a half minutes, and did not return. He skipped Thursday's optional skate and Friday's morning skate, but Arniel told reporters Morrissey was feeling better and that he is not concerned about the injury long term.

A Convenient Break in the Schedule

The timing helps Winnipeg. After Friday's game the Jets are off until Tuesday, when they host Minnesota, and Arniel said the team can afford to be cautious with Morrissey during the break. That gives him four full days to recover without missing another game, which is the best-case scenario for fantasy managers who drafted him as a top-tier offensive defenseman.

The flip side is that there is no official return date. Day-to-day with an upper-body injury after a hand-first collision with the glass can mean anything from bruising to something that lingers. The first real tell will be whether Morrissey is on the ice for practice early next week, and whether he is back in his usual first-pair and top power-play spots.

How Winnipeg Reshuffled

The Jets moved bodies around the whole blue line to cover for Morrissey. Dylan Samberg moved up to the top pair alongside Dylan DeMelo, Pionk stayed on the second pair with Mario Ferraro, and Haydn Fleury drew in for his season debut on the third pair with Tyrel Bauer, who returned after two straight games as a healthy scratch.

Up front, the morning-skate lines kept Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele together with Cole Perfetti on the top line. Connor scored Winnipeg's only goal Friday. The Ducks got goals from Judd Caulfield (his first in the NHL, plus an assist), Tim Washe, Mikael Granlund, Sam Colangelo and Nikita Nesterenko, and pulled away with three goals in the third period. Lukas Dostal allowed only Connor's goal. Shots were nearly even, roughly 17-16 in Anaheim's favor per the box score, which tells the story of a low-event game the Ducks won on finishing.

Fantasy Fallout

Neal Pionk is the short-term pickup. Power-play time is the lifeblood of fantasy defensemen, and Pionk inherits the top-unit quarterback role on a team whose first unit is built around Connor and Scheifele. He went pointless with a minus-3 on Friday, so this is a role-based add, not a production-based one. If Morrissey is ready Tuesday, Pionk slides back to the second unit and loses most of the value, so treat him as a streamer rather than a long-term hold. With Winnipeg idle until Tuesday, there is no rush to grab him for weekend games.

Morrissey managers should hold. The coach's comments and the schedule both point toward a short absence. Morrissey is a primary source of power-play assists on this roster, and dropping him on a day-to-day designation would be a mistake. If your league has an IR or day-to-day slot that frees a roster spot, use it through the weekend.

Connor and Scheifele take a small hit until Morrissey returns. Friday's 0-for-4 power play is one game, but the unit was described in postgame coverage as lacking danger without its usual quarterback. Their floor stays high because of even-strength usage, but their power-play point projections are softer for any game Morrissey misses.

The Goaltending Question That Has Not Gone Away

The other storyline in Winnipeg is in the crease. Connor Hellebuyck requested a trade in August and was suspended by the Jets for failing to report to training camp, and as of this week he remains suspended. Stuart Skinner, signed on July 1 to a two-year deal with a $3.75 million average annual value, has carried most of the load, and waiver claim Clay Stevenson, picked up from Washington on Sept. 28, has been the other half of the tandem.

Pregame reports conflicted on Friday's starter, but box scores credit Stevenson with the loss against Anaheim, facing only 17 shots. Skinner had been solid in his first three starts, including a first-star performance on Wednesday against Colorado. For fantasy purposes, Skinner is the goalie to roster in Winnipeg, and Stevenson is a spot-start option only on back-to-backs or soft matchups.

Any Hellebuyck trade would reset the entire picture. Until that happens, Skinner should continue to get the majority of starts, and the Jets' early record (three straight wins before Friday) shows that the system in front of him is still doing a lot of the work.

The Betting Angle

Friday's result was a reminder of how much Winnipeg's pricing relies on its power play and on goaltending that is no longer elite by default. Without Morrissey, the Jets' special teams lose their best puck mover, and with Skinner or Stevenson instead of Hellebuyck, the market should not be pricing Winnipeg as the defensive juggernaut it was in recent seasons.

For Tuesday's home game against Minnesota, the two inputs to watch are Morrissey's status and the goalie matchup. Minnesota will again lean on Jesper Wallstedt with Filip Gustavsson moved to long-term injured reserve on Friday following offseason hip surgery. If Morrissey returns and Skinner starts, Winnipeg likely sits in a familiar home-favorite range. If either piece is missing, the line may not fully reflect it. Verdexed's full model call for the game will live at /nhl/predictions, and the daily board is at /blog/nhl-picks-2026-10-10.

What's Next

Winnipeg practices early next week before hosting the Wild on Tuesday. The checklist: Morrissey's participation in practice (full or in a non-contact jersey), whether Pionk stays on the top power-play unit in drills, and who is first off the ice in goal, which usually signals the starter.

Fantasy managers can treat Pionk as a speculative add only if they need a defenseman for Tuesday, keep Morrissey on the roster, and continue to roster Skinner as Winnipeg's primary goalie. Bettors should hold off on Tuesday's market until the Jets confirm Morrissey's status, since a quarterback return on the power play is the single biggest swing factor in this game.