Jets' Josh Morrissey Downgraded to Week-to-Week With Upper-Body Injury

On Thursday, Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel told reporters that star defenseman Josh Morrissey will be out longer than initially expected. 

Arniel revealed that the 31-year-old blueliner will not need surgery for his upper-body injury, but he has been downgraded from day-to-day to week-to-week. The longer timetable is not what the Jets had hoped for, and it will put added pressure on Neal Pionk, who has taken over Morrissey's top-pairing and power-play minutes.

With the defense pairings shuffled, Pionk has been skating alongside newcomer Mario Ferraro. The second pairing features the two Dylans, DeMelo and Samberg, while the third unit has Haydn Fleury with another newcomer, Jack St. Ivany with Tyrel Bauer is serving as the team's seventh defenseman.

Morrissey has long been a durable fixture in the Winnipeg lineup, having not missed more than six games in a season since 2018-19, when he missed 23, and the Jets will hope he can find his way back to the ice as soon as possible.

Over his career in Winnipeg, the Calgary native has played all 743 games with the Jets and has recorded 94 goals and 337 assists for 431 points, improving over time from a depth defenseman into a 76-point standout when at his best.

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