Winnipeg Jets’ Kyle Connor will return tonight vs. Islanders, Scheifele placed on IR

The Winnipeg Jets have announced that forward Kyle Connor has been medically cleared to play and will return to the lineup tonight against the New York Islanders.

Connor was injured last month and was slated to be out six to eight weeks with a lower-body injury following a knee-on-knee hit with Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Strome. He returned to practice Monday in full gear and it was noted that he would make his return soon.

Connor has registered 17 goals and 28 points in 26 games this season while averaging 20:40 minutes of ice time per game. He ranks fifth among Jets skaters trailing Mark Scheifele, Nik Ehlers, Josh Morrissey and Cole Perfetti, all whom stepped up in Connor’s absence.

Last season, Connor led the Jets with 31 goals and 49 assists for 80 points in 82 games. He ranked second in scoring behind Scheifele. The year prior, he notched a career-high 47 goals, three shy from the 50-goal mark. Which would have made him the first Winnipeg Jets player to reach 50 goals since the reincarnation of the Jets in 2011.

Connor is currently in year five of a seven-year, $50,000,000 million contract extension he signed with the Jets in the fall of 2019. The contract carries an average annual value (AAV) of $7,142,857 million.

Winnipeg currently sits first in the Central Division and third league-wide with a 28-10-4 record and 60 points through 42 games. They trail one point behind the second-place Boston Bruins and two points behind the league-leading Vancouver Canucks.

Meanwhile, the Jets have placed forward Mark Scheifele on the injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 12.

The Clinton Township, Michigan native was initially selected No. 17 overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by Winnipeg. He spent one season with the University of Michigan in the NCAA where he amassed 35 goals and 71 points in 38 games; winning the NCAA B1G Rookie and Player of the Year Awards as well as being named the NCAA Top Collegiate Rookie and a Hobey Baker Finalist. Connor made his NHL debut with the Jets the following season and notched five points in 20 games while also spending time in the AHL with the Manitoba Moose where he had 44 points in 52 games.