Jets’ Neal Pionk week-to-week with undisclosed injury

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk will be out of the lineup on a week-to-week basis due to an undisclosed injury, Jets head coach Scott Arniel confirmed Friday per TSN’s John Lu.

Through 66 appearances with Winnipeg this season, Pionk has scored nine times and added 28 assists to rank second among Jets defensemen with 37 points. Along the way, Pionk has also registered 44 penalty minutes, a plus-21 rating, and averaged 22:09 in ice time per game, trailing only fellow Jets blue-liner Josh Morrissey.

Acquired from the New York Rangers in the 2019 offseason as part of the deal that sent former Jets rearguard Jacob Trouba to Manhattan, Pionk has collected 36 goals and 178 assists for 214 points through six seasons and 432 appearances in Winnipeg.

A graduate of the NCAA’s Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, Pionk originally signed with the Rangers in 2017 as an undrafted free agent. Through 533 career contests split between the Rangers and Jets, the 29-year-old native of Omaha, Neb., has tallied 43 goals and 211 assists for 254 points. With the Jets in 2019-20, Pionk reached a career-high 45 points counting six goals and 39 assists coming in 71 games. Pionk has also added 14 points through 22 appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Per PuckPedia, Pionk is in the final year of a four-year contract that carries a $5.875-million annual average value and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this coming offseason.

For the Jets, on the season the club stands atop the NHL standings with a 45-17-4 record and 94 points. Following Tuesday’s victory over the Rangers, the Jets will try for their second-straight victory when the club retakes the ice Friday against the Central Division rival Dallas Stars. The Jets have qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the past two seasons.