Nate Thompson (also put on injured reserve) also won't play the mini-series finale against Ottawa. He left Thursday's game after the first period with a lower-body injury that also has him listed as day-to-day.
Kristian Vesalainen will see his first action of the season on Saturday as a result. Maurice plans to have Jansen Harkins play centre with the possibility of Vesalainen and Trevor Lewis on the wings.
In another move on Friday, the Jets reassigned forward David Gustafsson from the manitoba Moose to the taxi squad.
MAKING AN IMPRESSION
Logan Stanley played the first three games of his NHL career this past week and made an immediate impression on his defence partner, Nathan Beaulieu.
"I thought he's done an outstanding job so far. It's not easy to step into this league, play, and make an impact right away," said Beaulieu. "I think he's done that. Especially under the circumstances we've had this year with no exhibition games and no feeling out process."
While Stanley didn't get to have his family in attendance in Toronto for his first NHL game, he knows that will come in time. For now, he was just happy to be able to see their reaction when they got the news that Monday.
"It was pretty cool to call my family and let them know I was going to be playing," said Stanley. "They sacrificed a lot to help me get here. I couldn't do it without them. I'm very grateful to call them and tell them and see the smile on their face."
Stanley was drafted in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft. Head coach Paul Maurice said expectations on the Kitchener, ON product may have been unfair, especially because a number of the organization's first round picks during that time made it to the NHL quickly.
"There are players you draft that you know are going to take longer to develop into players," said Maurice. "It's usually the bigger man growing into his body, the strength, the endurance you have to accumulate just over time. It's not a matter of having a couple good summers and working hard. It takes time."
There was a pocket of time that Maurice feels Stanley used to his advantage - the season pause.
"He came back to camp a man. He gets out on the ice, we go hard and heavy for an hour and a half. He can do it," said Maurice. "When we skate him at the end, he's still powerful. That's light years from where he was."
He played a season-high 13:49 against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday and was involved in a late-game scrum, defending his teammates.
"I'd rather it be me in that scrum than Scheif having to deal with someone," said Stanley. "That's part of my job when stuff goes a little bit sideways. I'm just trying to help out my teammates."
As he continues to work daily to improve his game, he took time on Friday to thank those that helped him get to where he is today. First, of course, were his parents, but he also gave kudos to Manitoba Moose coaches Pascal Vincent and Eric Dubois.
"They've been instrumental in my development. Just becoming a pro and getting better every day," said Stanley. "Those guys along with Marty Johnston and Richard Bue have really helped me out. Just getting my game to where it needs to be to be able to play at the NHL level. I can't thank those guys enough."
