NHL Injury Updates: Winnipeg Jets' Neal Pionk To Miss Time

While speaking to reporters, including the Winnipeg News' Mike McIntyre, Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel announced that defenseman Neal Pionk will be out week to week due to a lower-body injury.

Neal Pionk is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, per #NHLJets coach Scott Arniel. It’s not from something that happened last game. He’s been playing through it and decision made now to take care of it so he’s right for playoffs.
— Mike McIntyre (@mikemcintyrewpg) March 14, 2025

With Pionk being a key part of the Jets' defense, it is certainly tough that he is set to miss a decent amount of time. The Omaha, Nebraska native spends time in the Jets' top four and on their power play, so they will need to make some adjustments to their defense while he is sidelined.

Pionk, 29, is currently in the middle of a solid season with the Jets. In 66 games this campaign, he has nine goals, 37 points, 97 blocks, 109 hits, and a plus-37 rating. This is after he had five goals, 33 points, 221 hits, and a plus-9 rating in 82 games this past season with the Jets. With numbers like these, he provides solid offense and grit on the Jets' blueline, so they will undoubtedly miss him while he is out of action.

Pionk has spent each of the last six seasons as a member of the Jets. In 432 games with the Central Division club over that span, he has 36 goals, 214 points, 986 hits, and a plus-39 rating.

It will be interesting to see how the Jets perform without Pionk in the lineup from here. At the time of this writing, they have a 45-17-4 record and are tied with the Washington Capitals with the most points in the NHL.