Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers is dealing with neck spasms and won’t practise with the team on Friday, head coach Rick Bowness told Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press.
Bowness told Wiebe that the team is not overly concerned and Ehlers is expected to rejoin the team for practice on Saturday.
Ehlers had 12 goals and 38 points in 45 games for the Jets last season. He played in only one game of the Jets’ Round 1 series against the Vegas Golden Knights after he was injured on a hit from the Minnesota Wild’s Ryan Hartman in the final week of the regular season.
The 27-year-old forward has played his entire eight-year NHL career with the Jets since being drafted by the team with the ninth-overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft. He has 176 goals and 396 points in 523 career games.
Ehlers has had his struggles with injuries over the past few seasons, playing just 45 games last season and 62 in 2021-22.