WINNIPEG – A familiar face will be back on the ice at Canada Life Centre tonight when Nikolaj Ehlers visits the Winnipeg Jets with his new team, the Carolina Hurricanes.
Ehlers signed a six-year, 51-million-dollar deal with the Hurricanes back in July ending an 10-year run with the team that drafted him.
It will be weird seeing him on the other side. Nikky was a fan favourite in the dressing room and good friend, but once the puck drops it will be business,” said Logan Stanley.
“It will be good to see him after the game and say hi and see what he is doing. He was a great teammate who treated me well from a young age. I have nothing but respect for Nikky.”
Neal Pionk joked he knows how to get under his old teammates skin but wasn’t revealing any secrets.
“I sat next to him on the plane for five years. I know how to get into his head,” said Pionk.
“It’s, yeah, not yet. No, because I don’t want him to figure it out, but he knows, he knows it’s coming.”
Ehlers said he’s not sure what to expect from the fans tonight.
“All I can say is, I spent ten years here and I loved it here,” said Ehlers.
“So obviously I’m hoping for something. And you can guess yourself what that is, but it’s been nice to be back and see the guys and all the people around. It’s special.”
The Jets are looking more and more like the team that finished first overall last season as they are getting healthier. It was an important win on Tuesday night when they began the three-game homestand with a solid performance right from puck drop. The power play looked good again and has since their three games in California.
“There were some details that were missing early on. There was some sort of fundamentals that we always revert back to that needed to be tightened up,” said assistant coach Davis Payne.
“We had a couple of good meetings that tightened up and now it seems to be back in a good spot to grow from. That doesn’t mean there’s (not) tougher challenges ahead.”
