Dylan DeMelo, who signed a four-year contract Oct. 7 after being acquired in a trade from the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 18, likely will be the partner for No. 1 defenseman Josh Morrissey. The Jets signed free agent Derek Forbort to a one-year contract Oct. 11. Returning are Neal Pionk, Tucker Poolman, Nathan Beaulieu, Luca Sbisa and Sami Niku.
Pionk, who was acquired with a first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft (defenseman
Ville Heinola
, No. 20) in a trade from the New York Rangers on June 17, 2019, for defenseman Jacob Trouba, led the Jets with an average of 23:23 of ice time per game last season.
Winnipeg fared better than many expected last season after it had four defensemen from 2018-19 not return (Trouba, Tyler Myers, Ben Chiarot and
Dustin Byfuglien
), earning a spot in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers in large part thanks to Connor Hellebuyck, who won the Vezina Trophy voted as the best goalie in the NHL. The Jets allowed 2.83 goals per game, 10th in the NHL, despite allowing the seventh-most shots per game (32.6).
"From a starting point of view, we feel far more comfortable with our back end than we did a year ago," Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said.