Four Jets clear waivers to join Moose

The Winnipeg Jets organizational depth has yet to take a hit on the waiver wire.

On Saturday afternoon, all four players exposed to waivers — defenceman Isaak Phillips and forwards Nikita Chibrikov, Noah Gregor and Parker Ford — cleared, which means they can be assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

Owing to injuries to captain Adam Lowry and winger Cole Perfetti, both Chibrikov and Ford started last season on the NHL roster but spent the bulk of last season with the Moose.

Chibrikov, chosen in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft, has dealt with multiple lower-body injuries during the prior two seasons and is still working his way back to peak form.

“Chibby has been a tough one, with what he’s had (to deal with), that injury he went through,” Jets head coach Scott Arniel said on Friday. “He worked his tail off this summer, I know he had another injury at the end of last season. So, he’s been kind of fighting that part of the battle.”

Phillips, Ford and Gregor all showed well during the exhibition games and will be recall options.

“Parker is an undrafted player that’s come in and opened up an awful lot of eyes. He’s got a lot of details to his game,” said Arniel. “Noah is new to us, but he played to his identity. With Phil, he stepped in the last couple years and had to play some minutes for us. Another guy that’s been really helpful, played a lot with (Elias Salomonsson) down there last year. He’s a good call-up piece. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the depth we’re now starting to have in place.”

The Jets, who wrapped up exhibition play with a record of 1-2-1, still have 26 healthy players around, which means three more moves must be made, barring an addition via waivers or a trade.

The opening-day roster, with a maximum of 23 players, is due on Monday.