Jets D Josh Morrissey out for a while with Olympics injury – report

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey is expected to miss an extended period after suffering an upper-body injury during the Milan Cortina Olympics, TSN reported Monday.

Morrissey left Canada’s opener against Czechia on February 12 and missed the rest of the tournament, including Sunday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the United States in the gold-medal game.

At the Olympics, Morrissey was limited to just 7:10 of ice time. He had also missed last February’s 4 Nations Face-Off championship game due to illness, where Canada defeated the U.S. 3-2 in overtime in Boston.

The Jets, returning from the Olympic break to face the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, will be without a key playmaking defenseman and versatile all-situations contributor. Morrissey ranks fourth in scoring for Winnipeg with 42 points in 56 games and averages 24:37 minutes per game, the 11th-most in the league.

“We want Josh in this game. He helps us with puck moving and everything he does, but in the end, if you're not physically able to do it… When it comes to the flag, no one is getting in the way of it. If players are incapable of giving what they think is optimal effort, they don’t want to put the country in harm,” Canada head coach Jon Cooper said before the Olympic final.

Morrissey, 30, is in his 10th full season with the Jets. Drafted 13th overall in 2013, he has accumulated 415 career points (90 goals, 325 assists) in 718 games.

After winning last season’s Presidents’ Trophy, Winnipeg has fallen to 13th in the Western Conference and is 11 points out of a playoff spot.

—Field Level Media/Reuters