Snapshots: Jets, Brown, Severson

The Winnipeg Jets have some noteworthy lineup changes in Pittsburgh tonight; most compelling of them being veteran Nino Niederreiter as a healthy scratch. Goaltender Clay Stevenson makes his team debut. Also, Jack St. Ivany rotates in on the third paring with a chance to make an impression in his Jets debut against his former team as Tyrel Bauer sits.

Niederreiter, 34, has put together a strong career as a once-disappointing fifth overall pick (Islanders, 2010) who got a fresh start in Minnesota and never looked back. Maxing out as a 25-goal scorer one decade ago, the Swiss winger has been a consistent secondary scorer averaging exactly 20 goals and 20 assists across his career. Last season was a sign of decline, finding the back of the net just eight times in 60 games. His ice time was cut down to 11:46, lowest since his days as an uncertain Islander prospect. Niederreiter’s zone starts have flipped significantly in Winnipeg and have stayed that way under Scott Arniel, mostly lining up at five-on-five in his own end. Signed for one more year at $4MM, it’ll hopefully be a reset, although the Jets will be movitvated to place young forwards Isak Rosen and Brad Lambert in favorable situations.

Stevenson was claimed off waivers from Washington one week ago. A name who had some hype last September now finally gets a real shot as long as Connor Hellebuyck remains suspended. The 27-year-old was undrafted only to work his way up from the ECHL and lead the Hershey Bears to a Calder Cup title. He’ll hope to follow a path similar to Brandon Bussi last year, picked up from the wire without much fanfare as a minor league veteran only to make fans wonder how he stayed out of the NHL for so long.

Bauer, 24, has made a strong impression in his first two NHL games but he’s roughed it up quite a bit with 14 penalty minutes in the short span. Laying a heavy hit on Detroit’s J.T. Compher and dropping Keegan Kolesar in a fight which made the rounds on social media, he’ll get a night off from more possible fisticuffs. St. Ivany was acquired in June, in exchange for David Gustafsson who passed through waivers yesterday. Never playing in more than 20 games to this point, the 27-year-old is a #7 for the Jets whose status has been somewhat affected by Bauer’s emergence.

Elsewhere across the league:

• New Jersey’s Connor Brown skated today but head coach Sheldon Keefe told Amanda Stein, Team Reporter, that he’ll continue to be out for this week, looking for a return sometime after. Dealing with an undisclosed injury which has cost him both games of the season so far, there’s a fair shot he can return by next Thursday as the Devils host the Rangers. The 32-year-old netted 18 goals in 75 games last year, his first in Newark. After new general manager Sunny Mehta’s imprints on the team brought in several forwards it is quite crowded in their top nine. However, Brown is signed for three more years at $3MM and as a valuable presence who played on both the power play and penalty kill last year, they’ll have no problem working him back into the lineup.
• A former Devil who equally hasn’t been able to play yet this season at age 32, Blue Jacket Damon Severson is expected to return this Friday against Pittsburgh, The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports. The defenseman underwent shoulder surgery last spring, ending his season a few weeks early. The injury came from taking a hard hit from Montreal’s Zachary Bolduc. Skating in no fewer than 67 games over the past five years, the righty has mostly been durable as a top-four anchor who should play alongside star Zach Werenski upon his return. Without him the Jackets opened with an impressive win over Buffalo, falling to Utah on Saturday, and not back in action until the Penguins game. In his 71 games last year, Severson averaged 21:04, third on the team behind Werenski and Ivan Provorov.