Dr. Harjas Grewal weighed in this morning on Jets defenseman Dylan DeMelo, and his early read points to a lengthy absence.
The Jets beat the Stars 8-3 in Dallas on Thursday night, but DeMelo logged just 2:33 of ice time in that game. Nothing is listed for him on the latest injury report.
Grewal wrote that he can't see much, but that he believes the injury is a "high ankle sprain or MCL injury" and that DeMelo is "Likely going to be 4-6 weeks out."
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That is a diagnosis from a distance. Grewal says so himself, relying on "pattern recognition" rather than any information from inside the Jets organization. Winnipeg hasn't said anything about DeMelo's condition.
Treat the timeline as a guess until the team speaks. But a guess from someone with a medical background is the kind that tends to be close, and fans of a team on a roll in November are right to pay attention.
How big a loss would DeMelo be for Winnipeg?
If the 4-6 week estimate holds, it would be a real hole on the back end. DeMelo has played 20 games this season and has 8 points, with a +2 rating, so he has been producing from the blue line.
He also brings a physical edge. His 24 penalty minutes are a lot to lose from a defense group, and a 33-year-old veteran is not easily replaced by whoever slides up from the bottom pair.
The résumé is worth remembering. DeMelo was a sixth-round pick, 179th overall, by the San Jose Sharks in 2011. He has turned that into 738 regular-season games and 190 points, plus 41 playoff games.
That's a long career for a player who was nearly an afterthought on draft day. It also means the Jets would be losing a veteran who has seen just about every situation the league can throw at a defenseman.
The one thing that matters now is whether Winnipeg confirms an injury and a timeline. An update on his status, or a roster move to cover the blue line, will say more than any diagnosis from outside the building.
More to come.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
How long will Dylan DeMelo be out for the Jets?
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