Jets at Coyotes
Their name will be one of the club's few additions over the summer when the Arizona Coyotes host the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday in the season opener for both teams. Handcuffed by a conservative budget implemented by its new ownership, Arizona did little to improve its roster during the offseason, adding only center Sam Gagner, right wing B.J. Crombeen and backup goaltender Devan Dubnyk. The Coyotes hope Gagner can at least double his 10-goal output while with Edmonton last season as they lost one of their two 20-goal scorers from 2013-14 when Radim Vrbata (20) signed with Vancouver as a free agent.
Winnipeg also made minimal additions to a roster that failed to produce a playoff appearance, bringing in center Mathieu Perrault (career-high 18 goals in 69 games) and left wing TJ Galiardi (four in 62) from Anaheim and Calgary, respectively. The Jets did possess four 20-goal scorers last season, with one being converted defenseman Dustin Byfuglien (20). Winnipeg has won four straight meetings with the Coyotes, including all three in 2013-14.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, TSN3 (Winnipeg), FSN Arizona
ABOUT THE JETS (37-35-10, 7TH IN CENTRAL): Peter Budaj cleared waivers and was assigned to St. John's of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. The 32-year-old Slovakian goaltender, who is a veteran of 296 NHL games, was acquired along with forward Patrick Holland from Montreal on Sunday for forward Eric Tangradi. Winnipeg is hoping for a bounce-back season from Evander Kane, who scored only 19 goals in 63 games in 2013-14 after tallying a career-high 30 times in his previous full season in 2011-12.
ABOUT THE COYOTES (37-30-15, 4TH IN PACIFIC): In addition to Vrbata, the Coyotes said goodbye to Mike Ribeiro, who had his contract bought out after producing only 16 goals and 47 points in his first season with the club. The fact he finished tied for fourth on the team in scoring speaks volumes of Arizona's offensive woes. The strength of Arizona is its defense, which is led by Keith Yandle (team-leading 53 points) and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (44) and will include 21-year-old prospect Connor Murphy from the start of the season.
OVERTIME
1. Winnipeg G Ondrej Pavelec has posted a 0.96 goals-against average during a personal four-game winning streak against the Coyotes.
2. Murphy, the 20th overall pick in the 2011 draft, registered a goal and seven assists in 30 contests last season - his first in the NHL.
3. The Jets and Coyotes won't meet again until January, when they square off twice in a span of 11 days.