Pionk scored a power-play goal on three shots, doled out five hits, added two PIM and went minus-2 in Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Blues in Game 3.
Pionk got a goal in the third period, but the Blues were already firmly in control of the game. This was Pionk's second goal in the last four contests. The defenseman produced 39 points, including 12 on the power play, as well as 123 shots on net, 114 hits, 101 blocked shots and a plus-21 rating over 69 regular-season appearances.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Inks six-year extension
Rotowire
Pionk signed a six-year, $42 million contract extension with the Jets on Thursday.
Pionk has spent the last six seasons in Winnipeg, and his extension will keep him under contract with the team through the 2030-31 campaign. He made 69 appearances for the Jets during the 2024-25 regular season, recording 10 goals, 29 assists, 114 hits and 101 blocked shots while averaging 22:04 of ice time.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Slated to play Wednesday
Rotowire
Pionk (rest) is expected to draw back into the lineup Wednesday versus Anaheim.
Pionk was out of the lineup for Sunday's 4-1 loss to Edmonton so that he could get a breather before the playoffs. He has nine goals, 38 points, 114 hits and 99 blocks over 68 outings in 2024-25. Pionk is projected to play alongside Dylan Samberg against the Ducks.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Given maintenance day
Rotowire
Pionk (rest) will not be in the lineup Sunday against the Oilers, according to Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press.
Pionk has played in two games since missing 12 contests due to a lower-body injury, but he'll get the day off Sunday as the Jets have already clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. Winnipeg's last game of the regular season is against the Ducks on Wednesday.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Garners power-play helper
Rotowire
Pionk notched a power-play assist and two shots on goal in Saturday's 5-4 shootout win over the Blackhawks.
This was Pionk's second game back after missing 12 contests due to a lower-body injury. The defenseman has jumped right back into a top-four role, adding five shots on net, five hits and two blocked shots over his two games since returning. Overall, he has 38 points, 121 shots on net, 114 hits, 99 blocked shots and a plus-20 rating over 68 appearances, though it looks like the time lost will cost him a chance at reaching the 40-point mark for the second time in his career.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Expected to play Thursday
Rotowire
Pionk (lower body) is projected to be in the lineup Thursday versus the Stars, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press reports.
Pionk was deemed close to playing as of Monday, so it tracks that he's ready to end a 12-game absence. He'll slot back in on the second pairing and should also be part of the second power-play unit.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Deemed game-time call for Thursday
Rotowire
Pionk (lower body) will be a game-time decision for Thursday's matchup against Dallas, Mitchell Clinton of the Jets' official site reports.
Head coach Scott Arniel said Monday that Pionk is "really close" to returning to game action, and the 29-year-old worked on the second defensive pairing during Wednesday's practice session while also seeing some time with the second power-play unit. The Jets want to see how Pionk fares ahead of Thursday's puck drop, but he seems to be trending in the right direction.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Close to returning
Rotowire
Head coach Scott Arniel said Monday that Pionk (lower body) is "really close" to returning, Mitchell Clinton of the Jets' official site reports.
Arniel's comments indicate that Pionk will miss Monday's game against the Blues, but the blueliner is working on his conditioning and is closing in on his return to game action. It wouldn't be surprising to see Pionk return to the ice over the final week of the regular season, which would help prepare him for a postseason run.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Labeled week-to-week
Rotowire
Pionk is considered week-to-week due to a lower-body injury, John Lu of TSN reports Friday.
Pionk has managed just one point in his last 11 games while generating 24 shots, 21 hits and 12 blocks while averaging 21:58 of ice time. With Pionk on the shelf, Colin Miller figures to rejoin the lineup while Luke Schenn sees a significant uptick in ice time.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Questionable for Friday
Rotowire
Pionk (undisclosed) could be a game-time decision Friday versus Dallas, per Mitchell Clinton of the Jets' official site.
Pionk has missed practice the last two days. He has nine goals, 28 assists, a plus-21 rating, 109 hits and 97 blocked shots across 66 games this season. Should Pionk be unavailable, Colin Miller is likely to take his place in the lineup.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Nets lone goal in loss
Rotowire
Pionk scored a goal on three shots, added three hits and logged two PIM in Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Predators.
Pionk's goal at 11:05 of the first period tied the game at 1-1 briefly, but the Predators answered on Thomas Novak's power-play tally just over four minutes later. Over seven outings in February, Pionk has two goals and two assists. The 29-year-old blueliner has nine goals this season, one shy of his career high from 2022-23, and he's already up to 37 points, 107 shots on net, 100 hits, 91 blocked shots, 44 PIM and a plus-19 rating through 60 appearances. With a quarter of the campaign to go, he has a good chance of matching his career-best 45 points from the 2019-20 campaign.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Bags two apples
Rotowire
Pionk tallied two assists, including one on the power-play, a plus-2 rating and four shots during Saturday's 5-4 overtime win over the Capitals.
Pionk helped open the scoring for the Jets, giving him two goals and seven points in his last 10 games. The 29-year-old has supplied 30-plus points in six consecutive seasons and could establish new career highs if he can stay productive the rest of the way.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Helps out on empty-netter
Rotowire
Pionk managed an assist, three shots on goal and a plus-2 rating in Friday's 5-2 win over Utah.
Pionk has earned four points over his last six outings. He assisted on the empty-netter that secured a hat trick for Cole Perfetti in this contest. Pionk is up to 32 points through 50 appearances -- he's one point shy of matching his output from the entirety of the 2023-24 regular season. The blueliner has added 81 shots on net, 77 blocked shots, 76 hits, 34 PIM and a plus-9 rating in his usual second-pairing role.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Rips in game-winner
Rotowire
Pionk scored a goal on two shots and added two hits in Wednesday's 3-2 overtime win over the Avalanche.
Pionk got open on the Jets' first rush of overtime and unleashed a slap shot from the circles to beat Mackenzie Blackwood 17 seconds into the extra session. With five points over his last 11 outings, Pionk remains steady on offense while adding physicality in a top-four role. For the season, the 29-year-old defenseman is at seven goals, 31 points, 78 shots on net, 75 hits, 77 blocked shots, 34 PIM and a plus-7 rating through 49 appearances.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Puts up pair of points
Rotowire
Pionk scored a goal on four shots, dished an assist, added two PIM and went plus-2 in Tuesday's 6-1 win over the Canucks.
Pionk set up the second goal in Kyle Connor's natural hat trick before adding a tally of his own in the second period. The goal was Pionk's first since his last multi-point effort, which was Dec. 21 versus the Wild. He had just two assists between then and now. The defenseman is up to the 30-point mark (six goals, 24 helpers), for the sixth season in a row, adding 75 shots on net, 72 blocked shots, 70 hits, 32 PIM and a plus-9 rating through 45 appearances. Pionk has a legitimate chance to challenge his career high of 45 points from 2019-20 if he can put together a decent second half.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Manages assist in Saturday's loss
Rotowire
Pionk produced an assist, two shots on goal and a plus-2 rating in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Red Wings.
This was Pionk's second helper in his last three games. The 29-year-old defenseman hasn't gotten on the scoresheet in consecutive outings since a three-game streak from Nov. 29 to Dec. 3. He's up to 28 points, 67 shots on net, 68 blocked shots, 60 hits, 26 PIM and a plus-6 rating over 41 outings in a second-pairing role. Pionk would have to go through a brutal slump to fall shy of earning the second 40-point campaign of his career.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Goal, assist in win
Rotowire
Pionk scored a power-play goal, dished an assist and added three hits in Saturday's 5-0 win over the Wild.
Pionk stretched the Jets' lead to 3-0 with his second-period goal. He also set up Vladislav Namestnikov's insurance tally in the third. The 29-year-old Pionk has six points over 11 outings in December, but two of those games have been multi-point efforts. It hasn't helped his consistency, but the defenseman is still tracking toward a career year. He's at five goals, 26 points, 60 shots on net, 57 blocked shots, 49 hits, 24 PIM and a plus-4 rating over 35 appearances.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Produces assist in loss
Rotowire
Pionk notched an assist, three shots on goal and a minus-2 rating in Tuesday's 4-1 loss to the Blues.
This was just the second time all year that Pionk was held to zero hits and zero blocked shots in a game. The defenseman made up for it by picking up his fifth point in the last five contests (one goal, four helpers. He's been better than usual on offense with 22 points (four goals, 18 assists), and he's added 49 shots on net, 41 hits, 41 blocked shots and a plus-7 rating across 26 appearances.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Nabs helper Sunday
Rotowire
Pionk produced an assist, two shots on goal, three hits and three blocked shots in Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Stars.
Pionk has a goal and three assists over the last four games. That follows a stretch of five contests in which he failed to record a point. The 29-year-old blueliner is up to 21 points, 46 shots on net, 41 hits, 41 blocked shots, 16 PIM and a plus-9 rating over 25 outings this season. Pionk offers strong offense and steady all-around production from his second-pairing role, making him a trustworthy option for fantasy lineups whenever the Jets are in action.
... See More... See Less
Jets' Neal Pionk: Scores in Friday's loss
Rotowire
Pionk scored a goal on two shots in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Golden Knights.
Pionk found twine on a shot from the point in the third period, tying the game at 3-3. The defenseman has three points over his last three outings following a five-game slump. He's up to four goals -- one off of last year's total -- and 20 points while adding 44 shots, 38 hits, 38 blocked shots, 16 PIM and a plus-9 rating over 24 appearances. Pionk's role is as steady as it gets on the second pairing and second power-play unit, so he's a safe and well-rounded blueliner for fantasy.
