Jets forced to grant another personnel leave of absence to a defenseman!

We are starting to feel like the Hockey Gods are coming down hard on the Winnipeg Jets… 

On Tuesday, the team not only announced that forward Bryan Little was being placed on injured reserve with a concussion, they also revealed that defenseman Dmitry Kulikov was granted a personal leave of absence from the team. As a result, he has been designated as a 'Non-Roster Player'.

Kulikov’s absence comes just weeks after defencsman Dustin Byfuglien was suspended by the team as he considers his hockey future and ponders retirement. This is another blow to an already weakened blue line in Winnipeg. 

The good thing is that Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun mentioned that the leave was for a positive reason. Dmitry has reportedly gone home for a personal matter, potential a birth since it is believed to be positive news. 

However, it seems hard for the Jets to consider this positive. As pointed out by Gino Reda of TSN, 305 is the number of combined NHL games the Jets have on their blue line as they face the Penguins tonight. 

Tough blow.