Jets F Ehlers joins Denmark for must-win game at Men's Worlds
Published
Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers has joined Team Denmark just in time for the team's must-win contest against Germany at the IIHF Men's World Hockey Championship on Tuesday.
Ehlers and the Jets were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday with a Game 6 loss to the Dallas Stars in the second round. The 29-year-old forward had five goals and seven points in eight playoff games after posting 24 goals and 63 points in 69 games during the regular season.
Denmark enters Tuesday's game sitting tied fourth in Group B with Germany, who also have nine points. The winner of Tuesday's game will secure a quarter-final berth.
As a result of joining Denmark, Ehlers will miss the Jets' season-ending media availabilities on Tuesday. He enters the off-season as a pending unrestricted free agent after spending this season playing out the last of a seven-year, $42 million contract signed with Winnipeg in 2017.
Selected ninth overall by the Jets in the 2014 draft, Ehlers has 225 goals and 520 points in 674 career games with the franchise.
Niederreiter joins Switzerland
Ehlers isn't the only Jet headed overseas to join his country at the men's Worlds.
TSN's John Lu reports forward Nino Niederreiter is off to represent Switzerland, who currently sits atop Group B at 6-0-1-0 and 19 points. They will advance to the quarter-finals, which begin on Thursday.
He had four goals and two assists for six points in 13 postseason games this spring. Niederreiter had 17 goals and 20 assists for 37 points in 82 games during the regular season.