The Winnipeg Jets are strengthening their defense. The Jets recover the goalkeeper Kaapo Kahkonen without waiver, according to The Athletic. Kahkonen the most recently spent time with the Colorado Avalanche.

Kahkonen is a veteran who hasn’t found his footing in Colorado this season. He also spent time in net with the Colorado Eagles, his first minor league appearance in four years. He will now join a Jets team that is already a little thin on defense as the team recently had to place defenseman Logan Stanley on injured reserve.

The Jets assigned goaltender Kahkonen to their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. Winnipeg already had plans with Kahkonen, as the team signed him in July. The Jets then placed the goaltender on waivers near the start of the season.

Kahkonen is from Finland. He was part of a club that won gold at the World Junior Championships in 2016.

Kaapo Kahkonen will try to help the surging Jets

Winnipeg has a 14-1 record and is in first place in the NHL Western Conference. The Jets have scored 28 points this season and they have scored the most goals in the West. The Jets have forced 67 field goals this season.

The Jets defense has also been impressive. Winnipeg has only allowed 31 goals this year, and that’s the fewest of any team in the Western Conference. The Jets are just showing complete balance right now in the opening weeks of the NHL season.

Kahkonen will have the opportunity to show once again that he can be a solid goaltender. The veteran posted a .923 save percentage last season while working in net for the New Jersey Devils. This year, Kahkonen only played one game in the NHL, when he was a member of the Avalanche. He allowed four goals in a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Kahkonen played for the Minnesota Wild, as well as the San Jose Sharks before joining the Devils in 2023.

The Jets next face the New York Rangers on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Eastern.

Benjamin Adducchio is a sports journalist with more than a decade of experience covering news. He is an expert writer on the NFL, NCAA football, NCAA basketball and New York Yankees for ClutchPoints. The New York resident previously worked in broadcasting and radio.