Winnipeg Jets claim veteran D-man Luca Sbisa off waivers

The Winnipeg Jets have brought in a veteran defencemanto bolster their young and injury-plagued blue line.

The team announcedWednesday it has claimed Luca Sbisa off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks.

The 29-year-old has already been part of five different NHL teams since being drafted in 2008 by the Philadelphia Flyers. The Jets are his sixth.

He was selected 19th overall that year but was bumped back to hisjunior team in the Western Hockey League for a time. Sbisaalso played in the American Hockey League and the Swiss league for a few stints between NHL gigs, before finally stickinginthe big league for good sincethe 2013-14 season.

He was part of the inaugural Vegas Golden Knights team in 2017-18 that halted the Jets' run toward the Stanley Cup. Vegas beatWinnipeg in Game 5 to win theWestern Conference final and advance to the championship series.

Last year, Sbisa played for theNew York Islanders but only dressed for nine games. He hadone assist.

In504 NHL games which also included time withthe Anaheim Ducks andVancouver Canucks he has18 goals and85 assists.

Sbisaalso played for Switzerland inthe 2010 Olympic Games and in the 2011 and 2012 World Championships, and played for Team Europe under Jets head coach Paul Maurice at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

The Jets defensive corps wasdepleted during the off-season with the departures of Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot.They are also dealing with Dustin Byfuglien's continuingpersonal leave of absence.

Earlier this year they were hit with injuries to Josh Morrissey, and more recently to Tucker Poolman and Nathan Beaulieu.

Those injuries, combined with the inexperience of many of the new defenceplayers, have resulted in the Jets giving opposing teams a lot of shooting opportunities. The team rankseighth-worst in the NHL for average shots against at 33.5.

And when it comes to goals against, they are 12th worst out of the 31-team league at3.27 per game.