Bryan Little Injury: Updates on Jets Forward's Recovery from Fractured Vertebrae

Winnipeg Jets forward Bryan Little will miss the rest of the season after suffering a compression fracture of the T6 vertebrae.

Continue for updates.

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Jets Season Gets Worse With Little Injury

Thursday, Feb. 25

Jets head coach Paul Maurice announced the news Feb. 25, a week after Little suffered the injury. He took a vicious hit from Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman on Feb. 18 in a 6-5 shootout loss and has not played since.

Here is the hit, via Sportsnet:

Maurice was not happy about the play, per Adam Gretz of CBS Sports.

"It was a devastating open-ice hit that angered the Jets and infuriated Maurice," Gretz wrote. "Maurice was so upset Stralman was not ejected that he ended up getting himself ejected from the game after screaming at the officials on two different occasions during the game."

Stralman was not disciplined by the NHL for the hit, according to Gretz.

Little is second on the team in points with 42, and this is a big blow for a Winnipeg team that sits in last place in the Central Division with 54 points.

Coupled with the fact that the team will likely trade captain Andrew Ladd by Monday's trade deadline, per Gretz, it might be time for fans to start hoping for the No. 1 pick in the draft so that Winnipeg can land 18-year-old phenom Auston Matthews.