Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has inked many players to team-friendly contracts over the years. This includes much of the current core in addition to a few players likely on their way out.
The Jets have not garnered much in the way of results in Cheveldayoff’s 12 years at the helm, with just three playoff series victories. Nonetheless, the team is still near the cap ceiling and will benefit from some excellent contracts as they attempt to simultaneously retool and stay competitive this season.
Here, we’ll dive into their three best contracts going into the 2023-24 season.
(Note: for this article, we won’t consider Connor Hellebuyck or Mark Scheifele. Although their contracts have been two of the Jets’ best for years, they both may be traded before the season starts.)
3: Gabriel Vilardi: $3.43 Million AAV, Two Years Remaining
Gabriel Vilardi’s new contract will provide the Jets with surplus value over the next two seasons. The budding star and key piece in last month’s trade that sent disgruntled power forward Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings signed a two-year “bridge deal” on July 19 with a $3.4 million average annual value (AAV), avoiding arbitration.
The 23-year old is coming off a breakout campaign and got a significant raise from the one-year contract worth $825,000 he played under last season. The 11th-overall 2017 pick set career highs in goals (23, just four fewer than Dubois) assists (18,) average time on ice (15:36,) and plus-minus (plus-10) last season. In 154-career NHL games, he has 41 goals and 37 assists for 78 points and two goals and two assists for four points in seven playoff games.
THW’s Connor Hrabchak recently outlined how the below player card fromThe Athletic shows the incredible value he provided the Kings last season, and how that value comes from more than his propensity to shoot first.
“His defensive abilities are arguably his most impressive attribute, and for a forward core that has been desperately lacking sound defensive play for the past handful of seasons, Vilardi will be a welcome addition to the top six to help ease the burden on the defence core,” Hrabchak wrote.
Cheveldayoff believes Vilardi, who suffered through some injuries in his formative years, is “just scratching the surface” of his potential. With Dubois and Blake Wheeler gone (and Scheifele likely to be) the Jets are banking on Vilardi playing on the top six and breaking out. He is a natural centre, but played mostly wing last season and produced better results there. A lack of centre depth may force him to make the move to the middle, but no matter where he plays, he’ll be heavily scrutinized.
Related: Three Jets Who Will Be Under the Microscope in 2023-24
While the Jets probably would have liked more term, the “prove it” contract is good for both sides. It ensures Vilardi is still a restricted free agent (RFA) under team control the next time he is due a new contract, and also eliminated the chance of Vilardi feeling like he left future money on the table by signing long term now for relatively cheaply. He will be set to cash in in 2025 if he posts between 40 and 50 points in each of the next two campaigns.
2: Josh Morrissey: $6.25 Million AAV, Five Years Remaining
The Jets should be thankful every day they have Josh Morrissey for the term and dollar figure they do, even if his stats dip after his breakout 2022-23.
The defenseman, empowered by head coach Rick Bowness to jump up in the play and encouraged to challenge for the Norris Trophy, responded to his new bench boss’ faith in him by busting out with an All-Star campaign. He not only put up 76 points (16 goals, 60 assists) to more than double his old career best of 37, but also cemented himself as a cornerstone of the franchise and one of the NHL’s best defencemen.
The 28-year-old, originally drafted 13th overall in 2013, had been a reliable defender and top-four mainstay long prior to last season, logging an average of 20-plus minutes per game since 2017-18 and posting 242 points in 501 games. However, last season — the third year of the eight-year deal worth $50 million he inked in 2019 as an RFA — was the first time he displayed utter dominance. He was one of the deadliest offensive blue liners in the NHL, despite being tied for being 34th-highest paid, and posted a surplus value of $6.1 million.
If Morrissey continues on this trajectory, his contract is going to age gracefully — he is locked up through 2027-28 and is in the middle of his prime. Even if his point totals could dip a bit next season — 76 is no easy feat for a defenseman, even one who plays 24-plus minutes per game — all signs point to his ability to keep the momentum rolling.
1: Kyle Connor: $7.142 Million AAV, Three Years Remaining
Kyle Connor is now the highest-paid Jet after Cheveldayoff bought out the final year of Wheeler’s contract that carried a bloated $8.25 AAV. However, just because he’s the highest-paid doesn’t make him overpaid.
Unlike Wheeler, who was in decline, Connor is worth every dollar and more.
The sniper and Lady Byng winner, who is still underrated by the NHL as a whole despite being sixth in the league in goals since 2019, has recorded 424 points in 466 games over seven seasons. The left-winger possess a lethal shot and is an excellent playmaker too — he has more assists (215) than goals (209) since being drafted 17th overall in 2015.
The Michigander signed a seven-year deal with the Jets in 2019 after a career-best (to that point) 66-point season, and the $50 million invested has been well worth it. Connor, while not the loudest voice, has been the picture of consistency and durability: he has never missed more than six games in his six full seasons.
In the four seasons since the extension, Connor has led the Jets in goals three times, in points twice, and has been tied for the lead in points once. He challenged for 50 goals in 2021-22, ultimately ending up with 47 (a Jets 2.0 record) and 93 points (also a Jets 2.0 record.)
Although Connor wasn’t quite as good last season and suffered through some uncharacteristic dry spells, he still recorded 80 points (31 goals and 49 assists) in 82 games. At just 26, he will be in his prime for the remaining three years of the deal and should put up a point per game or more in each of them.
Honourable mentions:
Dylan DeMelo: $3 million AAV, one year remaning — The proven top four defenseman (despite fan opinion) and analytics darling aids Morrissey in being his best self and is a bargain at $3 million. Cheveldayoff should work hard to extend him next offseason.
Nino Niederreiter: $4 million AAV, one year remaining — The hardworking, consistent forward is a proven veteran producer with a winning outlook. Like DeMelo, Cheveldayoff should work hard to extend him and keep him a Jet for the rest of his prime.
Dylan Samberg: $1.4 million AAV, two years remaining — The 24-year-old defenseman excelled in his first full NHL season. The owner of a fresh new contract will be a bargain regardless of if he stays on the third pairing (as long as he doesn’t regress) or breaks out into a top-four option.
