We’ve heard it for years, even from members of the Jets fanbase themselves: “no one wants to play in Winnipeg.”
Sure, Winnipeg’s winters are cold and dark and way too long. It doesn’t have the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas, the bright lights of New York, or the warm weather and low taxes of Florida.
But as the recent blockbuster signings of Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele show, the narrative that elite NHLers view playing in Winnipeg as a prison sentence is (mostly) not true.
Two days before the Jets’ 2023-24 regular season began, they announced the re-signing of the Vezina-winning goaltender and star centre to identical seven-year contracts that carry $8.5 million average annual values (AAVs.)
Hellebuyck and Scheifele Could Have Gone Anywhere, But Chose to Be Jets for Life
The 30-year-olds were on the last years of their contracts and could have gone just about anywhere they wanted next summer as unrestricted free agents (UFAs.) They probably could have gotten more money on the open market than they got from general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, and there was tons of trade speculation over the offseason.
But by signing deals through 2030-31, they’ll be Jets for life — and they’re happy about it.
Hellebuyck, who has blossomed into one of the NHL’s elite goaltenders since being chosen in the fifth round of the 2012 Draft, said Tuesday at a joint press conference with Scheifele, Cheveldayoff, and head coach Rick Bowness that True North Sports & Entertainment “believe in him the way he believes in himself.”
Related: Jets Excited for 2023-24 Season After Hellebuyck, Scheifele Deals
Hellebuyck has been open about his burning desire to win a Stanley Cup and believes Winnipeg is the place to do that, despite winning just three playoff series in 11 years. “I’m ready to be a Jet for life and bring a Cup to this city because I truly believe we can get it done here,” he said.
Scheifele agreed, saying it’s his goal to hoist Lord Stanley’s Mug alongside “tremendous friends that are friends for life who are in that locker room” and said “there’d be nothing more special than doing that.”
Scheifele — the Jets 2.0’s first-ever draft puck who has played 723 games and posted 645 points (272 goals, 373 assists) with the franchise — is set to do the same thing he admired Detroit Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman for: spend his entire career with one franchise.
“I think it was really important, you know, to be a Jet for the next eight years…” Scheifele said. “So, to call myself a Jet for life, it’s an honour really. Because not many guys get the opportunity to actually do that and be on one team their entire career.”
Make no mistake: Winnipeg has trouble attracting top talent in free agency and it has been reported for years that the Jets are near the top of many NHLers’ no-trade lists. However, Cheveldayoff has found ways to overcome the perception some NHLers have of the city as a WiFi-less, airport-less, frozen wasteland.
He’s focused on drafting and developing players, trading for ones with term or yet to hit UFA status, and then trying to convince them Winnipeg is good.
Hellebuyck and Scheifele Just the Latest Among Long List Who’ve Chosen to Stay in Winnipeg
He has often succeeded at that goal.
This is the second time Hellebuyck and Scheifele have signed long-term deals: in 2016, Scheifele signed a seven-year deal instead of a shorter-term one that would have brought him to UFA status at a much younger age. In 2018, Hellebuyck did the same, inking a six-year deal.
Scheifele told Jets PR person Sarah Orlesky Tuesday, “this has become home and I’ve loved every minute.” He’s just one of many to find Winnipeg a worthwhile home to stay in and a worthwhile market to play in.
New captain Adam Lowry signed a five-year deal in April 2021 to keep him with the Jets until age 33. Josh Morrissey signed an eight-year deal in 2019 to keep him with the Jets through 2027-28, one year before the contract he was on at the time even expired. Kyle Connor signed a seven-year deal the same year to keep him with the Jets through 2025-26.
It goes back further. Nikolaj Ehlers signed a seven-year contract in 2017. Former captain Blake Wheeler signed a six-year deal in 2013, and a five-year deal in 2018 — while the 2018 contract eventually became a boat anchor and got bought out prior to its final year — Wheeler produced at a high level for a long time and every team would have welcomed him into the fold when he was in his prime.
Wheeler’s predecessor as captain, Andrew Ladd, before even a single second of Jets hockey had been paid, signed a five-year deal, giving Winnipeg’s viability as an NHL market an early vote of confidence.
They haven’t been overpaid to stay, either: many of the deals, including Connor’s, Ehlers’, both of Hellebuyck’s, Morrissey’s, and both of Scheifele’s carry fairly team-friendly AAVs by modern standards.
Sure, there have certainly been a few players who couldn’t wait to get out. Jacob Trouba always thought he was too big for the market, and would not sign long-term because he wanted to hit UFA status at the youngest age possible. Pierre-Luc Dubois did the same thing, refusing to even sign a one-year deal to take him to his UFA-eligible offseason.
Cheveldayoff made the most he could of both of those bad situations, trading Trouba to the New York Rangers in 2018 and Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings in 2023 for strong returns. He got Neal Pionk and the draft pick that turned into Ville Heinola from Rangers, and got Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, Gabriel Vilardi, and a 2024 second-round pick from the Kings.
Other top players have been traded, such as Andrew Copp and Patrik Laine, but Laine was unhappy with his usage and the Jets simply couldn’t afford to pay Copp the raise he deserved after he ramped up his offensive game.
Overall, Trouba and Dubois are the exceptions, not the rule. The Jets have retained enough top-end talent to be in win-now mode for the foreseeable future and mainly need to overcome lingering cultural issues — not talent-on-paper issues — to get out of the mushy middle. Cheveldayoff, with this big piece of business behind him, can now shift to convincing Vilardi and the many promising prospects in the pipeline that Winnipeg is a good place to play, but more importantly, a good place to win.
Related: Winnipeg Jets Top 10 Prospects for 2023-24
The Hellebuyck and Scheifele signings just confirm what we already know despite the narrative to the contrary: some players do want to play in Winnipeg after all.
