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Kyle Wellwood (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

HOCKEY types all over the game have long spoken of Kyle Wellwood's intelligence -- his on-ice IQ, so to speak -- and how it has helped him carve out an NHL career now 450 games and counting.

Turns out the 29-year-old Toronto product has got a pretty good feel for reading a situation off the ice, too.

An unrestricted free agent whose name had been linked to any number of NHL teams -- and a pair of Swiss League clubs -- Wellwood re-signed with the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, inking a one-year deal that will pay him $1.6 million.

Ultimately Wellwood came to this conclusion: He is coming off a career year with an organization that appreciates his game and loves his versatility. They offered to more than double his salary -- he earned $700,000 in 2011-12 -- and after bouncing from Vancouver to the KHL to San Jose to Winnipeg in the last little bit, it was time to for the veteran and his young family to go with what they know.

"To have this out of the way and be able to come into an environment I already know and have some familiarity, I'm really excited," Wellwood said in a conference call from his home in Windsor, Ont. "I felt like it was a positive building year for me last year. Talking to Winnipeg before the signing (last year) I wasn't sure what kind of fit it was going to be for me, but for them to get (Alexei) Ponikarovsky, a big left winger who has got some skill, and adding (Olli) Jokinen up the middle I really got excited about coming to the team again and making a run at the playoffs.

"You get to be a free agent and you get to look at all the teams. I was looking at Winnipeg and they seem to really do some great things, they've got some great young players coming up and they've added a couple of pieces which we really needed, especially if we want to improve our road record which was our big downfall last year. Having the young guys coming up like (Spencer) Machacek and (Mark) Scheifele and some bigger D-men bodes well in the future, too."

Wellwood is coming off a career season in which he registered 18 goals and 29 assists and finished fifth on the team in scoring while playing all three forward positions in a variety of situations. Wellwood said Friday he hopes to improve his fitness this summer to be available to play even more minutes for the Jets this season, after averaging 14:57 of ice time last year.

"It comes down to my fitness level," said Wellwood, who was offered a two-year deal with the Jets, but opted to sign for just one. "Claude (Noel) used me really well last year, but he couldn't use me more because I wasn't as productive when he tried to increase my minutes... I'd get tired. For me, having a healthy offseason here (he had an appendectomy last offseason) and getting in really good shape I should be able to play more minutes and handle it."

Meanwhile, the Jets also signed promising young defenceman Paul Postma to a new one-way contract, a one-year deal worth $550,000.

Postma, 23, played in 56 games with the St. John's IceCaps last season picking up 44 points (13G, 31A), ranking second on the club. He was voted the IceCaps' MVP and top defenceman and named to the AHL First All-Star team.

"I'm really happy about the whole contract," said Postma from Calgary. "I couldn't be more happy. Basically it says to me they're going to give me a really good shot next year and I'm looking forward to contributing."

The Jets have two unrestricted free agents they still have interest in -- defenceman Mark Flood and right-winger Eric Fehr.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 14, 2012 C2