Hellebuyck, Scheifele sign long-term contract extensions

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This article was published 09/10/2023 (775 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets gave thanks for a pair of homegrown stars on Monday, signing goaltender Connor Hellebuyck and centre Mark Scheifele to simultaneous seven-year contract extensions in what will go down as one of the biggest days, and developments, in franchise history.

The organizational pillars were about to enter the final year of their existing contracts and could have become unrestricted free agents on July 1. That had led to plenty of trade rumours and speculation, along with concerns their status could become a major distraction over the coming months.

Now? Long-term security on the cusp of the 2023-24 campaign, with a solid chance Hellebuyck and Scheifele will end their NHL careers where they began. Both will make US $8.5 million on the deals, which run through to the end of the 2030-31 campaign.

Add it all up and that’s a whopping US $119 million investment in one fell swoop.

The Jets have maintained they are “in it to win it.” That means no tearing down to the foundation, stripping the roster for parts and enduring a long and perhaps painful re-build despite only achieving a modicum of playoff success in the dozen years since the NHL returned to town.

On Monday, they backed up that bravado by backing up the Brinks truck.

The Jets will always have a chance to win as long as Hellebuyck remains at the top of his game. He’s that good. And Scheifele, despite some defensive deficiencies to his game, is a legitimate No. 1 NHL centre who can be both an elite scorer and playmaker and is coming off a career-high 42-goal campaign.

By keeping both in the fold long-term, there’s no question the Jets will continue to build around the existing core with the goal of keeping the window of contention wide open. That likely means spending to the salary cap, which is expected to grow substantially as early as next season after years of pandemic-related flat-lining.

We’ll likely never know how close the Jets might have come to trading one, or both, of the players this past summer. But the pair, along with Cheveldayoff, set the right tone at the start of camp by keeping the door open and indicating talks had been cordial and would continue.

Rather than take a wait-and-see approach to how the upcoming season starts before deciding a future direction, it’s clear all parties were comfortable making the commitment right now.

Say what you will about the Jets, but they have an impressive history of drafting, developing and retaining hometown stars including captain Adam Lowry, all-star defenceman Josh Morrissey and high-scoring wingers Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers.

Monday’s announcement came a few hours after the Jets had wrapped up their practice session and media availability. Scheifele and Hellebuyck, along with Cheveldayoff and coach Rick Bowness, will speak on the developments at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Scheifele, 30, was the first-ever draft pick of the 2.0 Jets, going seventh overall in 2011. The Ontario product has played 723 regular-season games with Winnipeg, with 645 points (272 goals, 373 assists). He also has 32 points (19 goals, 13 assists) in 37 career playoff games.

Hellebuyck, 30, was selected in the fifth round, 130th overall, in 2012. He has appeared in 445 games with the Jets, with a record of 238-154-37 along with a 2.66 goals-against-average and .916 save percentage. The Michigan native is a three-time Vezina Trophy finalist, winning the award in 2018-19.

Winnipeg begins the new season on Wednesday in Calgary against the Flames.

There are several other pending UFAs on expiring contracts, including forward Nino Niederreiter, defencemen Brenden Dillon and Dylan DeMelo, and backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit. The attention for Cheveldayoff will now turn to keeping several of those players in the fold.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld