‘Excited to build on what we’ve been doing’ Jets’ Connor focused on season ahead, mum on extending contract By: Mike McIntyre Posted: 5:38 PM CDT Thursday, Sep. 18, 2025

Kyle Connor knew the question was coming. And the talented Winnipeg Jets winger fired off a response about as quickly as he unleashes his wicked wrist shot in tight quarters.

“I’m really just focused on myself and being the best player that I can. Let the business take care of the business,” Connor told a media scrum on Thursday following the first day of training camp.

He’s talking about his contract status, which is a hot-button topic around here given that he’s set to enter the final year of his current deal and could conceivably find a new hockey home as of July 1 if he doesn’t put pen to paper before then.

“All I can do is control how I come to the rink every day and that stuff will take care of itself,” added the Michigan native.

“I’m really just focused on myself and being the best player that I can. Let the business take care of the business.”

Reason for optimism? Panic? Or somewhere in between? Connor is notoriously private, but he did make a point of praising the only NHL city and organization he’s ever known — Winnipeg drafted him 17th overall a decade ago.

“It’s a great community. Obviously it’s a family here,” said Connor, who recently saw his own clan expand after his wife, Ally, gave birth to a daughter last March.

“We pride ourselves on community, and it’s a close-knit group. You can just feel that in the relationships around the room.”

Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff was a bit more forthcoming when asked for an update.

“We’ve had great dialogue with KC’s representatives and we continue to have that,” he said Thursday.

“You’d like to have it done yesterday. Those are things that you keep pushing towards. Every conversation, you’re hopeful that this is the one that closes it type thing. But it’s not… I don’t know that it’s a timeframe sort of thing. You just keep on working at it. I wouldn’t even say grinding at it. It’s just working at it.”

There’s no doubt Connor is due for a significant raise from the US$7,142,857 he’s set to make this year, which is fourth-most on the team behind goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (US$8.5 million) and linemates Mark Scheifele (US$8.5 million) and Gabe Vilardi (US$7.5 million).

Think something in the range of US$11-12 million, given the rising salary cap.

“That’s the state we’re in here,” Cheveldayoff said of a sudden spike in pay, especially for high-end players, after years of a mostly flat cap.

“There’s an economic climate that’s somewhat new and still somewhat unfolding. All those things factor into every decision you make. Especially if you’re talking about trying to make decisions that are far, far reaching as far as term in an organization.”

Connor has already topped 30 goals seven times in his career — the only exception a pandemic-shortened 2021 season when he scored 26 in 56 games. He enters this year with 582 points (284 goals, 298 assists) in 613 regular-season games.

At the age of 28, he’s still very much in his prime years. No doubt the Jets would love to lock him up with a lengthy extension, but you wonder if Connor might prefer something a bit shorter-term — think three or four years — which might allow for one more big cash-in down the road?

Connor insists he’s not worried about this becoming a distraction should it not get resolved before puck drops on the 2025-26 season on Oct. 9 when the Jets host the Dallas Stars.

“I don’t think there’s one way. There’s so many different ways something can come together or not. Just kind of leave that to the business side of it,” he said.

His teammates and coaches might not be quite as patient.

“With KC, he’s earned the right to sit back and figure out what he wants to do, with his family and himself. As a coach, I’m going to do everything in my power to talk him into getting it signed as fast as possible,” said Jets bench boss Scott Arniel.

“He means an awful lot to this team and this organization. I’d like to think he’s pretty happy about how he’s used and how he plays here, the things he’s done over the years. As a coach, you’re hoping that it goes in the right direction. We went through it with Nik last year, hopefully, the ending is a little different.”

“With KC, he’s earned the right to sit back and figure out what he wants to do… As a coach, I’m going to do everything in my power to talk him into getting it signed as fast as possible.”

Indeed, Nikolaj Ehlers was in this exact situation 12 months ago, ultimately walking in free agency and signing with the Carolina Hurricanes. That cloud of uncertainty didn’t stop the Jets from having their best regular season in franchise history, winning the Central Division, Western Conference and Presidents’ Trophy.

No doubt many are hoping Connor’s situation — and that of captain Adam Lowry, who is also going to be in the final year of his deal — takes the same route as Scheifele and Hellebuyck, who both signed extensions at the end of training camp in 2023 to clear up any doubt about their futures.

“If he comes to me and wants to talk about it, I’m obviously all ears,” Scheifele said Thursday.

“He’s a friend, first and foremost. And the business side of things is his own personal business. All you can do is just be there as a friend and help him through if he has questions or has thoughts that he wants to run by you. But, obviously I’m a big fan of his and would love if he stuck around longer, but obviously I just want the best for him and leave it at that.”

Connor skated Thursday with his familiar linemates and said he’s excited to see what one of the NHL’s top-producing trios can do this season.

“Super excited to get back with those two players. They both look great, you can tell they put in the work,” he said.

“Even the skates coming up to camp, they were pushing the pace. It’s day one, but I’m excited to build on what we’ve been doing as a team and as a line.”

How they lined up

The Jets have 31 forwards, 18 defencemen and six goaltenders in camp this year and are currently broken into three groups.

Lowry continues to skate by himself on a separate sheet of ice as he recovers from off-season hip surgery, while Kieron Walton is currently sidelined after suffering a concussion during a prospects game last Saturday.

Here’s how the lines and pairings looked during Thursday’s workouts:

Group 1

F: Connor—Scheifele—Vilardi / Pearson—Barron—Koepke / Wagner—Zhilkin—Shaw

D: Samberg—Pionk / Clague—Miller / Anhorn—Frisch

G: Hellebuyck, DiVincentiis

Group 2

F: Perfetti—Toews–Nyquist / Anderson-Dolan—Gustafsson—Duehr / Barlow—Lambert—Ford / Martin

D: Morrissey—DeMelo / Phillips—Heinola / Sautner—Bauer

G: Comrie, Milic

Group 3

F: Niederreiter—Namestnikov—Iafallo / Chibrikov—Yager—Fagemo / Di Giuseppe—Julien—He / Cloutier

D: Fleury—Schenn / Stanley—Salomonsson / Engle—Barteaux

G: Poulter, Worthington

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg