Jets sign Connor in $12-M, eight-year contract extension

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Winnipeg Jets has been answered.

After negotiations heated up Tuesday, the Jets and star winger Kyle Connor have agreed to terms on an eight-year extension worth US$96 million that carries an average annual value of US$12 million.

It’s also the richest deal in Jets history, eclipsing the matching seven-year, US$59.5 million contracts signed by goalie Connor Hellebuyck and centre Mark Scheifele two years ago by a significant margin.

Connor is the latest homegrown talent to commit his prime years to the Jets, and he will be paid handsomely to do so.

Prior to extending, did any part of Connor wonder what it might be like to explore unrestricted free agency on July 1?

“I reflected on it at the end of the year last year and gave it some thought, but there was never any scenario where I could see myself going somewhere else,” said Connor. “This team, these guys here and this organization has been nothing but top notch. And, like I said earlier, just giving you every chance you can to succeed and all the tools and I wouldn’t want to try to win a Stanley Cup with another group of players in an organization.

“So once you really start thinking about it, there’s no other place.”

The belief was that both Connor and the Jets were hoping to get the contract taken care of before the new season begins, which has its obvious benefits for both the player and the hockey club.

Although Connor never outwardly expressed any concern about getting the deal signed or a timeline to do so, this move allows both Connor and the Jets to have clarity on the future moving forward.

That was especially important after fellow winger Nikolaj Ehlers departed as an unrestricted free agent to sign a seven-year pact with the Carolina Hurricanes this past summer.

Having Connor follow him out the door next summer was simply not an option; neither was trying to find a deal similar to the one the Colorado Avalanche made with the Hurricanes when they couldn’t reach a contract extension with Mikko Rantanen.

Connor held a lot of leverage in these negotiations, and he got a substantial raise on the US$7.143 million he will make in the final season of the seven-year, US$50-million deal he signed in late September of 2019.

It’s a massive financial commitment for a Jets team that has continually shown belief in its core, and it’s one they absolutely had to make in order to help keep their competitive window as wide open as possible.

The contract includes US$41 million in signing bonuses and US$55 million in salary.

Since being chosen by the Jets 17th overall in the 2015 NHL draft, Connor has grown into an elite sniper, producing seven seasons north of 30 goals — including 41 last season and a career-best 47 during the 2021-22 campaign.

On a landmark day for himself, his family and the Jets’ franchise, Connor provided some insight on his journey when asked what the player picked out of the USHL would think about the past decade.

“As a kid, I don’t think your dreams can get as big as that,” Connor said after a chuckle. “It’s just about making the NHL, sticking and then the ultimate goal is to win a Stanley Cup with this group. You can never really picture where your career is going to go.

“But it’s pretty special and something I don’t take for granted, to be able to play for a single organization throughout my whole career. The trust that they have in me and the belief ever since they did draft me in 2015 is awesome. It gives me the confidence to be the player that I am and the person.”

Top-line players are incredibly hard to find and the Jets have sewn up Their trio for their prime years — with Scheifele locked in for five more seasons at US$8.5 million and right-winger Gabe Vilardi about to start a six-year pact that carries an AAV of US$7.5 million.

The Jets are in win-now mode, and their chances of going on a deep playoff run are exponentially higher with Connor in the fold for an extended period of time.

Connor was seventh in the NHL scoring last season, recording a career-best 97 points, and the list of guys ahead of him include the likes of Connor McDavid, Mitch Marner, David Pastrnak, Leon Draisaitl, Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov.

That’s pretty impressive company.

Connor’s durability nearly matches his consistency and production, and those are qualities organizations like to invest in.

“(He’s a) fantastic individual, an elite player, one of the elite goal-scorers in the league and to have him here for a long time… that’s great for us,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel.

For those wondering about any player on the Jets roster making nearly US$4 million more than the reigning Hart Trophy winner and whether there could be any implications, you can simply file this as the new cost of doing business in a rapidly rising salary-cap world.

If Hellebuyck or Scheifele were one year from unrestricted free agency coming off the season they just completed, they would have been in position to cash in closer to the number Connor landed on as well.

Scheifele was asked if Connor would be subject to any grief for becoming the highest-paid player on ther roster.

“No, no kidding at all, just happy for him. That’s tremendous and just very, very happy for him,” said Scheifele, who heard about the extension via text from Winnipegger and former Jets forward Adam Brooks. “And happy for myself, too. I get him for the rest of my career so that’s pretty exciting news.”

The recent deal Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov signed (an eight-year extension with an AAV of US$17 million) moved the goal posts to a certain degree, but an argument can also be made that Connor might have left some money on the table by not waiting until next summer to decide on his future.

It’s easy to envision one of the other 31 teams in the NHL being willing to pony up somewhere in the neighbourhood of US$13 million to US$15 million per season, but those teams could not offer an eight-year term.

In the end, the Jets retain a critical member of the core group, someone with a skill set that no other player in the system can duplicate.

The player gets a massive payday in a place where he’s more than comfortable raising a young family and will continue to chase the Stanley Cup for a team he’s invested a great deal of sweat equity in.

Any time a team agrees to pay a number of core pieces into their mid-30s, there’s going to be some risk attached.

But when you consider the alternative and what it would mean for the immediate future of the franchise, this has the makings of being a smart move that ages well.

ken.wiebe@freeppress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld