Jets leadership group excited to have Toews on board

Nikolaj Ehlers would appear to have at least one foot out the door — but Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff isn’t ready to close it just yet.

“We’ll continue to have conversations until we can’t — until we’re saying ‘Congratulations’ or ‘Thank you,’” Cheveldayoff said Thursday of the flashy Danish forward, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Ehlers seems determined to at least test the waters and explore what’s available on the open market for the first time in his career. But that still leaves the door slightly ajar for the 29-year-old to circle back to the team that drafted him ninth overall in 2014 and has been home for all 719 of his regular-season and playoff games.

The Jets announced last week they intend to sign hometown product Jonathan Toews to a one-year contract once the NHL calendar flips to the 2025-26 campaign next Tuesday. Cheveldayoff said bringing in the three-time Stanley Cup champion on a unique deal — with a US$2 million base salary and up to US$3 million in bonuses — was part of the pitch to Ehlers.

“I don’t want to get too much into the contract, but we structured it on purpose to have flexibility. To be able to pivot and do different things from a signing standpoint of other players as well,” said Cheveldayoff.

“And that was enticing to JT as well. He readily understands what it means to have other players around you, too. Hopefully it moves the needle (with Ehlers). We’ll find out.”

Ehlers is expected to command a salary in the neighbourhood of US$8 million per year, meaning his decision will significantly impact both the roster and salary cap situation in Winnipeg.

As for Toews, the pride of St. Vital is expected to be formally introduced at a news conference next week.

“We’ve had some great conversations with Jonathan. He’s obviously very, very excited,” said Cheveldayoff.

Toews is returning to the NHL after a two-year absence related to long COVID and Chronic Immune Response Syndrome (CIRS). He spent several weeks in India for an Ayurvedic detox called Panchakarma which is said to help cleanse the body of impurities that can lead to disease.

The veteran forward resumed skating over the winter and recently declared himself 100 per cent, with multiple teams in addition to Winnipeg showing strong interest.

“He was skating in Arizona State and there’s some people that have closeness to our scouting staff that talked about how hard he was working and how much he had kind of progressed,” said Cheveldayoff.

“But the thing that they raved about was just him as a person with all of those young players. Every one of those young players raved about how good he made them feel. And that’s what he is. He’s a leader.”

To that end, Cheveldayoff said he reached out to the team’s leadership group — captain Adam Lowry and alternates Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey — once talks with Toews began to heat up.

“I reached out to our captains and said, ‘Look, we’re about to have a Zoom with JT. Can I give him your numbers to call?’ And within seconds, all of the guys were texting back, ‘Absolutely,’” he said.

“Again, when we do get a chance to get him here… I don’t think he can make it here for July 1. He’s got some commitments. But, shortly thereafter, you guys will get the sense of just how excited he is and how special that the opportunity to come back and play in the National Hockey League is for him.”

No doubt the Jets are hoping Toews still has plenty of gas left in the tank, especially with Lowry expected to miss at least the first few weeks of the season — and possibly more — following hip surgery in May for what Cheveldayoff said has been an ongoing issue.

“He’s been doing maintenance on it over the course of years. After every season, you kind of do a benchmark test to see where things are at. And this year, after the test, comparing it against last year’s test, there was noticeable change, so his doctor’s recommendation was that it’s going to happen,” he said.

“You don’t want to have it happen in the middle of the year. So he made the hard decision, but not a hard decision to get it done at the beginning. I think he’s got a checkup coming up here shortly. (Head coach Scott Arniel) said he spoke to him a couple of days ago. He was almost off the crutches, so it’s moving along.”

The best-case scenario is a return by the end of October, though the timeline remains fluid.

“We won’t really (know) until he progresses into the skating phases and stuff like that,” said Cheveldayoff.

“Those are things where you also want to be cautious. You put all of that time and effort into rehab. You want to make sure that it’s the right decision.”

GAME ON!

There’s still an entire summer left to enjoy, but the Jets released details Thursday on their six-game pre-season slated to kick off the new campaign.

Sun, Sept. 21 vs. Minnesota Wild, Canada Life Centre, 4 p.m.

Tue, Sept. 23 vs. Edmonton Oilers, Canada Life Centre, 7 p.m.

Fri, Sept. 26 at Edmonton Oilers, Rogers Place, 8 p.m.

Sat, Sept. 27 vs. Calgary Flames, Canada Life Centre, 7 p.m.

Tue, Sept. 30 at Minnesota Wild, Xcel Energy Center, 7 p.m.

Fri, Oct. 3 at Calgary Flames, Scotiabank Saddledome, 8:00 p.m.

The 82-game regular-season schedule is expected to be released on July 16.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg