Winnipeg Jets 15 Best Contracts (2005-2022)

This was originally published in my 2020 book Hunting Bargains in a Salary Cap World, and has now been updated with new contracts. I will continue to update each team’s list every summer going forward. The rule is that only active contracts can move up or down. Expired deals cannot pass each other. Next summer it may even be expanded to top 20. The book is still available on Amazon, though some of the stats on active contracts are now out of date. You may yet find it interesting because there were detailed stat graphics that you won't find here. One thing you won't find here are entry level contracts because they all come from the same cookie cutter and require less skill at the negotiating table.
 
My latest book The Hockey Economist’s Betting Prospectus is now available. It's a comprehensive commentary on the last 3 years of hockey betting, broken down by team, by category, by strategy, by season. There is plenty of useful information for bettors of all skill levels. It covers pre-pandemic, peak-pandemic, post-pandemic. What worked, what failed. Lessons learned, market trends, team-by-team analysis. What impact did the pandemic have on hockey betting? The market differences between these 3 seasons are discussed at length, and there's a lot to talk about. To read more, visit the Amazon store.

If you’d like to browse my other best/worst contract lists, click here. Enjoy! 
 
Please note: The formatting on the graphics got scrambled being copied from Excel into Google Blogger. It's among the reasons my blog is looking for a new home.

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In the first 12 years after the salary cap was introduced, the Winnipeg Jets missed the playoffs 10 times. The Ilya Kovalchuk era was a dark time in Manitoba, and fortunes did not start to improve until the alliance of Kevin Cheveldayoff and Paul Maurice was formed.
 
It’s no secret that Winnipeg is widely regarded by players as an undesirable market place with bad WIFI and even worse weather. Attracting free agents to town can be difficult, as you won’t see any UFA signings on their best contracts list that were not already Jets before agreeing to extensions. The secret to management in a market like Winnipeg is to treat the players like royalty. Draft well, develop strong, and convince those assets to make long-term commitments.
 
The Jets came very close to making the Stanley Cup final in 2018, were upset by the eventual champions in 2019, then were struck by terrible luck in the summer/fall of 2019. It’s hard to say where the future will go, with some important pieces becoming UFAs in 2024.
 
 
1. Mark Scheifele
 

Signed By:	Kevin Cheveldayoff		Position:	F
Date:	2016-07-08		Age July 1st:	23
Term:	8 years		Playoff GP:	28
Total Money:	$49M		Playoff PTS:	30
Cap Hit:	$6.1M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	50.9	415	432	939
Per 82 GP	6.4	82	85	186	21.2

“I wanted an eight-year deal. That was in my mind from the start. Obviously you never know what’s on the other end. They’re realistically in the driver’s seat… and when they said eight years I was very excited about the prospect of being a Winnipeg Jet for eight years.”

– Mark Scheifele

It’s hard to say that a kid who signed for $49M missed an opportunity to maximize career earnings. He’s going to bank enough money to take care of himself and his extended family for life, but I wouldn’t have recommended taking 8 years and becoming an unrestricted free agent at age 31. Had he gone 5-6 years, there would have been room to hit another home run. Scheifele was seeking an 8-year term and received it at a slightly higher price than Aleksander Barkov accepted 7 months earlier.
 
From the Jets perspective, this is a perfect contract, buying UFA years at a big discount. $6.1M AAV may not have felt like a bargain when it was first signed, but he scored 82 PTS as a 23-year-old in year one and was in the league MVP conversation by year two. At 8 years they were able to retain him at a relatively cheap price right through his prime. That’s an A+, among the 25 best contracts signed in the whole salary cap era.
 
 
2. Kyle Connor
 

Signed By:	Kevin Cheveldayoff		Position:	F
Date:	2019-09-28		Age July 1st:	22
Term:	7 years		Playoff GP:	8
Total Money:	$50M		Playoff PTS:	7
Cap Hit:	$7.1M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	50.3	206	216	722
Per 82 GP	7.2	82	86	287	20.7

"When you get an opportunity to get a young player like that, get his prime years all locked up and two years of unrestricted free agency, that was something that was real appealing to us."

– Kevin Cheveldayoff

The Jets found themselves in a precarious salary cap situation in the summer of 2019, with two of their top offensive players both requiring new deals (neither with arbitration rights) in the same summer with a limited amount of cap space available. Rumours of possible offer sheets swirled, with Connor claiming offers had been presented to him.
 
Kyle was able to leverage that into a long-term investment, that Cheveldayoff had to be more than happy to make. The winger started slowly in year one but eventually caught fire, scoring 38 goals and 73 PTS in 71 GP. Through the first 3 seasons he average 86 PTS per 82 GP, which is an incredible bargain that will expire before his 30th birthday.
 
 
3. Blake Wheeler
 

Signed By:	Kevin Cheveldayoff		Position:	F
Date:	2013-07-26		Age July 1st:	26
Term:	6 years		Playoff GP:	27
Total Money:	$33.6M		Playoff PTS:	27
Cap Hit:	$5.6M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	38.7	488	464	1461
Per 82 GP	6.4	82	78	245	19.9

“These things come in windows, they call it. I’m buying into that. Particularly with where I’m at in my career, with my age, I feel like my best years are ahead of me. I wanted to give those years to this organization and hopefully push this team to the championship levels.”

– Blake Wheeler

Blake Wheeler had been with the Winnipeg Jets ever since the Boston Bruins traded him there in 2011 and was one year away from unrestricted free agency in July 2013. His case was heading to arbitration when Blake reached this agreement making a long-term commitment to stay in Winnipeg.
 
Wheeler was undoubtedly worth the salary from day one, but the term had to be a concern. A typical aging curve would have had Wheeler’s production trending down for the second half. Instead the exact opposite happened and Blake actually got better as he approached his 30th birthday, climaxing in a massive 91-point breakout in year five at age 31. Over 6 years Wheeler did not score less than 61 PTS in a season, and averaged 78 PTS per 82 GP.
 
 
4. Dustin Byfuglien
 

Signed By:	Rick Dudley		Position:	D
Date:	2011-02-15		Age July 1st:	26
Term:	5 years		Playoff GP:	4
Total Money:	$26M		Playoff PTS:	1
Cap Hit:	$5.2M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	32.2	337	235	1077
Per 82 GP	6.4	82	57	262	23.9

"Dustin has emerged into an elite player this season and been invaluable as a leader both on and off the ice. It was a priority to sign him and we're looking forward to witnessing his All-Star caliber play for many years to come."

– Rick Dudley

Dustin Byfuglien came to Atlanta Winnipeg in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks in the summer of 2010, two years away from unrestricted free agency. Buff quickly made a giant impact, enjoying a breakout 53-point season in his first year with the Thrashers Jets, when Rick Dudley locked him into a 5-year extension that would take the big guy to age 31.
 
Dustin evolved into one of the most dominating defensemen in the league, both physically and on the scoresheet, remaining consistently productive throughout. In total he scored 235 PTS in 337 GP (57 PTS per 82 GP) with 1077 Shots and 830 Hits. That’s tremendous from a defenseman, and a bargain at the price they were paying.
 
 
5. Connor Hellebuyck
 

Signed By:	Kevin Cheveldayoff		Position:	G
Date:	2018-07-12		Age July 1st:	25
Term:	6 years		Playoff Wins:	6
Total Money:	$37M		Playoff SV%:	0.924
Cap Hit:	$6.2M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Avg Adj Cap Hit	GP	W	GAA	SV%
Total	6.2	232	118	2.78	0.915

“Helle’s always been projected in our minds as a No. 1 goaltender and the goaltender of the future for us and we were very, very excited that we were able to come to a long-term agreement for now and the future”

– Kevin Cheveldayoff

Connor Hellebuyck could have been an unrestricted free agent two years after earning his first Vezina trophy nomination, but instead decided to lock into a long-term extension. It was a longer, more expensive version of what Fredrik Andersen had signed in Toronto 2 years earlier. Connor deserved that extra money with the Vezina nom, and probably a little bit more as he sold 4 unrestricted seasons. That’s why Chevy was “very, very excited” about the term.
 
Year one saw his performance dip, but he rebounded mightily in 2020 when he led the league in goals saved above average to win the Vezina trophy. He could have hit a monster home run had he reached the UFA market (well maybe not with Covid and everything, but if the pandemic never happened). Hellebuyck also received serious consideration for the Hart trophy as league MVP.
 
 
6. Ilya Kovalchuk
 

Signed By:	Don Waddell		Position:	F
Date:	2005-10-08		Age July 1st:	22
Term:	5 years		Playoff GP:	9
Total Money:	$32M		Playoff PTS:	8
Cap Hit:	$6.4M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	54.6	394	437	1507
Per 82 GP	10.9	82	91	314	21.8

"The power that he brings; he is a power forward, he has hockey sense and he knows how to make other people around him better. You can tell by the assists he gets. I am sure every one of you has seen him play. What he brings, he can do things a lot of people can't do."

– Lou Lamoriello

Ilya Kovalchuk was a monster in an Atlanta Thrashers Winnipeg Jets jersey, scoring 41-goals and 46-assists in 2004 as a 20-year-old before the lockout. The sniper’s 2nd contract did not come cheap, earning a year one salary equivalent to $13.5M in 2023 (which would shrink as the cap grew).
 
The investment was a stunning success, surpassing 50 goals twice and 40 goals thrice during those 5 years in Atlanta Winnipeg, scoring 48 goals and 91 PTS per 82 GP. The Thrashers Jets were unable to reach another long-term extension as this reached its expiration date, instead selling him to the Devils as a rental in the final year, then used some of those assets to acquire Byfuglien from Chicago.
 
 
7. Nikolaj Ehlers
 

Signed By:	Kevin Cheveldayoff		Position:	F
Date:	2017-10-04		Age July 1st:	22
Term:	7 years		Playoff GP:	12
Total Money:	$42M		Playoff PTS:	3
Cap Hit:	$6M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	42.4	242	196	754
Per 82 GP	6.1	82	66	255	16.8

"This team, this organization, the city, everything. From day one, I was happy here. Everybody helped me getting settled from the start. It's amazing playing in front of all these fans.”

– Nikolaj Ehlers

Nikolaj Ehlers managed to breach the 60-point threshold in both the final two years of his ELC, and the team had no trouble at all procuring his signature on this early long-term extension. It was very close to what Jonathan Drouin and Nino Niederreiter had signed for earlier that summer, except more term and money. For all the talk about how guys don’t want to play in Winnipeg, Ehlers was yet another example of a player raving about how great he has been treated by everyone in the organization. That seems to be the key to building a successful team in an otherwise undesirable market, which I did not see while completing my Edmonton Oilers deep dive.
 
Ehlers had a dip in production in year one as he was slowed by injuries, but bounced back very nicely in year two. He was one of the Jets best players in a qualifying elimination loss to the Calgary Flames in 2020. Injuries have been a reoccurring problem, but when healthy he's a dynamic offensive player. 
 
 
8. Connor Hellebuyck
 

Signed By:	Kevin Cheveldayoff		Position:	G
Date:	2017-07-24		Age July 1st:	24
Term:	1 year		Playoff Wins:	9
Total Money:	$2.3M		Playoff SV%:	0.922
Cap Hit:	$2.3M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Avg Adj Cap Hit	GP	W	GAA	SV%
Total	2.5	67	44	2.36	0.924

“I have a whole lot more to give. I got more to offer than what I showed last year. I look forward to doing that this year.”

– Connor Hellebuyck

Connor Hellebuyck had just completed his first full season as the Jets primary starter, posting a below average .907 SV%, so Cheveldayoff gave him a 1-year bridge to prove his worth. Connor claimed he had a lot more to give, and delivered a giant leap forward with 44 Wins, 11 Losses, 2.36 GAA, .924 SV%, and a Vezina Trophy nomination. Connor bet on himself and hit the jackpot, also setting a record for the most wins in a season by an American goaltender.
 
As great of a bargain as this was, it could have been even better had the team rolled the dice with a little more term. It would have been a risk, but there would have been a big reward. The young goalie was able to parlay his stunning success into a big pay raise the following summer, as mentioned above.
 
 
9. Andrew Ladd
 

Signed By:	Kevin Cheveldayoff		Position:	F
Date:	2011-07-05		Age July 1st:	25
Term:	5 years		Playoff GP:	11
Total Money:	$22M		Playoff PTS:	3
Cap Hit:	$4.4M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	27.3	367	258	980
Per 82 GP	5.5	82	58	219	19.6

“It seems like it's going in the right direction for me and I'm looking forward to keeping that challenge up."

– Andrew Ladd

Andrew Ladd joined the Atlanta Thrashers Winnipeg Jets in July 2010 and was named team captain a few months later. The young winger earned himself a long-term extension in July 2011 following a 29-goal, 59-point campaign at age 24. Over 5 years, Ladd produced 258 PTS in 367 GP (58-point pace), with 980 shots and 695 hits. The team never did win a playoff series under this tenure.
 
The Jets shipped him off at the trade deadline in the final year for Marko Dano and a 1^st round pick. Ladd then hit the UFA market and signed a brutal deal with the Islanders, where he morphed into a $6M AHL player. Letting him walk proved to be a brilliant move for the Jets.
 
 
10. Blake Wheeler
 

Signed By:	Kevin Cheveldayoff		Position:	F
Date:	2011-07-18		Age July 1st:	24
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	0
Total Money:	$5.1M		Playoff PTS:	0
Cap Hit:	$2.6M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	6.5	128	105	337
Per 82 GP	3.3	82	67	216	19.0

“When I got traded, it forced me to look in the mirror and reassess what I was doing.  I think I’m getting there. I don’t think I’m a finished product by any means, but I’m getting there.”

– Blake Wheeler

The Thrashers Jets acquired Blake Wheeler from the Boston Bruins in a steal of a trade for Rich Peverly (in all fairness, Peverly helped Boston win a Stanley Cup, so they can’t have any regrets about getting robbed). A few months after the trade, Kevin Cheveldayoff procured Blake’s autograph on this 2-year bridge, which was a fair price to pay for a 44-point player (Michael Frolik obtained a similar deal 3 days earlier).
 
Wheeler immediately showed a significant improvement, and scored 68 PTS per 82 GP at a bargain price during his first full season in Winnipeg. That’s a win.  Blake’s salary was more than doubled on his next contract, but that would prove to be a bargain too.
 
 
11. Neal Pionk
 

Signed By:	Kevin Cheveldayoff		Position:	D
Date:	2019-07-21		Age July 1st:	23
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	8
Total Money:	$6M		Playoff PTS:	4
Cap Hit:	$3M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	6.1	125	77	277
Per 82 GP	3.0	82	51	182	22.8

“The way I look at it is just playing my game. I can’t do too much more. If I do too much more, I won’t be who I am and I’ll be doing things that are uncharacteristic of myself. My thing is just to be who I am.”

– Neal Pionk

When the Jets traded Jacob Trouba for Neal Pionk and a 1^st round pick, the response from the fanbase was outrage. They quickly signed their new blueliner to this low-cost bridge deal and were forced to lean on him heavily in year one. This was the same bridge that Trouba and Morrissey accepted following their entry level contracts, albeit for slightly less money.
 
Pionk exceeded all expectations, as the fan anger over the Trouba trade subsided. In retrospect, it was a good trade (I’ll credit myself as being one of the early defenders of that deal). Trouba was a certainty to leave after one year. Perhaps the optics looked bad because the Jets re-acquired their own draft pick that they sent to New York for Kevin Hayes.
 
 
12. Bryan Little
 

Signed By:	Rick Dudley		Position:	F
Date:	2010-08-23		Age July 1st:	22
Term:	3 years		Playoff GP:	0
Total Money:	$7.1M		Playoff PTS:	0
Cap Hit:	$2.4M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	9.4	198	126	404
Per 82 GP	3.1	82	52	167	19.4

“He doesn’t have to score 30 goals every year. We think he’s a 20-or-more-goal scorer every year.”

– Rick Dudley

Bryan Little scored 34 PTS in the last year of his ELC to drive down the price of his 2nd contract, after scoring 51 PTS one year earlier. Instead of just agreeing to a 1-year “prove it” deal to re-establish his value, Bryan inked this 3-year bridge which landed somewhere between what Derick Brassard and Brandon Dubinsky received the previous September.
 
Little made a nice recovery in year one, posting 48 PTS, after a significant boost in ice time, both killing penalties and playing power play as a 2-way center. He raised his production even higher in year three, scoring at a 55-point pace in the lockout shortened season, and consistently sustained that level of production until he was 29-years-old. He doubled his salary on his next contract.
 
 
13. Josh Morrissey
 

Signed By:	Kevin Cheveldayoff		Position:	D
Date:	2018-09-16		Age July 1st:	23
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	6
Total Money:	$6.3M		Playoff PTS:	1
Cap Hit:	$3.15M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	6.5	124	62	215
Per 82 GP	3.2	82	41	142	22.6

"I love playing here, I love being a Jet, and I hope I can be here for a long time in the future"
– Josh Morrissey

Josh Morrissey should have been due at least $4M following his entry level contract, but lacked arbitration rights and eventually agreed on a 2-year bridge deal for 75 cents on the dollar (the same contract that Jacob Trouba accepted 2 years earlier and that Neal Pionk inked 1 year later).
 
Morrissey stepped into a big role for the Jets as a 23-year-old and scored at a 43-point pace while averaging 22.4 minutes of ice time. Missing 23 games due to injury did limit his point total, but was still a bargain despite that lost time. He quickly became the Jets best defenseman after the team lost Trouba, Myers, and Byfuglien before year two. In the middle of this mass exodus, Morrissey signed an 8-year extension for $6.25M AAV that is already looking like a bargain (and is likely to appear on future versions of this list).
 
 
14. Jacob Trouba
 

Signed By:	Kevin Cheveldayoff		Position:	D
Date:	2016-11-07		Age July 1st:	22
Term:	2 years		Playoff GP:	17
Total Money:	$6M		Playoff PTS:	3
Cap Hit:	$3M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	6.7	115	57	298
Per 82 GP	3.3	82	41	212	23.5

"From the very onset, Jacob didn't have a problem playing in Winnipeg and didn't have a problem playing in Canada"

– Kevin Cheveldayoff

There was some hard ball required to squeeze Jacob Trouba into this contract, as the 22-year-old held out for the first month of the season demanding a trade out of Winnipeg. He claimed that his desire to leave had nothing to do with playing in Winnipeg, but rather that the team had too many right-shot defensemen on the depth chart (which was somewhat nonsensical given he played 22 minutes per game the previous season). He lacked arbitration rights and eventually capitulated.
 
Injuries did limit Trouba’s production, but he was still a bargain despite that lost time, producing 41 PTS per 82 GP when healthy, logging 23.5 minutes in ice time per game. He produced all those points with limited power play time, scoring impressively at even strength. A big part of his value that you don’t see on his stat sheet was play in the defensive zone and killing penalties.
 
 
15. Andrew Copp
 

Signed By:	Kevin Cheveldayoff		Position:	F
Date:	2021-08-12		Age July 1st:	26
Term:	1 year		Playoff GP:	20
Total Money:	$3.7M		Playoff PTS:	14
Cap Hit:	$3.7M		Stanley Cups:	0

 

	Adj Cap Hit	GP	PTS	SOG	ATOI
Total	3.7	72	53	183
Per 82 GP	3.7	82	60	208	19.2

"He's certainly an exciting piece to have in a Rangers uniform."

– Chris Drury

For years Andrew Copp was a high-end bottom-6 grinder on the Winnipeg Jets, before breaking out in 2021, jumping from 34 PTS per 82 GP, all the way up to 58. He was getting big minutes, contributing to the offense, able to play center or wing as a complementary top line point scorer, or a lower line checker, quality physical two-way player. In his final RFA season, Cheveldayoff was only able to secure his signature on a 1-year contract, all but guaranteeing his inevitable departure.
 
I’m sure Cheveldayoff tried to get Copp on a long-term deal, but it seems logical that he wanted to leave Winnipeg, like Jaccob Trouba before him. And like Trouba, Chevy traded him to the New York Rangers for a package of draft picks. One was a conditional second round pick, that was upgraded to a first when New York advanced to the conference final. That pick became highly touted prospect Brad Lambert, who could become a star (unlike the first round pick they got for Trouba who is looking like a bust).