According to James Mirtle of TSN, the Winnipeg Jets have signed free agent forward Shawn Matthias to a two-year contract. Elliot Friedman reports that the deal will pay Matthias $2.125MM per season. The former Maple Leaf was traded to the Colorado Avalanche mid-season, and put up 12 goals and 28 points on the year.
Matthias, 28, has always been regarded as somewhat of a scoring winger that could play anywhere in your top nine, despite ever only scoring more than 15 goals once in his career. His $4.25MM deal comes in as the biggest of his career, despite actually taking a salary cut from $2.3MM.
He’ll join a Jets team still reeling from last season’s poor performance, and still struggling to reach a contract with RFA Jacob Trouba. Rumors of offer sheets have swirled around the young defenseman in recent days, and he’ll be their next priority after the first day of free agency cools off.