5:29: Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun tweets that there is a clause in Vesalainen’s contract that will allow him to return to Europe in the first year of the deal if he doesn’t make the Winnipeg roster out of training camp. Considering that $925K is considered the maximum AAV of an entry-level deal, Wiebe adds that the AAV of 1.49MM is assuming that Vesalainen hits all of his performance bonuses.
4:08: The Winnipeg Jets announced they have signed 2017 first-round pick Kristian Vesalainen to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal has an AAV worth $1.49MM.
There was some concern on what the Jets would do with Vesalainen as his contract in Finland had run out, yet Winnipeg still hadn’t signed the 19-year-old power forward. The prospect’s services were highly-sought after and the belief was that he was holding out for a chance to make the Jets’ roster this season. While not impossible, that might be challenging as the Jets’ roster is full as the team is coming off a season in which they made it to the Western Conference championship. Regardless, the Jets now have the opportunity to control his destiny as they could keep him, loan him to his old team in Finland or Sweden or send him to the AHL, although the team may prefer to keep him in North America.
The 6-foot-3, 207-pound winger had a breakout year, playing in the Liiga in Finland last season. He tallied 22 goals and 21 assists between two teams and helped his team, Karpat, capture the Liiga championships, with an impressive playoff performance, scoring four goals and eight points in 18 playoff games.