The Jets will likely ink RFA center Cole Perfetti to a bridge deal to conclude contract negotiations this summer, writes Ken Wiebe of The Winnipeg Free Press. Perfetti is arguably the top RFA center left on the market, although he spent a good chunk of last season on the wing after being bumped from the No. 2 center spot for Vladislav Namestnikov and later Sean Monahan. The 2020 10th overall pick is coming off his entry-level contract and set career highs with 19 goals and 38 points in his platform season.
Winnipeg will be looking for more out of the 22-year-old next season after losing Monahan and a few other depth forward pieces to free agency. But while he’s been an effective depth presence, he hasn’t been able to demonstrate his ceiling as an everyday top-six forward with much consistency to date. This season could be transformative for Perfetti, who has a chance to reclaim that second-line spot down the middle and prove himself as a capable secondary option behind Mark Scheifele. That could lead to the two sides agreeing on a one-year deal to get Perfetti signed before training camp and resuming discussions on a longer-term extension to begin with the 2025-26 season, Wiebe posits.
Turning to another notable top-six piece for the Jets, it’s been relatively quiet on the Nikolaj Ehlers front. Murat Ates of The Athletic reported back in May that Winnipeg would explore trading the winger entering the final season of his contract. A month later, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta said that Ehlers wasn’t interested in beginning extension talks with the club and intended to test free agency next summer, barring a trade. The Hurricanes were believed to be in pursuit of Ehlers, potentially in a swap for then-unsigned RFA Martin Necas, but that deal never came to fruition.
But with a different coaching regime led by Scott Arniel, The Winnipeg Free Press’ Mike McIntyre wonders if there may be a path toward an Ehlers extension after all. As McIntyre points out, both Arniel and general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff have been public in their praise of Ehlers’ play this summer, and it’s likely he’ll see an uptick on the sub-16 minutes per game of ice time he’s seen the last couple of years. The 28-year-old Dane is coming off a 25-goal, 61-point campaign in 2023-24 – a down year by his standards. But the organization’s messaging may have made Ehlers more open to sticking around, and McIntyre believes they’re still trying to get him signed before the start of the season.
Could this all get resolved before the season begins, the way Connor Hellebuyck and Scheifele’s situations did last year? I wouldn’t rule that out.
Pivoting back to that second-line center vacancy, there are a few dark horses to land the job come opening night outside of Namestnikov and Perfetti. Wiebe believes 2023 14th overall pick Brayden Yager, acquired from the Penguins last week, will get a nine-game trial in the role before being returned to the Western Hockey League’s Moose Jaw Warriors for the remainder of the campaign.
“It wouldn’t shock me to see him get a chance in that role before a final decision is made,” Wiebe said of Yager. “He’s still going to need an excellent training camp in order to force his way into this discussion, given the aforementioned contenders. But Yager is someone who could do just that and earn himself an extended look, given the skill set he brings to the table and his ability to play a dependable two-way game to go along with his talent, vision and heavy shot.”
Yager, 19, had 95 points in 57 games for the Warriors last year. The 5’11”, 179-lb pivot could at least provide a taste of things to come, and depending on his early returns, could influence whether the Jets want to put resources into developing Perfetti as a center or winger long-term.