Free Agent Focus: Winnipeg Jets

F Cole Perfetti – Perfetti’s bridge deal has expired with the same questions existing as there were before his contract was signed.  He has shown flashes of legitimate top-six skill, evidenced by a 50-point showing in 2024-25.  However, he hasn’t cracked the 40-point mark in his other three years, including a 32-point platform year last season.  As a 50-point player, he could plausibly push for an AAV in the $7MM range on a long-term contract.  But are the Jets willing to pay him at that level when he has only reached that mark once?  If not, they might want to do another short-term deal.  But with only two years left before Perfetti becomes UFA-eligible, that type of agreement would likely need to be a one-year pact (in the $4.5MM to $5MM range) which carries its own risk.  This could be a tricky situation for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff to navigate.

Other RFAs: D Tyrel Bauer, F Rasmus Kupari (signed in Switzerland)

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

G Eric Comrie – Comrie has had two very different years since rejoining the Jets.  The first season went quite well with him putting up an above-average performance, leading to some calls to try to get him a bit more playing time to take some pressure off Connor Hellebuyck.  That opportunity came last season with Hellebuyck injured and it did not go well.  The 30-year-old struggled considerably with the higher expectations and wound up finishing with a below-average year statistically with a .890 SV% and a 3.13 GAA.  If there is a team that wants him as a backup, he could still get a boost to the $1.5MM range, up from the $1MM he made the last two seasons.  But if that doesn’t materialize and he’s viewed as more of a third-string option, he may have to settle for something around his old deal.

D Ville Heinola – Once viewed as one of Winnipeg’s better prospects, Heinola hasn’t lived up to that level of expectation.  He cleared waivers last season, spending most of the year in AHL Manitoba which has qualified him for Group Six free agency.  But he’s listed here as it’s likely that he’ll be one of the more sought-after players out of that class of players.  There will be teams that think they can turn him into a capable third-pairing puck-mover and if that’s the case, he could command a contract worth more than the minimum salary.  That doesn’t happen too often with Group Six players.

F Gustav Nyquist – The 36-year-old is technically only two years removed from a career year that saw him record 75 points.  That’s one side of the coin.  The other side is that the two seasons since then haven’t remotely gone as well.  After putting up 28 points in 2024-25, Winnipeg thought that Nyquist would still be able to provide some secondary offense.  That didn’t happen as he had all of one goal and 11 assists in 51 games last season while playing less than 13 minutes per night.  There may be teams that think he will fit better in their system but after making $3.25MM with the Jets, he’s probably going to have to settle for closer to half of that this summer.  He’s eligible for bonuses on a one-year contract and that might be his best path to take.

Other UFAs: F Jaret Anderson-Dolan, D Jacob Bryson, D Kale Clague, F Phillip Di Giuseppe, F Samuel Fagemo, D Colin Miller (signed in Switzerland), F Mason Shaw

Projected Cap Space

The Jets enter the day with a little more than $19MM of salary cap flexibility.  A fair-sized chunk of that will go to Perfetti whenever his deal gets done but Cheveldayoff will still have ample cap space to try to add to his roster.  How much budget room he has remains to be seen but Winnipeg should still be able to add a second netminder and another couple of players at least over the coming weeks.