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Jets' Dylan Samberg Voices Frustration With Kevin Cheveldayoff Shortly After Signing New Contract
James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images

Winnipeg Jets' Dylan Samberg may have just signed a new three-year deal, but he wasn't too happy with how short a term it was, and voiced his frustration.

With an arbitration hearing looming, Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg boarded a flight from Duluth to Toronto early this week with no idea what was to come.

Since his contract expired June 30, Dylan Samberg had been a restricted free agent, and his agent, Pete Rutili, filed a request for arbitration, a system in which player and team each submit a contract offer to an independent arbitrator, usually resulting in acrimonious negotiations.

Arbitration hearings are infamous for placing strains on relationships with teams identifying player weaknesses and issuing lowball offers. Jets fans have seen this all before in Jacob Trouba and Andrew Copp.

Samberg's hearing was scheduled for July 30 at the NHL headquarters in Toronto.

But Tuesday evening, on the eleventh hour, just as the sit-down was about to take place, the two sides agreed: a three-year, $17.25 million contract with a $5.75 million average annual cap hit, a significant increase over last year's $1.4 million salary.

Samberg Signed a Bridge Deal Instead of a Long-Term Contract

Although both parties avoided the uncomfortable courtroom environment, they couldn't agree to a long-term extension, settling on a bridge agreement instead, which didn't make Samberg all that happy.

'You always want to have longer term, everyone wants that,' he said. 'Sometimes it doesn't work out that way and both sides can't agree. With the three years, I still have some time. I have one year of proving myself and I want to continue to add more years onto that and prove that I belong here. I'm excited to do it in Winnipeg for three more years. Hopefully later down the road it continues to go and I can stay there longer.'

'There are some nerves that go into it, especially as you get down to the deadline and what not, but I'm glad we were able to agree on a deal and get things moving forward,' Samberg said of finding common ground.

'Obviously, very excited about it. I'm excited to be back in Winnipeg for three more years.'

Samberg is coming off a career-best season: six goals, 20 points, 120 blocked shots, and a +34 rating while helping the Jets capture the Presidents' Trophy.

Winnipeg's playoff run was halted in Round 2, but Samberg is optimistic about the future of the team.

Now $17 million richer, Samberg is ready for another gigantic season in Winnipeg, but first, he's going to enjoy a few more quiet weekends on the lake.

This article first appeared on Hockey Latest and was syndicated with permission.

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