Jets sign Cole Koepke to two-year contract extension

This past season for Winnipeg, Koepke had eight goals and nine assists for 17 points in 66 games.

Koepke, 27, signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Jets last offseason.

Initially selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Koepke went on to have a successful three-year collegiate career with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, including his 2019-20 sophomore season when he put up 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points in 34 games.

After spending his first full-time professional season with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, the Two Harbors, Minnesota native made his NHL debut with the Lightning in the 2022-23 season, managing a goal and no assists in 17 games.

Koepke continued to see the majority of his action with Syracuse, save for a nine-game stint with Tampa Bay in the 2023-24 season in which he recorded no goals and two assists, before signing with the Boston Bruins as a free agent ahead of the 2024-25 season. He spent the entirety of that season up with the Bruins, registering 10 goals and seven assists for 17 points.

Koepke was one of a handful of pending unrestricted free agents on Winnipeg’s roster. Now that Koepke is taken care of, the Jets will have to make decisions on forward Gustav Nyquist and defensemen Colin Miller and Jacob Bryson. They also are waiting for center Jonathan Toews to decide if he’s going to retire or return to play for Winnipeg next season.

The next major event on the calendar for the Jets is May 5th’s NHL Draft Lottery, where they will have a 6.5% chance to earn the first overall pick.