Jets sign defenseman Dylan Samberg to two-year contract

The Winnipeg Jets have signed defenseman Dylan Samberg to a two-year contract with an AAV of $1.4M. 

The Jets get one piece of business out of the way before what will likely be a very busy offseason for them. Samberg was a restricted free agent and Winnipeg still has four RFAs left to sign. They include Gabriel Vilardi, Morgan Barron, Rasmus Kupari, and Logan Stanley.

Samberg played the 2022-23 season as a bottom pairing defenseman for the Jets. He scored two goals and eight points in 63 games for them while averaging just under 15 minutes of ice time per game. He also played five playoff games, without recording a point.

Samberg is a defense-first defenseman who can occasionally chip in on the offensive side of the game. He was originally selected in the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Jets. Six years later and he’s found his way onto the Jets’ lineup full-time. 

His contract is the exact same money and term given out to Toronto Maple Leafs’ defensemen Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin a year ago. That seems to be the going rate for young defensemen who just cracked an NHL lineup, but haven’t reach all of their potential yet.

Samberg played three seasons for the University of Minnesota-Duluth, scoring a combined 53 points in 109 games. At 24 years old, Samberg is nearing the point of his career where most players peak. 

He has work to do to improve in various areas of his game but as long as he stays in the Jets lineup, he’ll keep getting better.