Jets sign Haydn Fleury to two-year extension

The Winnipeg Jets have announced a two-year, $1.9MM contract extension for defenseman Haydn Fleury. The deal was first reported by Murat Ates of The Athletic, who shares that it will carry an NHL salary of $950K. Fleury appeared in just 39 NHL games this season after a mid-season knee injury held him out for much of January and February.

Fleury recorded seven assists, six penalty minutes, and a minus-12 during the regular season. He returned to full health in time for the postseason, and chipped in an additional two assists and eight penalty minutes in eight games. It was, by and large, another quiet season for the 2014 seventh-overall pick. He filled a firm, third-pair role on the Jets roster, and only earned go-to minutes as the result of injury or other’s mistakes. But through his shortened season were flashes of stout improvements to his game away from the puck. Fleury ranked fourth on the Jets blue-line in hits-per-60 minutes this season, with a 4.63 average placing him above booth Neal Pionk (4.49) and Dylan Samberg (2.64). Fleury also recorded the second-highest blocks-per-60 minutes with a 5.40 average, behind only Samberg (5.67).

Those are strong improvements for a player who often looked unable to jump off the page in any one way. Even with a mid-season injury, Fleury’s 39 appearances this year are his most since the Carolina Hurricanes’ 2019-20 season, when he recorded 14 points in 45 games. He’s now appeared solely in the NHL through five of the last six seasons, earning extra-defender roles with each of the Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken, and Tampa Bay Lightning. He may not be the flashiest player, but Fleury seems a reasonable bet to round out Winnipeg’s blue-line depth. They’ll cement him to that role for the next two seasons with a cost-effective deal.