Jets To Sign Cole Perfetti To Five-Year Contract

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Jets To Sign Cole Perfetti To Five-Year Contract

Originally posted on Pro Hockey Rumors
By Brennan McClain | Last updated Jul 15, 2026 4:27 PM ET

The Winnipeg Jets won’t need arbitration to find a new contract for their most important restricted free agent, after all. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Jets have signed forward Cole Perfetti to a five-year, $30MM ($6MM AAV) contract.

Finally, Perfetti lands the long-term deal he was looking for from the Jets. Back in 2024, when his entry-level contract with Winnipeg expired, Perfetti held out on a new contract with the Jets until September 23, only a few days before the start of the 2024-25 campaign. Yielding to a bridge contract at the time, the Jets have seen what they’ve needed from Perfetti to warrant a longer-term deal.

At the time, Perfetti’s ask for a long-term deal was largely indefensible. Despite being the 10th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft, Perfetti hadn’t broken out into a legitimate top-six candidate by that point. Throughout his entry-level contract, Perfetti scored 29 goals and 75 points in 140 games with a +24 rating, averaging 14:10 of ice time per game. His possession and defensive metrics were solid, but Perfetti looked more like a really good third-line player rather than a top-six candidate.

Similarly, Perfetti has given Winnipeg much of the same on his two-year bridge deal. Since the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign, Perfetti has registered 30 goals and 82 points in 150 games with a +5 rating, a marginal 0.011 points-per-game increase in scoring. Still, he has averaged an approximate 53.0% CorsiFor and 90.5% on-ice SV% at even strength, which isn’t typical for wingers, especially those near the top of the forward corps.

Additionally, Perfetti was injured for a decent chunk of the 2025-26 campaign. During preseason action against the Calgary Flames, Perfetti suffered a high-ankle sprain, causing him to miss the first 14 games of the regular season. Had he started the year on time, Perfetti may have gotten closer to the 50-point campaign he had in 2024-25.

Regardless, the Jets have inked Perfetti to a $6MM price tag while buying out two years of his UFA status. Assuming Winnipeg continued to qualify him, Perfetti would have been eligible for unrestricted free agency after the 2028-29 campaign. Now, he’ll remain with the Jets through the 2030-31 season.

It’s not the worst salary either, especially for a player who projects to be in the middle-six of the forward corps. A $6MM salary for the 2026-27 campaign will only represent 5.769% of the Jets’ overall cap space, and will only continue to decrease from there. For comparison, dating back to the flat salary cap in 2023-24, when the upper limit was $83.5MM, a similar contract percentage would have been a $4.8MM salary.

Lastly, Perfetti’s desire for a long-term deal with the Jets should be music to the organization’s ears. Winnipeg has made good on extending core players like Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Josh Morrissey, and Connor Hellebuyck in years past, but has had a hard time acquiring external talent. Even though Perfetti doesn’t have a similar ceiling to the aforementioned group, it’s important for Winnipeg to retain the talent that wants to stay there.

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

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