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Nikolaj Ehlers Makes His Official Decision Regarding Free Agency

Originally posted on Hockey Latest | By Daniel Lucente | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 3:45 PM ET

Winnipeg Jets' Nikolaj Ehlers has finally made his decision to test the free agency market; however, he did make one other unexpected revelation, too.

With the Winnipeg Jets' season now in the books, talk among insiders and fans has centered on Nikolaj Ehlers, and speculation has surrounded the 28-year-old left winger.

Ehlers has announced that he will be an unrestricted free agent on Tuesday, July 1, and is free to sign with any team that he chooses. Given his skill and speed, league-wide intrigue should be intense; however, he did say Winnipeg remains a possibility.

On Thursday, hockey insider Elliotte Friedman confirmed this, reminding us of the doubt around the talented forward's future. This update stoked and added more fuel to the growing buzz.

Kevin Cheveldayoff said he will continue to have conversations with Ehlers

A bit earlier today, Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff also addressed the Ehlers situation during his pre-draft media availability. Although he refused to go there in detail, there was an aura of consideration of all possibilities.

'We'll continue to have conversations until we can't.'
- Kevin Cheveldayoff

As the NHL Draft approaches, there's a good chance this could make Winnipeg's team shop his services around in a trade as either a player-for-player or a sign-and-trade to a club of their preference.

Or perhaps this is a strategic move from Ehlers' camp to pressure Winnipeg to make a quick move.

Either way, time is limited, and over the course of the next few days, we will know whether Ehlers chooses to sign with a different team in free agency or whether he circles back and remains in Manitoba.

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

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