The Winnipeg Jets are preparing to open their 2025-26 campaign on Thursday night. Just before the season, the Jets completed an extension with Kyle Connor, keeping him with the team for eight seasons. Now, Connor's agent, Rich Evans, has spoken out about how the deal got over the finish line.
“From the outset of the negotiations, we stressed to Winnipeg management that we were looking for a ‘free agent deal.’ To us, that meant having a large component of the contract in signing bonus, and the contract also had to include a full no-move clause for the entire eight years,” Connor's agent informed Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. “It was extremely important to KC that he would have full control over where he played for the rest of his career, with the goal of finishing his career in Winnipeg. We understood that the Jets had never agreed to these provisions before, and there was a lot of back and forth on these issues, and to the Jets credit, they eventually agreed to the $12 AAV, the signing-bonus structure and the no-move clause.’’
The free-agent style deal was a major component of the negotiations. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the non-movement clause and the size of the signing bonus were something not done in the history of the Jets.
Winnipeg's social media spent Wednesday celebrating the deal, as did Jets fans. The Jets want their former first-round pick from 2015 to finish his career with the team. Now it is clear that Connor wanted the same. Regardless of the $96 million due to Connor now, $41 million of that is due in a signing bonus. Now, the core of the Jets will be together for some time.
“These players have grown up together here. Every city has their ups and downs, but I think it’s been a false narrative for a long time. We’ve never been a team on July 1 that goes out and tries to attract the most sought-after free agents, but we’ve never really had to, because Chevy drafted a really strong core. For us, it’s always been more about keeping the kids we drafted,” noted chairman Mark Chipman.
For the Jets, the core is Mark Scheifele, Gabriel Vilardi, Connor Hellebuyck, and Connor. Three of the four are former draft picks of the franchise, while Vilardi was acquired via trade. Regardless, the four of them are all under contract through the 2031 season, with Connor extended beyond.
