The Winnipeg Jets are opening the 2025-26 NHL season on Thursday at home against the Dallas Stars. After Mikko Rantanen and the Stars eliminated Winnipeg last year, they are trying to start the season by getting revenge. The Jets made sure to start the season on the right foot before the puck dropped, giving Kyle Connor an eight-year contract extension. Did they overpay for their top scorer? Or should Connor have gone to free agency looking for more?
In 2024-25, Connor led the Jets with 41 goals and 97 points. It was his second 40-goal season, behind his 47 tallies in 2021-22, and second 90-point season; he scored 93 in 21-22. That campaign was perfectly timed with both his contract ending and Nikolaj Ehlers leaving in free agency. Even with one season left on Connor's deal, Winnipeg could not risk him leaving for nothing like Ehlers did.
What grades do Connor and the Jets get for his eight-year, $12 million AAV contract?
The Jets are keeping the band together
There is a bit of sticker shock here for a player who has broken 80 points only three times in his career. A career-long Jet, Connor has grown into their top winger and built a great connection with Mark Scheifele. Keeping those two together for the remainder of their primes should lead to more great seasons in terms of point totals.
Connor is making $7.14 million for the 2025-26 season, with the $12 million payday starting on July 1, 2026. When the contract kicks in, he will be one of four wingers making at least $12 million. Mitch Marner and Mikko Rantanen are also at $12 million, while Kirill Kaprizov signed the richest deal in NHL history at $17 million.
In terms of raw point totals, Connor is well behind Marner and Rantanen in career totals. That does not mean the Jets overpaid him, but it certainly means that they did not get a discount. Paying market rate for your homegrown players is a necessity for some small-market teams, and the Jets deserve some credit for keeping the band together.
The only question remaining from the Jets' side is whether they will be able to spend to the cap in the coming years. With the salary cap staying flat through the pandemic, teams were trying to find creative ways to stay under. But will the small-market teams be able to keep up through a new era of unprecedented growth? This deal points toward Winnipeg not worrying about that problem, but only time will tell the true story.
Winnipeg Jets grade: B+
Kyle Connor signs a lucrative deal
For a player who could probably walk through most American airports without being recognized, Kyle Connor will make a lot of money as a professional athlete. His $98 million deal follows his $50 million deal he previously signed with the Jets. While there has not been as much playoff success as he was hoping for, Connor has made it rain in Winnipeg.
The Jets give Connor a great opportunity to win in the postseason, as long as Hellebuyck stays at or near this level, and a great linemate. There is no guarantee that Connor would find as perfect a fit at center as Scheifele if he left in free agency. Connor's elite shot pairs perfectly with Scheifele's play-making and physicality in front of the net.
Connor could have waited until free agency to find a new home and sign a big deal. But the number of teams willing to give him $12 million may not have been very large. Connor is one of the best and most underrated wingers in the league, and the Jets were in the best position to pay him the most amount of money.
Kyle Connor grade: A+
