The Winnipeg Jets signed forward Dominic Toninato to a two-year, two-way contract extension Wednesday, the team announced. The contract carries the league minimum cap hit of $775,000.
Toninato, 29, was a full-time fixture on Winnipeg’s fourth line in 2021-22. With younger talent forcing Winnipeg’s hand during training camp, though, Toninato has instead been relegated to an AHL role for the most part this season.
In his third year in the Jets organization, Toninato played 50 games in the minors after playing just five combined the previous two years. He’s done well enough with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, notching 35 points in 50 games. He also appeared in five games with the Jets during the first part of the season before clearing waivers in December.
Initially a 2012 fifth-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, it took Toninato another five years to land his first NHL contract – an entry-level commitment with the Colorado Avalanche after wrapping up four seasons at the University of Minnesota’s Duluth campus. After two seasons in the Avs’ system, Toninato, then a restricted free agent, was dealt to the Florida Panthers in exchange for depth defender Jacob MacDonald.
With Florida in 2020, Toninato would record 11 points in 46 games before making his playoff debut in the team’s Qualifying Round loss to the New York Islanders. Florida opted not to qualify Toninato at the end of the season, paving the way for him to sign as an unrestricted free agent with the Jets.
Now on his third contract with Winnipeg, Toninato is an experienced call-up option if needed in a pinch, with 175 regular-season and playoff games under his belt.