Jets Sign Jaret Anderson-Dolan To Two-Year Deal

7:26 PM: The Jets have officially signed Anderson-Dolan to a two-year deal for $775K at the NHL level (as per Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun). The first year of the deal is a two-way contract, with the second year as a one-way deal.

12:49 PM: The Jets are expected to pick up versatile depth forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan on a two-year deal, Mayor’s Manor reports.

Once a second-round pick of the Kings in 2017, Anderson-Dolan has now moved to his third squad in the past few months. He began last season in a 13th-forward role for Los Angeles, his usual spot on the depth chart for the past couple of years. But after providing serviceable depth scoring in 2022-23 (12 points in 46 games), the offense dried up. Shuffling in and out of the lineup when injuries dictated his presence, Anderson-Dolan managed only one goal and three assists through his first 30 games of the year.

That led the Kings to place him on waivers ahead of the trade deadline to open up some roster flexibility, upon which he was claimed by the Predators. The move to Nashville didn’t yield any more opportunity for the 5’11”, 200-lb forward, though. He played just once in the Preds’ final 18 games of the season, posting a -1 rating and two shots in 13:39 of ice time in his lone appearance against the Blue Jackets on April 13. He was then scratched for all six games in Nashville’s first-round loss to the Canucks.

Anderson-Dolan should land a bit more opportunity in Winnipeg, which will look for its depth forwards to step up after losing Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli to free agency yesterday. His usability at center helps his case for minutes, but he’s been somewhat rocky in the faceoff dot with a 45.2% career win percentage. He’ll likely compete for roster spots and ice time with the likes of David Gustafsson, Axel Jonsson-Fjällby and Rasmus Kupari in training camp.

In 127 career NHL games, Anderson-Dolan has 15 goals and 28 points with a -31 rating. He’s still young enough to be an RFA upon expiry of his new deal, at which point he’ll be 26.