The Jets took care of a pair of their restricted free agents on Saturday, announcing the re-signings of defenseman Logan Stanley and center David Gustafsson to two-year contracts. Stanley will carry a $1.25MM AAV while Gustafsson checks in at $835K. Both players were eligible to file for salary arbitration but elected not to do so on Friday.
Stanley was a first-round pick by Winnipeg back in 2016, going 18th overall. At the time, they were hoping that they’d secured a key cog of their future back end. However, that has yet to become the case.
Playing time has been hard to come by for the 26-year-old in recent years. He played in just 19 games in 2022-23, leading to an indication that he wouldn’t mind a change of scenery. He wound up re-signing the following summer but the lack of playing time continued as Stanley got into just 25 games last season where he had one goal and one assist while logging less than 14 minutes a night. He also saw action in three of their five playoff contests.
However, with Brenden Dillon departing in free agency, there could be an opportunity for Stanley to play more of a regular role next season although Ville Heinola (who is now waiver-eligible) is likely to be in the mix there as well. This deal gives him a $250K raise while Winnipeg gets an extra year of club control to see if Stanley can become at least a regular part of their back end.
As for Gustafsson, the 24-year-old was a late second-round pick in 2018 (60th overall) and spent most of last year with Winnipeg, albeit in a limited role. He suited up in 39 games last season, picking up three goals and four assists in just over nine minutes a night of action while winning more than 54% of his faceoffs. He got into four postseason contests, scoring once. Gustafsson also played in six regular season games with AHL Manitoba where he collected three assists.
Gustafsson won’t have the option of returning to the Moose next season without going through waivers first. The likelier scenario is that he once again stays in the mix to anchor the fourth line or hold onto the 13th spot on Winnipeg’s forward group. He will still have another year of RFA eligibility once this contract ends.
With these signings, the Jets are down to four remaining restricted free agents. On the back end, Heinola, newly-acquired Dylan Coghlan, and Simon Lundmark need new deals while up front, Cole Perfetti still needs to be signed. They have a little over $4.25MM in remaining cap space, per CapFriendly.
Stanley, Heinola, Gustafson & now Coghlan means Chevy has to parcel a D with Ehlers to reel in a big fish. Each of those D are perfectly serviceable 4-6 players on 2:3rds of NHL blueliner.
Interesting thought, sounds probable. Jets do have a history of deep blue lines though. Ask Heinola and Stanley and Chisholm.