Jets Notes: Lowry, Ehlers, Vilardi

The Winnipeg Jets are holding their final interviews of the 2024-25 season on Wednesday, offering a chance for many players to share insight on their futures with the club. The first up was team captain Adam Lowry, who will be eligible for an extension on July 1st and set to hit free agency next summer. Lowry emphasized to reporters that he’ll be ready to sign a deal as soon as the Jets are, and that he wants to stick with the club through the end of his career, per Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press.

Lowry was named Winnipeg’s captain at the start of the 2023-24 season, after wearing an ’A’ in the year prior. The title rewarded Lowry’s career-long commitment to supporting Winnipeg’s bottom-six. He was originally drafted in the third-round of the 2011 NHL Draft, and made his NHL debut three seasons later in 2014-15. Lowry carved out a gritty role in the depth of Winnipeg’s lineup right away, recording 24 points and 46 penalty minutes in 80 games as an NHL rookie. He was full time in the league within two seasons, and quickly found a knack for tenacious plays, full-ice impacts, and routine 20-point seasons.

But he’s started to blossom in his later years, recording a career-high 36 points in the 2022-23 season – followed up by 35 points last year and 34 this year. He also scored a career-high 16 goals this season – all while continuing to operate from a strong role on Winnipeg’s second and third lines. Lowry will flirt with free agency throughout the 2025-26 season, but it’s hard to envision Winnipeg letting such a carved-out piece of their lineup walk away.

The same can be said for winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who will face the pressures of free agency this summer rather than next. Ehlers is another lifetime Jet, having spent the last decade with the club and totaling 520 points in 674 career games. that includes a dazzling 24 goals and 63 points in 69 games this season. That’s the highest scoring pace of Ehlers’ career, though it falls one point shy of his career-high total set in the 2016-17 season. Like Lowry, Ehlers has dedicated significant time to finding the lineup role that works for him.

With his deal set to expire this summer, Ehlers’ teammates have made sure to know how much they like having him around. Cole Perfetti called Ehlers a “joy to life” to reporters, and shared that he both hopes and knows that Ehlers feels how much the Jets franchise appreciates him – shares Murat Ates of The Athletic. Perfetti and Ehlers rotated as wing partners throughout the season, and outscored opponents 25-to-18 at even-strength in their minutes together. It was a career year for both players, and with his public words of encouragement – Perfetti could give Ehlers yet another reason to find a deal that works this summer.

Forward Gabriel Vilardi has also expressed interest in re-signing with the Jets when he hits restricted-free agency this summer, per Ates. Vilardi added that he hasn’t yet thought about if he wants a short-term or long-term deal, though. Either option could be a sensible bet, after Vilardi broke out with 27 goals and 61 points in 71 games this season. Both marks were new career-highs, confidently lapping the 23 goals and 41 points he scored in 63 games of the 2022-23 season. Vilardi’s rise in scoring coincided with a rise in ice time and lineup trust. He performed well with added responsibility, though only managed four points in nine postseason games.

71 games of this season is the most Vilardi has ever played in a single year. Those signs of newfound health could go a long way in solidifying Vilardi’s projection as a staple of the second-line. Winnipeg will have a chance to put a price to that faith in exclusive negotiations this summer.