Free Agent Focus: Winnipeg Jets
Free agency is now under a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Jets.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Gabriel Vilardi – Winnipeg enters the off-season with a few big names at the top of their list – but re-signing Vilardi will have to be their first order of business. The 25-year-old centerman finally had his breakout season this year, after years of flashing high upside through battles with injuries. He scored a career-high 27 goals, 34 assists, and 61 points in 71 games this season – while confidently manning the second-line center role behind Mark Scheifele. The performance was a natural ramp-up after Vilardi potted 23 goals in 63 games of 2022-23, and 22 goals in 47 games last year. He averaged over 18 minutes of ice time this season, and also potted 25 points on the power-play – second-most on the club behind Kyle Connor. Vilardi’s breakout year was helped along by a 20.8 shooting-percentage, two percent higher than his career-average, and a heap of power-play scoring. But even then, it seems hard to deny that he’s the right man to command Winnipeg’s second-line moving forward. That sentiment could set Vilardi up for a major, long-term contract sometime this summer.
D Dylan Samberg – Another top-of-list item will be finding a new contract for hefty defender Dylan Samberg after he graduated into top-end minutes this season. He averaged north of 21 minutes a night as part of a Jets blue-line that leaned heavily on their top-four. His sheer compete and willingness to make plays on both sides of the ice made the heavy utilization look wise. Samberg led the Jets lineup in blocked shots (120) and takeaways (33), while also working his way to a career-high 20 points and plus-34 through 60 games. He’s still only four years into his career, but has so far found strong defensive metrics and a positive plus-minus in every season. That’s an impressive bit of reliability, especially in a Jets’ defensive group that’s often unwavering. Samberg’s offensive upside may never fully come along, but his ability to step up and make plays against top-end competition will be hotly coveted. He seems like a sure bet to sign a long-term and pricey deal this summer.
F Morgan Barron – Barron’s lineup role doesn’t shimmer the same as his RFA company – but he’s found a firm groove on Winnipeg’s fourth-line that would likely be hard to replace. The 26-year-old winger stands at 6-foot-4, 220-pounds and used that size to great effect this season. He ranked fourth on the team in hits (122) despite averaging just a little over 10 minutes of ice time a game. He was also strong when he needed to step up to the faceoff dot – winning 52 percent of his 163 attempts. Best of all, Barron was able to fill the physical and often defense-first role while only accruing 16 penalty minutes through 74 games on the season — a career low in terms of penalties-per-game. He did only score 15 points across the full year, which continued his fall in scoring after netting 23 points last year, and a career-high 31 points the season before. But Barron is a hardy fourth-liner who isn’t at risk of assignment to the minor-leagues. He should be a confident and cheap re-signing for the Jets.
F Rasmus Kupari – Playing alongside Barron was depth center Rasmus Kupari – another player who found his keep from making the responsible plays, rather than high scoring. Kupari totaled just eight goals, 16 penalty minutes, and a minus-one through 59 games this season – but he also recorded a 52.5 percent faceoff win-rate on 499 draws, the highest success rate of any of Winnipeg’s predominant centermen. He was an impactful depth forward capable of making plays in every direction – and standing up to physical play when the moment called for it. Winnipeg may be enticed to try and find a better scoring fit on the open market, but Kupari would still be worth a cheap contract to fill the role of extra forward and toolsy centerman, if nothing else.
Other RFAs: F Kristian Vesalainen, F Mason Shaw, F Parker Ford, D Simon Lundmark, D Isaak Phillips, D Tyrel Bauer
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Nikolaj Ehlers – The headliner of Winnipeg’s summer will be the decision that Ehlers makes in free agency. He is set to head to the open market, and potentially bring a close to his decade-long tenure with the Jets franchise. Only three Jets have scored more than Ehlers’ 520 points in 674 games since he joined the club in 2015-16: Scheifele (720), Connor (582), and Blake Wheeler (560). That’s impressive company. Even more impressive is Ehlers’ ability to stay consistent. He scored his career-high 64 points in 82 games of the 2016-17 season, his sophomore year. But he managed to notch a new career-high in scoring pace with 24 goals and 63 points in just 69 games this year. Ehlers looks well cemented into his prime years right now, and should only continue to serve as a persistent scorer and transition monster wherever he lands next. 10 years in Winnipeg will be hard to leave behind – and the door isn’t closed yet – but after back-to-back, 60-point seasons, Ehlers is making the wise choice to find a payday while he still can.
F Mason Appleton – Appleton has expressed his interest in remaining apart of the Jets’ core, but that could be a hard sell after his scoring returned to Earth a bit this season. He saw a late-stage breakout last season, netting 14 goals and 36 points while appearing in all 82 games of the 2023-24 campaign. But that mark teetered on an 11.5 shooting percentage, and Appleton fell to just 10 goals and 22 points in 71 games on the back of a 9.3 shooting percentage this year. His career average shooting percentage sits somewhere between those two marks, suggesting that Appleton could find consistency scoring in the high-20s over the next few seasons. That could be enough to warrant an inexpensive contract, especially as Appleton continued to provide impact away from the puck. He recorded a plus-seven, 76 hits, and 15 takeaways on the year – fine-enough numbers for a player split between lines two and three. But the Jets have prospects beginning to knock on the door to NHL minutes. If any veteran would be set to lose on a role, it’d reason to be middle-six winger Appleton. He’s played with the Jets in all eight of his NHL seasons, though did take a trip to the Seattle Kraken for 49 games of the 2021-22 campaign. That familiarity will make him a name to watch in Winnipeg.
F Brandon Tanev – The Jets acquired Tanev from the Seattle Kraken at the Trade Deadline for a 2027 second-round pick. He had 17 points in 60 games on the season up until then, but dwindled to just five points in 19 games of Winnipeg’s second-half. But even with low-scoring in mind, the Jets seem to have gotten what they paid for out of the burly Tanev. He recorded 46 hits in his short time on the team, enough to earn the highest hits-per-60 mark on the roster and bring his year-long total up to a daunting 168 hits in 79 games. He also stayed out of the penalty box, with just six penalty minutes in a Jets jersey. Tanev began his career in Winnipeg way back in the 2016-17 season. He played through three full seasons with the club, before kicking off on a journey that’s winded through two years in Pittsburgh and four years in Seattle. But now, Tanev has found his way back home – and while he certainly won’t offer flashy upside, the chance to lock up his imposing physical presence for a full season would be tough for the Jets to ignore.
D Haydn Fleury – Once a top-10 pick in the NHL Draft, it seems Fleury is now headed towards a split with the NHL. He’s appeared with five different clubs over the last eight seasons, and not yet found a true role with any of them. The Jets awarded Fleury with 39 games this season – the most he’s played since the 2020-21 campaign – and he returned just seven assists, a minus-12, and six penalty minutes. Even his intangible stats raise an eyebrow, with only 56 blocked shots and 48 hits on the year. Fleury stepped up to the chance to earn a role, but ultimately ended his season with little flash. He’ll be a depth defender moving forward, and will likely only command a league-minimum salary and an extra-defender role, if he’s re-signed into the NHL.
Other UFAs: F Dominic Toninato, F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, D Dylan Coghlan, G Chris Driedger
Projected Cap Space
Winnipeg is entering the off-season with plenty of money to pursue whoever they’d like. They sit with $24.463MM in projected cap space. That mark could dwindle to just under $12MM, or less, by the time that Vilardi and Samberg sign career-defining contracts — but that should still be more than enough for the Jets to re-sign depth skaters and land big fish on the open market. It would also be enough to give Ehlers a much-deserved pay-raise, should he decide to return. The Jets led the Western Conference with a 56-22-4 record this season, and now enter the summer with enough money to bring in some impactful additions. Their off-season will be one to follow.
Contract information courtesy of PuckPedia. Photo courtesy of Terrence Lee-Imagn Images and Connor Hamilton-Imagn Images.
Toninato To Represent Himself In Contract Talks This Summer
- Pending UFA center Dominic Toninato has dropped his agent Neil Sheehy, relays Murat Ates of The Athletic (subscription link). Instead of hiring a new one, he plans to represent himself in negotiations this summer. The 31-year-old has spent the last five seasons with the Jets although most of his playing time has come with AHL Manitoba. Toninato was held off the scoresheet in five games with Winnipeg this season while he had 18 goals and 18 assists with the Moose. He’s a strong candidate to sign another two-way pact with the team before much longer.
Markus Loponen Signs Two-Year Deal In Finland
- After spending a year in North America, Jets prospect Markus Loponen is heading back home. HPK in Finland announced that they’ve signed the center to a two-year contract. The 19-year-old was a fifth-round pick out of Karpat’s junior system, meaning the two-year signing rights rule for CHL prospects doesn’t apply; Winnipeg will have until June 1, 2028 to sign him. Loponen played with WHL Victoria this season, collecting 19 goals and 25 assists in 65 games.
Jonathan Toews In Agreement On One-Year Deal With Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are approaching a one-year contract with three-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Toews, per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The team later confirmed Toews’ agreement to join the club when he becomes eligible to sign on July 1st.
The details of Toews’ contract with Winnipeg have been revealed by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press. Toews will carry a base salary of $2MM, and receive a $550K bonus for every 20 regular season games that he plays. He will also receive a $500K bonus if the Jets make the playoffs and he appears in 50-or-more games. He’ll additionally receive a $250K bonus for each playoff round Winnipeg wins – assuming he plays in at least 50 percent of games – and a $1MM bonus if Winnipeg wins the Stanley Cup.
This news caps off a saga surrounding Toews’ professional career spanning the last four years. He hasn’t played in a pro game sine April 13, 2023 – though he only managed to play in 53 games of the 2022-23 season collectively. His absences were caused by a diagnosis with Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS), which can make workouts painful to get through even on a small scale. Toews spoke at lengths about his illness and rehabilitation process, which included a journey to India where he practiced Ayurveda – a traditional healing approach focused on centering spiritual wellness and purging unnecessary toxins.
It was on the heels of his five-week trip to India that Toews first spoke about making a return to the NHL level. Sparks around that fire grew stronger as the months went on, ultimately leading to Toews fully committing to a return in late May. With that commitment came plenty of NHL interest. The Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning were both listed as strong contenders to land Toews’ next contract alongside the Jets. But Toews will ultimately settle on continuing his career with his hometown club, and return to pastures of Winnipeg where he grew up.
The importance of Toews’ decision to move north can’t be understated. He is unequivocally one of the greatest Blackhawks in franchise history, having captained the team to three Cup wins starting at the clean-shaven age of 21. He was the yin to Patrick Kane‘s yang for the entirety of the 2010s, serving as the responsible and impactful defensive backstop that facilitated Kane’s all-out offense. Toews reached unprecedented heights in that role. His 883 points in 1,067 games averages out to 29 goals, 39 assists, and 68 points per 82-game season. He tacked onto that Selke Trophy votes in every season between 2009 and 2020, including a Trophy win in 2013 and runner-up bids in 2011 and 2015.
Toews will go down in history as one of the league’s all-time great two-way forwards, in the vein of modern greats like Patrice Bergeron and Aleksander Barkov. But his return to the league stands out as an interesting move. He recorded 15 goals and 31 points in his shortened 2022-23 campaign – good for an 82-game pace of 23 goals and 48 points. Those are stout numbers for a then-34-year-old Toews – but it’s been two years since he’s competed at the same level, and it’s unclear if a 37-year-old Toews will bring the same punch.
Lucky for Winnipeg, they won’t need to rely on an all-star performance from Toews to get to the next level. The squad has appeared in three consecutive postseasons, and seven of the last eight. Many of those runs have come on the back of top-line center Mark Scheifele and partner-in-crime Kyle Connor, who are both already under contract for next season. That means that a rehabilitated Toews will only need to man second-line – or, thanks to Adam Lowry, even third-line – minutes in his return to the NHL scene. A one year deal and minimal role should give Toews the chance to really get his feet under him once again. Should he perform well, the polarizing return could stretch into a multi-year campaign with his childhood-favorite NHL squad.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports, Imagn-Images.
Offseason Checklist: Winnipeg Jets
The offseason has arrived for everyone with the Stanley Cup Final in the rearview. Accordingly, it’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Winnipeg.
Expectations were mixed heading into the season for the Jets, who didn’t do a lot to reshape their roster after a 110-point season in 2023-24 while losing some key free agents as well. They managed to beat that record on the backs of continued dominance from their veterans, progress from young forwards, and an MVP-winning season from goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. Despite the best regular season in franchise history, though, they were dispatched by the Stars in the second round and have now won only two playoff series in the last seven years. General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff now needs to get them over the hump with the high-end core he’s already established.
Re-Sign RFAs
At first glance, the Jets are well-positioned to be major players in free agency this summer with $26.43MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. That’s because multiple key pieces are on expiring contracts, though. Two of them, top-line winger Gabriel Vilardi and top-four defenseman Dylan Samberg, are under team control and need new deals sooner rather than later so the Jets know how much of that cap space they can devote to free-agent pickups.
Vilardi is 25 years old and only has one season of team control remaining. That makes a bridge deal improbable and a long-term contract, even a max-term one, all the more appealing for a player who scored a career-high 27 goals and 61 points in 71 games this season. However, Vilardi’s lengthy injury history likely rules that out. Those 71 games played were also a career-high for the 2017 No. 11 overall pick, coming off his sixth NHL season. He’s missed 20-plus games in a year twice and has only cracked the 60-game mark twice as well. As such, the Jets are likely looking at a four-year commitment for Vilardi around $6.8MM per season, according to AFP Analytics. If he’s amenable to that price, they’d do well to get an agreement around there quickly to remove the threat of arbitration or an offer sheet.
Samberg, 26, is in a better position to command a longer-term deal. He’s just beginning his prime as a high-end second-pairing option with good defensive acumen, posting 20 points and a +34 rating in 60 games last season while averaging north of 21 minutes per game alongside Neal Pionk as Winnipeg’s No. 2 left-shot option behind Josh Morrissey. He’s shown linear development over his first few NHL seasons, and Winnipeg should be comfortable keeping him in his current role for the rest of the decade without much fuss. AFP Analytics projects a five-year deal with a cap hit in the $5.25MM range for him. Those projections still leave Winnipeg somewhere in the $14MM-$15MM range to spend on five roster spots this summer.
Backup Plan For Ehlers
The door isn’t closed on pending UFA winger Nikolaj Ehlers staying in Winnipeg, but it doesn’t look like they’ll be able to entice him with an eighth year on an extension. He’ll test the open market to see what’s out there for him, and the Jets will have to wait in line like everyone else.
That means Winnipeg might have to offer Ehlers a seven-year deal north of $8.5MM, potentially even in the $9MM range, per season to avoid him leaving for an environment with more opportunity for him in a first-line role or somewhere more financially advantageous for the 29-year-old Dane. He’s well-positioned to cash in on the heels of a 63-point season in 69 games, the former standing as one short of a career-high. If the Jets aren’t willing to push into that range to keep his services – a likely bet considering he continues to inexplicably average south of 16 minutes per game – they need to quickly identify targets in free agency who can either replace his output directly or help do so by committee.
Their cap flexibility means they should be able to do that relatively easily, but the Winnipeg market is routinely a hard sell to players who have multiple comparable options on the table. They’ll have to pick and choose their desired players and be quite aggressive with them. They don’t have prospects ready to step directly into Ehlers’ shoes, but perhaps someone like 2022 first-rounder Brad Lambert could at least step into a top-nine role and produce a 30-to-35-point rookie season (third-line fixture Mason Appleton is a pending UFA as well).
They could also opt to be aggressive in pursuit of a second-line center and keep Vladislav Namestnikov and Cole Perfetti, usually Ehlers’ center/winger combo in some capacity last year, as wingmen for a new middleman. There aren’t a ton of options out there, though, particularly after today’s Matt Duchene extension with the Stars. They’ll be trying to land some names in the next tier of UFA forwards like Brock Boeser, Jonathan Drouin, Mikael Granlund, and Pius Suter as a result, without much worry about what forward position they play.
Add Center Depth
Winnipeg’s relative weakness down the middle behind Mark Scheifele will be exacerbated to begin the season. Captain Adam Lowry will spend the first couple of months of the season on the shelf after offseason hip surgery, and frequent fourth-line center option Rasmus Kupari is off to spend the next two seasons in Switzerland.
The prospects of a big move are unlikely unless they’re willing to be aggressive on the trade front for someone like Wild center Marco Rossi, but they haven’t been mentioned in connection with his availability, and it’s exceedingly unlikely Minnesota would consider trading him to a divisional rival anyway. That leaves them with pursuing stopgap solutions like the aforementioned Granlund and Suter, who have top-six mobility, but they need another name or two for added bottom-six depth as well.
One of those could very well be Jonathan Toews. The former Blackhawks captain has spent the last couple of years out of the league as he deals with Chronic Immune Response Syndrome, but has been connected to Winnipeg ever since he publicized his desire for an NHL return last year. The interest is mutual, Cheveldayoff said in January, and it appears the Jets are on the Winnipeg native’s small list of finalists as he nears a decision in the coming days. At worst, he’s a fine fourth-line swap for Kupari.
They’d still like to add another name, presumably a sub-$1.5MM player like Sean Kuraly or Nico Sturm are expected to be, to help shoulder the load in the early going and take pressure off young players to take on center roles out of the gate. Even with a potential high-priced Ehlers contract, all of this should be doable under Winnipeg’s cap structure if they’re responsible with their RFA deals.
Connor Extension Talks
If the Jets aren’t careful, they’ll have back-to-back summers where big-name wingers could depart Winnipeg. Kyle Connor is entering the final year of his seven-year contract, which carries a team-friendly $7.14MM cap hit, and becomes eligible to sign an extension on July 1.
The 2024-25 First Team All-Star at left wing enters his contract year coming off a 41-goal showing, his second time hitting the 40-snipe mark. They have a strong appetite to get something done this summer and avoid the situation they find themselves at present with Ehlers. Considering the more bountiful success Connor has enjoyed in top-line minutes in Winnipeg, it’s likely he’d be more amenable to a long-term commitment.
Finding what the “right” number should be won’t be particularly tricky. He’s a slam-dunk 35-goal man with an extended run of success and even finished top 20 in Hart Trophy voting this season. There’s no question he’ll become Winnipeg’s new highest-paid player on an extension, one that AFP Analytics projects to be eight years at $12MM per season. Amid the rising cap and names like Mitch Marner expected to sniff $14MM on the open market this summer, the Jets shouldn’t have too many qualms about dealing out that big of a raise.
Image courtesy of Connor Hamilton-Imagn Images.
Chris Driedger Signs With KHL’s Traktor Chelyabinsk
Pending UFA goaltender Chris Driedger signed a one-year contract with Russia’s Traktor Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League on Tuesday, per a team release.
Driedger, 31, didn’t see NHL ice in 2024-25 for the second time in three seasons. The longtime No. 2/3 netminder was signed by the Panthers last offseason, his second tour of duty with the club, to serve as an insurance option behind backup Spencer Knight. He wasn’t needed due to the young netminder’s emergence, and even though Florida traded Knight to the Blackhawks in the Seth Jones deal, they acquired Vítek Vaněček from the Sharks to be their new backup shortly thereafter and didn’t need Driedger’s services. They then sent him to the Jets for Kaapo Kähkönen in a swap of experienced third-stringers at the trade deadline.
Between Florida’s and Winnipeg’s AHL affiliates, the Charlotte Checkers and Manitoba Moose, Driedger logged a highly underwhelming 3.03 GAA and .877 SV% with an 11-9-4 record in 25 appearances. It was the worst save percentage he’d put up over that large a sample of his entire career, both professional and junior. It’s unsurprising to see the 6’4″ netminder head overseas in search of career and financial stability as a result with an NHL offer far from guaranteed this summer.
For a brief period, Driedger was one of the better backups in the league. During his first stint with the Panthers, he had a 21-8-4 record, .931 SV%, 2.07 GAA, and four shutouts in 35 appearances in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. While he was set to be an unrestricted free agent the following summer, the Kraken selected his signing rights in their expansion draft and promptly signed him to a three-year, $10.5MM deal. He dealt with frequent injuries in his first year though, and after managing a .899 SV% in 27 games in Seattle’s first season, he had ACL surgery that robbed him of most of the 2022-23 campaign. Upon returning, he was played almost exclusively with the Kraken’s AHL affiliate in Coachella Valley.
The Winnipeg native’s NHL career is now likely behind him. If that’s the case, the 2012 third-rounder wraps it up with 67 games to his name, during which he posted a 31-24-5 record, five shutouts, a 2.45 GAA, .917 SV%, and saved 16.0 goals above average. He also has a .910 SV% in 217 AHL games across 10 seasons.
Driedger will likely form a platoon in Chelyabinsk with 25-year-old Sergei Mylnikov, who posted a .920 SV% in 21 games for Traktor last year. Driedger is the replacement in Chelyabinsk for former NHLer Zachary Fucale, who spent the last two seasons with the club and led the KHL with nine shutouts this year but signed a two-year contract with Belarusian side Dinamo Minsk earlier this month.
Meanwhile, the Jets will look to add a different veteran depth option behind Connor Hellebuyck and Eric Comrie for 2025-26. They have youngsters Thomas Milic and Domenic DiVincentiis under NHL contract next year, but neither has the track record to confidently be penciled in as a No. 3 option/AHL starter.
Jets Sign Alfons Freij
The Jets have signed one of their draft picks from last year, announcing that they’ve inked defenseman Alfons Freij to a three-year, entry-level deal. The agreement will carry an AAV of $975K at the NHL level.
The 19-year-old was the fifth selection in the second round last June, going 37th overall following a strong season in Sweden’s junior system. Freij predominantly played at the Under-20 level with Vaxjo and fared well offensively, notching 14 goals and 19 assists in 40 games. He also played in five playoff games with Vaxjo’s Under-20 and Under-18 levels.
This season, Freij moved up a level, going to Sweden’s second-tier professional league, the Allsvenskan, where he played with IF Bjorkloven. In 29 games with them, he had two goals and six assists while adding five points in five games with Bjorkloven’s Under-20 team as well.
Back in April, Freij signed a two-year deal with SHL Timra, positioning himself to be tested at a higher level once again next season. This contract shouldn’t change that, as it’s quite likely that he will be loaned back overseas for 2025-26. Assuming that happens, Freij’s contract is eligible to slide and, in that case, he’d still have three years left on his deal at this time next year.
Connor, Hellebuyck Earn 2024-25 All-Star Team Honors
LW Kyle Connor (Jets) – Connor arguably completed the best season of his career, scoring 41 goals and 97 points, barely eclipsing his 93-point campaign in 2021-22 (although he did score 46 goals). Being the offensive leader for the Presidents Trophy-winning team made him a lock for All-Star Team honors, and he beat out Hagel by 100 votes.
G Connor Hellebuyck (Jets) – Despite tying with Kucherov with the second-most First Team votes, there was no clearer choice for the league’s top netminder than Hellebuyck. The American netminder secured the Vezina Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy this season, leading the league in wins (47), GAA (2.00), shutouts(8), Goals Saved Above Average (41.6), and Adjusted Goals Against Average (2.13).
D Victor Hedman (Lightning) – The captain of the Lightning was also in a close vote, beating Winnipeg Jets’ Josh Morrissey by a few votes. There are arguments for both sides, but Hedman finished the year with more goals (15), assists (51), points (66), blocked shots (133), and CorsiFor% at even strength (53.5%) compared to Morrissey.
Jets Reportedly Interested In Signing Jonathan Toews
In today’s rendition of 32 Thoughts, Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman gave a brief update on Jonathan Toews‘s market as he attempts to make a comeback to the NHL. Friedman listed the Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Winnipeg Jets as likely suitors for the three-time Stanley Cup champion.
The Winnipeg Jets, Toews’s hometown team, makes more sense at face value. Assuming that Winnipeg is uninterested in removing captain Adam Lowry from the third line, Toews makes more sense than Morgan Barron for the team’s fourth-line center, especially if they move Barron to the wing to replace Brandon Tanev. Barron has been an underrated defensive forward throughout his time in Manitoba, starting more than 65.0% of his shifts in the defensive zone during his Jets tenure and maintaining a positive rating. Barron would be equally capable on the wing, and Toews could comparatively provide more offense with a higher career faceoff percentage.
Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck Wins 2025 Vezina and Hart Trophies
The NHL has announced that the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck will take home both the 2025 Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender and the 2025 Hart Trophy as league MVP.
Hellebuyck beats out Los Angeles’ Darcy Kuemper and Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy for the Vezina award. This marks his third time winning the trophy. For the Hart, he finishes ahead of forwards Leon Draisaitl (Oilers) and Nikita Kucherov (Lightning). He becomes the first goalie since Carey Price in 2014-15 to win both awards.
Hellebuyck posted career-bests across the board this season, with a 2.00 goals-against-average, .925 save percentage, and 47 wins. He led the NHL in all three statistics among goaltenders with at least 35 games played.
Hellebuyck was at his home when he discovered he had won the Vezina. Surrounded by family and teammate Eric Comrie, the Hart Trophy was then brought out as an extra surprise.
“That moment was like putting a little cherry on top… I actually had no idea what this trophy looked like. Looking back, I’ll probably picture this day as one of the greatest of my career,” he said.
Hellebuyck had a monumental season, highlighted by posting the highest win percentage in NHL history. His 47 wins in 63 games equal out to 0.746 wins-per-game, defeating the previous record 0.727 posted by Braden Holtby in 2015-16. On a grand scale, Hellebuyck’s win total ranks third all-time behind Holtby (48 wins in 66 games, 2015-16) and Martin Brodeur (48 in 78, 2006-07). Hellebuyck also tied Bernie Parent and Roberto Luongo in wins, though he managed the feat in fewer games.
Hellebuyck joins Glenn Hall, Tony Esposito, and George Hainsworth as a three-time winner. Each one of the 12 other goaltenders to win at least three Vezina Trophies went on to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame – save for four-time winner Michel Larocque, backstop of the 1979 Stanley Cup-clinching Montreal Canadiens. Hellebuyck ran away with the Vezina voting, receiving all but one first place vote. MVP voting was much closer, but Hellebuyck edged out Draisaitl 1,346 to 1,209.
Hellebuyck’s prowess has rarely been questioned. He has posted a save percentage at or north of .920 in four of his last six seasons – only interrupted by a .916 and .910 in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, respectively. Every season, except for 2021-22, was coupled by a win percentage of at least 50 percent. That’s incredible consistency for an NHL starter – a fact that has earned Hellebuyck the third-highest cap hit ($8.5MM) among NHL goaltenders. He carries that price tag on a seven-year, $59.9MM contract signed with Winnipeg in 2023. That deal will carry Hellebuyck through his age-38 season in 2030-31.