Jets lock up Kyle Connor at fair market value

The Winnipeg Jets officially locked up leading scorer Kyle Connor on Wednesday, signing him to an eight-year, $96 million contract.

The news wasn’t exactly a surprise, as insider Elliotte Friedman all but confirmed the news on Tuesday.

The max-term extension at $12 million is a solid value. While it’s not quite the team-friendly deal Connor McDavid gave the Oilers, it’s a solid move in the right direction for the Jets.

Like McDavid, Kyle Connor could have backed his team into a corner. Instead, Connor gave the Jets some wiggle room by negotiating a fair market value contract.

Other stars have signed similar deals, such as Mikko Rantanen in Dallas and Mitch Marner in Vegas.

The Jets can now put the uncertainty of Kyle Connor’s contract extension behind them and focus on the task of repeating as Presidents’ Trophy champions this season.

Kyle Connor could have gotten more in open market than he did from Jets

If Kyle Connor had wanted to test the open market, he could have fetched a much larger deal than the one he got from the Jets.

According to some musings, Connor was high on the Detroit Red Wings’ radar. Connor, a Michigan native, could have been a very attractive piece to the Red Wings, among other clubs.

The 28-year-old could have backed the Jets into a position to pay him more to keep him. But Connor is committed to staying in Winnipeg, hence signing his extension now.

It’s worth pointing out that speculation has never suggested Connor wanted to leave. Unlike Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor wasn’t looking to play out the season and hit free agency. Connor has been adamant about wanting to remain with the Jets.

Fans will never really know how much more other clubs would have paid for Connor. But it’s fair to assume that it would have been much more than $12 million AAV amid the rising cap environment.