The Winnipeg Jets have come to terms on an 8 year, $96M extension with forward Kyle Connor on Wednesday the club announced.
Connor now has the title for the richest contract in Jets franchise history, and will now be tied to the club through 2034 when he will be 37 years old. His average annual value of $12M per season will make him the highest paid player on the team, eclipsing Mark Scheiffele’s $8.5M per year valuation.
The 28 year old set a career high in points (97), games played (82), assists (56) and plus minus (+17) in 2024-25. He also scored more than 40 goals for the 2nd time in his career, while helping the Jets capture the President’s Trophy as the top regular season team last year.
Connor joins Scheifele, Gabriel Vilardi, and Neal Pionk as core players inked through at least 2030 in Winnipeg. Long considered a tough destination to attract talent to in NHL circles, the Jets have worked hard to draft or trade for, and then sign, top end talent in recent years to avoid needing to “sell” free agents on coming to Winnipeg.
The Michigan native has represented the US internationally on several occasions, and will hope to secure a spot on his country’s Olympic roster in 2026. With several milestones under his belt, including his 600th NHL game, and 500th NHL point which he accomplished last year, Connor is poised for a massive 2025-26 campaign as he and his teammates look to pair regular season success with a deep playoff run next spring.
Up first is their home opener against the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.
Photo: Jenn G. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.