Jets sign Connor to 8-year, $96M extension

The Winnipeg Jets signed star winger Kyle Connor to an eight-year contract extension carrying an average annual value of $12 million, the team announced Wednesday.

Connor was scheduled for unrestricted free agency next summer. His new deal is a significant raise from the $7.142 million he's earned annually since 2019. It's also the richest in franchise history.

Over the course of his current deal, Connor has racked up 454 points in 435 games, good for 13th in the NHL over that span. The 28-year-old registered a career-high 97 points last season, and earned a first-team All-Star nod.

The Jets drafted Connor 17th overall in 2015, and he broke into the NHL during the 2016-17 campaign.

Connor will be the highest-paid Jet by a significant margin when his new deal kicks in. Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck rank second with matching $8.5-million cap hits.

When Connor's $12-million AAV comes into effect, he'll be tied with Mitch Marner of the Vegas Golden Knights and Mikko Rantanen as the league's second-highest paid wingers. Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov recently signed an extension that will make him the NHL's highest-paid player at $17-million per year.

Winnipeg is projected to have approximately $27 million in cap space next summer after signing Connor long term, according to PuckPedia. The Jets won the Presidents' Trophy last season as the league's top regular-season team, but were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.

Their 2025-26 campaign begins Thursday against the Dallas Stars.