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Jets Sign Morgan Barron, 2x$1.35 million, 3 contracts left |
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The Winnipeg Jets signed winger Morgan Barron to a two-year contract worth an AAV of $1.35 million. Barron, who was acquired from the New York Rangers in the Andrew Copp trade, played in his first full season in the NHL with the Jets last season.
Playing the majority of his time in the bottom-six, Barron demonstrated that he was a good two-way option for the Jets. Recording 21 points in 70 games is a solid start, but the Jets would like to see a bit more offense out of him, though the competition for ice time among wingers got a bit tougher this offseason.
Barron is only 24 and is just coming into his own at the NHL level and could prove to make great value of this deal. His 70 games in the NHL last year was the only consistent amount of playing time he has gotten since leaving the NCAA. Since turning pro his previous games played high was 25 with the Hartford Wolf Pack before being traded. Consistency proved to be valuable to him.
Getting this deal done was tidy work for GM Cheveldayoff, now the Jets have three contracts left to sign.
Gabe Vilardi is the big one. Coming off a strong season scoring 41 points in 63 games, the 23 year old is going to command a pretty penny. Long term is unlikely with Vilardi's deal, as the team will want to see how he blossoms in Winnipeg, and Vilardi will want to maximize his value and have another strong year or two before cashing in, but there is no reason to think a deal won't get done. I would expect a two-year deal in the ballpark of $4.5 million per season.
Rasmus Kupari should be another relatively simple deal to get done. At this point in his career he is a fourth-line center and shouldn't be looking for much more than what Barron got. He has a lot of potential and could end up having a big year, but he hasn't earned a big payday yet in his young career.
Logan Stanley is and interesting case. He has the size the Jets want, but spent a lot of time injured or scratched last season. A change of scenery would make sense for the player and the team at this point. The Jets have a lot of players waiting to make the jump on the back end, and Stanley is unlikely to be given another big chance with the Jets.
Time will tell with the remaining RFA's, but the Jets still have $7.2 million to work with, which is plenty for these three. The future of Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Scheifele are still to be determined, but they could have major implications, depending on the return, on what the cap situation looks like. Getting these RFA's locked up should be a priority so the Jets know exactly what they are working with.
Winnipeg Jets Blogger • 
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