- Cole Perfetti signed a five-year, $30 million contract with the Jets on Wednesday
- The $6 million cap hit deal keeps him in Winnipeg through 2030-31 and cancels his July 20 arbitration hearing
- Read below for the terms, Perfetti’s stats, and what it means for Winnipeg
Cole Perfetti and the Winnipeg Jets found their number before a judge had to.
The 24-year-old forward signed a five-year, $30 million contract on Wednesday, a $6 million cap hit that runs through the 2030-31 season. Elliotte Friedman was first with the terms:
The deal wipes out an arbitration hearing that was set for July 20. Perfetti filed for arbitration earlier this month, and both sides had been staring down a case they clearly preferred to avoid. Now they don’t have to argue about his worth in a room. They agreed on it.
Perfetti put up 32 points last season, 12 goals and 20 assists across 68 games. The counting numbers dipped from the year before, but Winnipeg drafted him 10th overall in 2020 and has watched him grow into a middle-six piece who can play up the lineup when the offense needs a spark.
He owns 157 points in 290 career regular-season games. He also has a flair for the moment, which Jets fans already know:
Locking him up for five years gives Winnipeg cost certainty on a player who isn’t finished developing. A bridge deal would have set up another negotiation in two or three years, right as he hits his prime. General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff went the other way and bought the middle years now.
It also clears one of the last big items off Winnipeg’s summer checklist. Perfetti was the arbitration case hanging over the roster, and that question is answered. He stays, the Jets keep their young scorer, and the July 20 date on the calendar means nothing now.
