The Winnipeg Jets have found their next elite defenceman in Dylan Samberg

VANCOUVER — Dylan Samberg is having a breakout season in every sense of the phrase.  The Winnipeg Jets’ defenceman’s performances against the Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken are prime examples of the player he has become, a top-tier, do-it-all defenceman. 

Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)

His teammates are taking notice as well. 

“I think if they gave out ‘Most Improved Player’, he’d probably be at the top of the list,” Dylan DeMelo told me after Monday’s practice in Vancouver. 

Josh Morrissey has been elite for years on Winnipeg’s top pairing. Samberg is proving this season that he’s this organization’s next elite blueliner.

Dylan Samberg has become critical to the Jets’ success

The 26-year-old defender has ascended to heights that seemed lofty coming into this season. There were plenty of questions regarding whether or not he could handle a top-four role. 

The Winnipeg Jets are 36-9-2 when Dylan Samberg starts and finishes the game this season, and they went 11-9-2 without him in his injury absence.  

He has become an all-situations monster for Winnipeg. In the Jets’ biggest game of the season to date, against Dallas on March 14, Samberg opens the scoring at 5v5 and later helped kill the entire two minutes of the Stars’ only power play of the game, blocking shots and breaking up plays for the entirety of it.

Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)

The very next night, he scores the game-winner in overtime against the Kraken, picks up an assist earlier in the game, and flat-out dominates his even-strength minutes throughout the night. 

“He can be a horse for us when he plays like that,” Arniel said after the 3-2 OT win in Seattle.   

Even in a sheltered role as he broke into the league, Samberg has always been a strong defender. He’s very mobile for his size (6’4, 216), has a great stick, shuts a ton of plays down off the rush, is strong along the wall, and is the Jets’ most effective penalty killer. 

This season his defensive game has remained at a high level, and it has been his poise with the puck and offensive game that has taken a huge step forward in an elevated role. 

“And the biggest thing too, outside of his amazing defensive work that he has done is with that layer of offensive game that comes with time in the league and confidence and repetition,” DeMelo said. “He’s done a great job and he’s got so much more room to grow too, he’s not a finished product by any means.”

Demelo isn’t the only one noticing Samberg’s play, either. Luke Schenn joined the team just under two weeks ago at the Trade Deadline, and in the short time he’s been here, he’s been incredibly impressed with the level that Dylan Samberg has played at. 

“I feel like, most guys in the league, you kind of got the book on for the most part, but he surprised me in the best way. I knew he was good, and he’s better than I thought,” Schenn said on Monday. 

“He’s got a huge ceiling, and he’s gonna be a huge part of things here for sure.” 

Samberg’s pending RFA status looms large

All of this success is coming at the perfect time for Samberg, who finds himself in a contract year as a pending restricted free agent (RFA). At 26, this is the right time for him to cash in on a long-term extension, one that the Jets should have no issues giving him. 

He’s given the Jets a new dynamic on the blueline behind Josh Morrissey. 

Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)

“We knew when we lost Brenden Dillon last year that there was a void there, and he’s come in there and just knocked it outta the park,” DeMelo said. “He’s always been a really good defender, he’s a guy that, when he’s playing 14 minutes/15 minutes, you appreciate him, but then when he’s playing 20, you get so much more of an appreciation of his game.”

What could this next contract look like? Big-ticket contracts for defencemen typically get handed out to those who post a ton of points, which Samberg has 17 in 47 games so far this season. If both sides agree to a long-term deal, look for it to be anywhere from $5 to $6.5 million in average annual value (AAV). That prediction, of course, could all change with a deep playoff run in which Samberg continues his outstanding level of play. 

A contract extension over the long term will assure the Jets they are getting that level of play on each of their top two pairings for the foreseeable future.