Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff met with Nikolaj Ehlers agent; prepared to pitch for him to be a “Jet for life”

One of the biggest themes of the Jets exit interviews have been players expressing their hope that Nikolaj Ehlers would be signing a contract in Winnipeg rather than testing free agency which he is able to do come July 1st as a UFA.

Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff was asked about the dynamic winger today during the end of season media availability and he had this to say:

“I did get a chance, Nikolaj’s agent was in town here, we met for probably about two hours on Monday. Obviously Nikolaj’s been a player that’s grown up in our organization, drafted, developed him, someone that we think the world of. We obviously went into this year eyes wide open that he was a potential unrestricted free agent, players earn that opportunity. When we get a chance to talk to him, we’ll put our best foot forward with him to try to make our case to be one of those guys that can be a unique ‘Jet for life’ type players and we’ll see where it all goes. The relationship is great. He did contribute to the success of this organization on many fronts and we hope that, that’s something that could continue.”

He did say if Ehlers goes in another direction then they will need to pivot accordingly.