Winnipeg Jets Morning Papers

Note: Yesterday was all about Kyle Connor as the Jets locked down their top winger to an eight-year contract extension. We heard from 81 (here) as well as Mark Scheifele (here) and head coach Scott Arniel (here) as the team still had to practice as they prepared for tonight’s season/home opener. But as I said the big focus was on Kyle Connor who clearly didn’t have any interest in testing free agency.

Note II: It’s a Jets game day which I haven’t written in 176 days as Winnipeg plays host to the Stars. With the expectation that Jonathan Toews is healthy and ready to go it will necessitate one move by the home team to get to a 23-man roster. Morning skate for Winnipeg gets underway at 10:30 AM CDT so stay tuned for the pre-game report to ensure you’re up-to-date on the latest. Puck drop is at 7 PM CDT.

Note III: It will be a busy day for us as we cover morning skate, followed by us doing a special edition of the Illegal Curve Hockey Show live from Cityplace (join us here) and then coverage of the game followed by our first Illegal Curve Post-Game Show of the season (join us here).

Note IV: The Moose were also in action yesterday as they wind down their training camp. They reduced their roster by eight players, most of whom reported to their ECHL affiliate in Norfolk. The team did have Ville Heinola and Walker Duehr join them for the first time. Check out the training camp report here. They will be back on the ice at hockey for all centre for the final day of training camp. They open their season at home on Friday night.

Jets news:

Winnipeg Free Press: Key storylines to follow as puck drops in Winnipeg Jets 15th season. (Paywall). Mike and Kenny combined on this season preview looking at a number of topics including: 1) External doubts. 2) Strong start, special season – the sequel? 3) Olympic fire. 4) Can Toews turn back the clock? 5) Life on the farm. 6) What’s the frequency, Helly? 7) Box office. 8) Captain’s contract. 

Winnipeg Free Press: Jets sign Connor in $12-M, eight-year contract extension. (Paywall). Wieber wrote about the big extension.

Winnipeg Sun: Kyle Connor’s contract extension good for ‘the vibe in the room’. There was certainly a lot of joy in joyland.

The Athletic Winnipeg: 10 bold predictions for the 2025-26 Jets: Playoff seed, Toews’ games total and more. (Paywall). Murat wasn’t kidding when he said bold. He lets you know: 1) How many games Toews will play. 2) Morrissey finishes sixth in Norris voting. 3) Major midseason trade is coming. 4) Salomonsson ends season on roster. 5) Jets will have three 30 goal scorers. 6) Connor will sign an eight-year, 12 million extension (which he got right). 7) Winnipeg will lose one more homegrown draft pick by season’s end. 8) Jets finish 3rd in Central with 99 points. 9) Better prepared for playoffs. 10) Jets get playoff revenge against Stars in round 1.

The Athletic Winnipeg: Jets, Kyle Connor agree to 8-year extension that carries AAV of $12 million. (Paywall). Murat shared his thoughts on the deal which was announced on Wednesday.

Sportsnet: With Kyle Connor extension, ‘top-notch’ Jets lock up yet another core piece. A good breakdown of all the media we did yesterday.

Jets video:

NHL Network: NHL Tonight crew breaks down the 8-year contract extension for Kyle Connor. Kevin Weekes and Mike Johnson talk about the big news of the day.

TSN: Kyle Connor sits down with Darren Dreger following extension with Jets. Fresh off signing his eight-year extension with the Jets, Kyle Connor sat down with TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger to chat about his decision to commit to Winnipeg long-term, his relationship with Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck, getting to know Jonathan Toews, what he thinks about setting a specific target for goals this season and more.

Sportsnet: Why Connor decided to ink eight-year extension with Jets. Sean Reynolds catches up with Winnipeg Jets’ Kyle Connor after signing an eight-year extension with the organization to discuss what the deciding factors were for him and his close connections with his teammates and the city of Winnipeg.