“Players don’t want to play in Winnipeg” is a talking point we’ve heard since the team moved from Atlanta to the Manitoba capital.
Within a 24 hour span, the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Jets conducted some tidy business, signing two key players who were set to hit the open market on July 1st.
On Wednesday morning, Winnipeg inked veteran winger Alex Iafallo to a three-year contract extension worth an AAV of $3,666,666.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Last month Iafallo spoke with Free Press journalist Ken Wiebe, indicating he was hoping to get a deal done with the Jets. Now the 31-year-old is officially penned in on the roster for three more seasons. By doing so he’s helped dispel the narrative that nobody wants to play in the city.
“Pumped, I’m excited. Obviously wanted to stay here, such a great organization, city, fans, and just the team alone. It’s been a fun year, and I just wanted to stay, and I’m pumped to get it done before playoffs for sure,” Iafallo told reporters after morning skate on Wednesday.
The undrafted forward from Eden, New York, has played in a fourth-line checking role this season but has shown his versatility when called upon to move up in a top-six role when injuries have sidelined players.
He’s served as an excellent replacement on the first line alongside forwards Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele since Gabriel Villardi stepped out of the lineup against Buffalo on March 23rd with an upper-body injury.
Iafallo registered 15 goals and 31 points this season and was only one of six players on the roster to play all 82 games this year. He also wasn’t the only one to commit to Winnipeg for the foreseeable future.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence (Illegal Curve)
Thursday morning, The Athletic’s Murat Ates broke the news that the Jets had signed top-four defenceman Neal Pionk to a long term extension although he didn’t have the terms of the deal which turned out to be a six-year, $42M contract ($7M AAV).
“We love it here, and probably most importantly, my family loves it here too… the extended family is pretty close. This feels like home to me, didn’t want to leave,” Pionk said post-practice Thursday at Canada Life Centre.
Ever since coming over to Winnipeg in 2019 after the New York Rangers shipped him and a first-round draft pick out in return for Jacob Trouba, Pionk has found a home right here in Manitoba. But looking back, Pionk said he couldn’t have imagined things turning out as well as they have.
“To see that we’re here is pretty crazy to believe,” he said. “I was just breaking into the NHL, really. I had one full season under my belt, and now we’re here making a cup run, so it’s really fun.”
After coming off a tough season last year where Pionk mourned the death of his best friend Adam Johnson, the 29-year-old has rallied back for an excellent season complemented by Dylan Samberg on the second defensive pair.
In 69 games this year, Pionk notched 39 points, including 10 goals — among them being his top-shelf slapshot goal Wednesday night against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 82.
With Pionk and Iafallo re-upping with the Jets, four UFAs remain on Winnipeg’s roster — Nik Ehlers, Mason Appleton, Brandon Tanev, and Haydn Fleury — but the biggest takeaway is the fact that players do, in fact, want to sign deals with term to play in Winnipeg.
