When it comes to value, the Winnipeg Jets have done a lot right on the contract front, and that matters even more as they try to bounce back from a highly disappointing 2025-26. Kevin Cheveldayoff has put together a roster without the kind of ugly deal that can sink a team’s flexibility, and three contracts stand out above the rest heading into 2026-27.
Gabriel Vilardi checks in at No. 3, and the appeal is easy to see. His six-year deal, which carries a $7.5 million annual average value, already looked sharp when he signed it last July, and the first season only made it look better.
Vilardi delivered a career-best 30 goals and 39 assists for 69 points in 82 games while handling a top-six role. He may not be the fastest skater or a pure sniper, but he’s a brutally efficient finisher with elite hands and a knack for doing damage from right around the net.
That skill set made him a major force on the power play, where he led the Jets with 13 power-play goals and 24 power-play points last season. Since arriving from the Los Angeles Kings in June 2023, he’s piled up 53 man-advantage points.
If he keeps staying on the ice - he’s missed just 11 regular-season games over the last two seasons after a much bumpier injury history earlier in his career - this deal should stay friendly all the way through his prime.
Josh Morrissey lands at No. 2, and his contract has become one of those rare old-school bargains that only looks better as the cap climbs. He’s making $6.25 million a year, a number that made a lot more sense when he signed ahead of 2019-20, back when the salary cap sat at $81.5 million and barely moved for years.
Morrissey wasn’t viewed as a top-10 defenseman at the time, but he’s been in that conversation for a while now. He’s been a top-end player on both sides of the puck since 2022-23, and at a time when the cap is up to $104 million, his deal feels almost absurdly light for a perennial Norris Trophy contender and a true leader.
Last season, the 31-year-old left-side fixture produced 55 points, including 14 goals and 41 assists, and represented Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics before an injury knocked him out of the opening game and kept him from returning. Even with that disappointment, his work for the Jets has been steady and massive: 262 points over the past four seasons, heavy minutes against elite opposition, and a contract that ranks tied for 59th among NHL defensemen.
At the top of the list sits Mark Scheifele, and it’s hard to argue with that call after the season he just had. His deal comes in at $8.5 million annually with five years left, and in a league where players with fewer points are making far more, it looks like a steal.
Scheifele finished last season with a career-high 103 points - 36 goals and 67 assists - and became the first 2.0 Jet to hit the 100-point mark. He was fifth in league scoring, yet tied for 60th in salary.
That gap says everything. The longtime alternate captain and first-line center has been one of the most reliable offensive players in the NHL for years, with eight point-per-game-plus seasons and 902 points in 961 career games.
He’s also delivered in the playoffs, posting 49 points in 53 postseason games. At 33, he’s at the age when most players start sliding, but he seems to be leaning the other way instead.
He spent part of the 2026 Winter Olympic break in Florida working with Adam Oates, and Scheifele made it clear in February how he views the aging process:
“Age is just a number, you know what I mean,” Scheifele said in February. “A lot of players over the years have proven that.
It’s about how you take care of yourself now that makes you better for the future. Every day, you’re getting your sleep, naps, recovery stuff, massage, chiro… in terms of working on your game and making sure that you’re sharp at all times.”
“As you get older, the statistics show that you start to slow down. But if your hands don’t slow down, no one can stop you,” he continued.
(From ‘Scheifele stays focused,’ Winnipeg Free Press, Feb. 26, 2026).
Even if Scheifele doesn’t touch 100 points again in 2026-27, his contract still stands as the best value on the Jets’ books right now.
In Other News...
Jets Are Fast Tracking A Top Swedish Prospect For A Reason
Alfons Freij is getting an earlier look at Winnipegs development pipeline than many Swedish prospects do. The Jets 2024 second-round pick will leave Timr IK in the Swedish Hockey League and move to North America for the 2026-27 season, the latest sign that Winnipeg sees the young defenseman as part of its longer-term plan. The decision comes after conversations with Jets management and coaches, and it gives the organization a chance to get Freij into its system before he has spent too much more time in Sweden.
Freij is still likely to face a familiar rookie track once he arrives, with a training camp battle for a roster spot ahead of him and a probable start with the Manitoba Moose so he can adjust to the North American game. For the Jets, the timing matters as much as the player profile: bringing in a mobile Swedish blueliner early creates another layer of competition on the back end and a clearer development path, even if the final step into the NHL will still have to be earned. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Prospect Zach Nehring Is Chasing Size Without Losing His Edge
Zach Nehring spent the offseason trying to get bigger without turning himself into a different player, which is the kind of balancing act that matters for a Winnipeg Jets prospect who still has plenty to prove. The Western Michigan forward added 12 pounds as he prepares for his junior season, working with coach Pat Ferschweiler on a plan built around strength, mobility and the sort of daily discipline that can make a noticeable difference once the pace of college hockey picks back up.
For Nehring, the point of the weight gain is not just to look more mature on paper but to find out how the added size plays in real games, against real opponents, when the season starts to ask more of him. The Jets will be watching that progression closely, since development at this stage is as much about preserving an edge as it is about building one, and Nehrings next step will tell them plenty about how ready he is to keep climbing. [Read more 🡒]