Winnipeg
Jets winger Kyle Connor is entering the final season of his contract
and will be UFA-eligible next July.
The 28-year-old would draw plenty
of interest if he hit the open market.
Since
his 2017-18 sophomore campaign, Connor has exceeded the 30-goal
plateau seven times, including two 40-plus goal seasons, the latest
being in 2024-25. He sits eighth among
all NHL scorers
with
282 total goals during that period.
Connor's
contract status has been overshadowed by that of Edmonton Oilers
center Connor McDavid. The 28-year-old McDavid would be the biggest
name in next year's UFA market, prompting some pundits to ponder
potential
destinations
for
the Edmonton Oilers' captain.
Nevertheless,
NHL insider Frank Seravalli recently
mused on Bleacher Report about
where Connor might land if he tests the market next summer. He
believed the Detroit Red Wings might be a good fit, suggesting they
could use the scoring punch the Michigan native would bring to their
roster.
Seravalli
doesn't discount the possibility of the Jets re-signing Connor. While
they lost right winger Nikolaj Ehlers this summer to free agency, they
surprised the hockey world two years ago by re-signing goaltender
Connor Hellebuyck and center Mark Scheifele to identical seven-year
contract extensions.
Like
McDavid, Connor can sign an extension before his UFA eligibility next
July. And like the Oilers captain, the longer the Jets winger goes
without a new deal, the greater the conjecture about his future with
his current club.
Turning
to the Dallas Stars, Sean Shapiro of DLLS Sports indicated they
looked into what the return could be for Jason Robertson. Appearing
on The
Sick Podcast – The Eye Test” on
Aug. 12, he
suggested they would've sought something that would've involved a roster player
who could replace some of the points they would've lost by moving the
26-year-old left winger. He also felt he could be part of a bigger deal.
Robertson
is eligible to become an RFA with arbitration rights
next July and is two years from UFA eligibility. He surfaced in
the rumor mill
following
the Stars' elimination from the Western Conference final in May.
Shapiro
also indicated that the Stars had kicked around the idea of pursuing
Mitch Marner before the right winger joined the Vegas Golden Knights on
June 30 in a sign-and-trade situation.
Had
the Stars made this move, the amount of money required to pull that
off would've meant making a cost-cutting trade. Shapiro suggested
that it might've involved trading Robertson for prospects.
It
doesn't appear as though the Stars are peddling Robertson. Shapiro
pointed out that Glen Gulutzan, the Stars' new coach, could help
the winger improve his postseason performance.
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