Friday, July 8, 2016

Winnipeg Jets Sign Mark Scheifele to Eight Year Deal




The Winnipeg Jets and Mark Scheifele agreed on an eight year, 49 million-dollar contract on Friday. 

Scheifele, 23, was the Jets first draft pick following their relocation from Atlanta in 2011. He led the team in goals with 29 as well as having a plus-16 rating, both career highs for the center. 

The number seven pick in the 2011 National Hockey League Draft said, “I am definitely happy with my progression, but I know there is a long way to go. I am going to continue to work on that. I know signing this deal realistically does nothing. It is all what happens on the ice that matters, and that is what I am going to continue to do. Continue to work on my game, continue to be the best player that I can be and work to be the best player that I can be. That is my goal, to be one of the elite players in the league one of the best players in the league.”  

Jets general manager, Ken Cheveldayoff noted that it was important to get a long term deal done with Scheifele. 

He said, “We have been able to watch him, obviously, very closely since he has been on the NHL side of the Jets, and the commitment level on the ice, the commitment level off the ice, the qualities that he embodies just as a human being and as a person, we were really excited that we were able to get this deal done today.”

Scheifele added that knowing defenseman Dustin Byfuglien was committed to Winnipeg helped with the negotiations. 

In regards to Byfuglien, Scheifele said, “He is one of the best defenseman in the league. To have that guy shooting pucks, possibly giving him pucks to shoot, and hopefully it does not hit you, it definitely gets you very excited.”

He added, “And having him on the back end too. He is a very good protector. I know one time in L.A., I hit [Los Angeles Kings Forward, Trevor] Lewis, he came bolting in, and that is definitely someone you want on your team. So, definitely, him signing that five-year extension [in February] was huge for me.”
 
In 227 games, Scheifele has scored 58 goals and 87 assists over five seasons with the Jets. His 61 points in 71 games this past season, were a career high for him. 

Cheveldayoff did not comment on the negotiations with restricted free agent Jacob Trouba. The 22-year-old defenseman was the Jets first round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft. 

Cheveldayoff said, “We have got several RFAs to get locked up here as the summer progresses, and we are going to continue our work methodically in that fashion.”
 
On Thursday the Jets, signed Mathieu Perrault to a four-year, 16.5 million-dollar contract extension, that runs through the 2020-2021 NHL season. 

No comments:

Post a Comment