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.
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