Connor signs 8-year, $96 million deal with Jets

Kyle Connor signed an eight-year, $96 million contract with the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday. The contract begins next season and has an average annual value of $12 million.

The 28-year-old forward is the last of a seven-year contract worth $49.98 million ($7.14 million AAV) that he signed on September 28, 2019, and could have become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

Winnipeg will play its season opener at home against the Dallas Stars on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, Victory+).

Connor finished seventh in the NHL last season with 97 points and tied for seventh with 41 goals. He led the Jets to the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) in 13 games.

It was his second 40-goal season (47; 2021-22) and his fourth straight 30-goal season. Since becoming a full-time NHL player in 2017-18, Connor has scored at least 25 goals in each of his eight seasons, and his 282 goals over that span rank eighth in the League.

Selected by Winnipeg in the first round (17th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft, Connor has 582 points (284 goals, 298 assists) in 613 regular season games and 49 points (20 goals, 29 assists) in 58 playoff games.