Cole Perfetti is slated to deliver two more years with the Winnipeg Jets with the hopes of reigniting his career and helping them come up with a massive run to the playoff stage. The forward signs a two-year contract with the team worth $6.5 million as he aims to reinvigorate his game with the Jets in the coming season.

Reports claim that the Jets and Perfetti were initially unable to work out a long-term deal that would eventually see him sign a max contract had it worked out well. Instead, the team has found a great way to bring him in for the years to come with a bridge-styled contract, which should work out the same as a max deal but on a different operational status.

Pefetti mostly sat on the bench in the previous seasons after falling out of favor from former Jets coach Rick Bowness in the late campaign with postseason implications being considered in the game. That time, Perfetti only played one game in the playoffs, which also happened to be last game of the postseason.

Redeeming His Worth

Perfetti finished the previous season with 38 points off 19 goals and 19 assists in 71 games. He finished his third season well despite not being used in the later stages of the season, which proved to be pivotal in his value in the offseason as he entered the market as a restricted free agent.

Selected 10th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, Perfetti now seeks a fresh start under new coach Scott Arniel. It cannot be denied he will be making big strides in the season as he hopes to gain back his minutes and show that he has what it takes to deliver impressive performances and score well in the game as he did last season.

After all, Perfetti is one of the youngest players in the squad, being just three seasons in the NHL. His impressive game was definitely on the rise had it not been for the late benching in the previous season, and it is a no-brainer that he could have made a massive impact in the playoffs for the Jets if he was given a chance to play in those games.

Making the Most of the Bridge Contract

The bridge contract allows Perfetti to play like he has a promising stay with the team. He will be making a total of $3 million this season and $3.5 million in 2025-26. After that, he will become a restricted free agent once more, but this time with arbitration rights in the summer of 2026, which would allow him to come up with a much bigger deal with the team in the long run.

Coming off a rough third season in Winnipeg, Perfetti has struck a promising deal that would see him come up with an impressive position to negotiate in the long run. For Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, this is a show of promise that he hopes to keep the forward in the long run.

“The hardest part is that there’s different levels of contract negotiations in this league,” Cheveldayoff said. “RFAs (who) don’t have arbitration rights. RFAs coming out of their first contract generally don’t have arbitration rights and that becomes a sticking point sometimes. When players do have arbitration and they file, there’s a deadline and there’s a mechanism in place that contracts follow and you work towards that.”