It was a stunning piece of sporting news in our little burg on Monday — an announcement that had us checking the calendars to ensure it wasn’t April 1, and that, frankly, smacked us in the face like these recently cool nights of autumn.
But when it was quickly realized that the tandem signings of stars Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck to identical seven-year, $59.5 million contracts were indeed legit, you got the feeling the Winnipeg Jets aren’t fooling around.
No, the signings are a beacon to everyone in hockey — and especially in our market — and a clear message that there will be no rebuild this year, or for the next five for that matter, in downtown Winnipeg.
In locking up the team’s two biggest potential free agents long before any deadline — trade or otherwise — GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and his staff pushed their chips to the middle of the table, and they did so with a poker face, especially in light of the covert nature of negotiations, where not one rumour was purported out of any other city, especially down east.
That, in and of itself, made Monday’s news that much more shocking, but also exciting for Jets fans and the group inside the team’s dressing room … that the quest for a Stanley Cup this year and likely for the next handful is genuine, justified and certainly expected.
To the two players, these contract extensions mean security and commitment — both from them and to them. In speaking Tuesday, each used phrases like “Jets for life” and “lifetime Jet” to acknowledge their permanence.
To their teammates, the signings are a vivid, lucid and tangible signal of an in-it-to-win-it mindset. Assistant captain Josh Morrissey verbalized it best Tuesday when he said, “It sends a message that we’re trying to build something great here.”
Indeed, Monday’s announcement was a surprise that had us checking the date on the calendar, but what we know now about it is the Jets’ commitment to winning is no joke, this year and beyond.
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