The first NHL buyout window, the entry draft, and then free agency all come into play over the next two to three weeks.
But it will be interesting to see how a non-time sensitive item plays out on Kevin Cheveldayoff’s to-do list.
I could be wrong, but with the busiest stretch of the NHL’s business seasons fast approaching, it would seem to make sense that finalizing Cole Perfetti’s second contract is not among the priorities on the radar of the Winnipeg Jets GM.
But it will be an important negotiation to determine whether it’s in the best interests of both parties to go long-term or agree on a bridge deal before camp starts in the fall.
While an argument could be made for either arrangement, I’ll throw my two cents worth in on the latter being a more likely outcome.
Perfetti did score 19 goals this season, almost doubling the combined total of his first two injury-shortened years.
And another positive is that the 22-year-old forward was available for all 82 games for the first time, even though he was healthy scratched on 11 occasions.
But 14 of those 19 goals were scored in the first 40 games. A 23-game dry spell to start the second half of the schedule, which included just two assists over that stretch, certainly played a part in Cheveldayoff making the deals to acquire Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli.
So why wouldn’t Perfetti and his advisers be more comfortable with a contract along the same lines as the two-year, $6.875-million deal Gabe Vilardi agreed to last summer? As opposed to a long-term deal that looks good now, but attaches considerable risk to being “team friendly” two or three or four years down the road?
Spend the next two seasons improving the resume and expanding the body of work, then both team and player have a clearer vision of how to chart a path over the following eight years.
Because there should be a lot less grey area approaching the summer of 2026 than there is in the here and now.
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