The Winnipeg Jets made a buzzer-beater on Tuesday.
The Jets announced the signing of defenceman Tyrel Bauer just ahead of the June 1 entry-level signing deadline.
If the deal wasn’t completed by Wednesday, the Jets would have lost Bauer’s rights, allowing him to re-enter the NHL Draft in July.
The Jets retain his rights with a three-year entry-level contract that will pay him an average of $925,000 per season if he’s at the NHL level.
The Jets selected the 20-year-old in the sixth round, 164th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Bauer is currently playing his fourth full season with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. The T-Birds team captain scored five goals with five assists in only 32 regular season games last season. He was limited by a knee injury that forced him to miss more than three months of action.
The Alberta product added another four assists in 18 playoff contests this spring. He still has one year left of junior eligibility as an overager.
Bauer’s Thunderbirds play the Kamloops Blazers in game 7 of the Western Conference final later on Tuesday night.