The Winnipeg Jets are back in the NHL news this afternoon. After acquiring defenceman Dylan Coghlan from the Carolina Hurricanes for future considerations yesterday, this morning the Jets have re-signed 2 of their restricted free agents. David Gustafsson signed a 2-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $835,000, while Logan Stanley is also returning on a 2-year deal, with an AAV of $1,250,000.

Jets fans are still waiting for the team to make a big move this off-season, including what they will do with forwards Nikolaj Ehlers and Rutger McGroarty. Before today, the Jets made 6 signings and 1 trade in the off-season, but most, if not all of the players involved are considered as depth pieces. While Gustafsson and Stanley played a noteable amount of games for the Jets last season, they might also be considered as players to help with the Jets depth. There’s still some big questions the Jets will need to answer this off-season, but the extensions of Gustafsson and Stanley were one step in their overall plan.

Beginning with David Gustafsson, the Jets 2nd round pick from the 2018 NHL draft. The 24-year old from Sweden might be the Jets 4th line centre in the 2024-25 season because of the impact he made in the lineup last season. The style of play that Gustafsson plays can be described as “sound”, and he’s that two-way centre that most teams have in the bottom 6. There may be some upside to Gustafsson’s game still, and he looks to continue to prove himself in the Jets lineup with whatever role he may be given.

Shifting over to Logan Stanley, who is best known around the NHL as being one of the tallest players in the league. Standing at 6’7″, Stanley is a shutdown defenceman, but hasn’t played up to his 1st round potential since being drafted in 2016. Seeing the reactions on social media to Stanley’s extension, fans are wondering why Stanley is being given another chance to prove himself. The Jets appear to have plenty of depth pieces at defence now, whether it’s from recent signings or upcoming young defence looking to make the Jets roster. Stanley’s usage next season remains unknown, but it’ll be interesting to see how he plays under seemingly more pressure.

The most notable remaining restricted free agent for the Jets to officially announce a contract extension with is Cole Perfetti. A qualifying offer has already been made to Perfetti, and it should be just a matter of time before his extension is announced. Among the other remaining Jets free agents, they have either also been offered qualifying offers, or they have decided to enter the open market to sign with another team. The NHL announced the 14 players who will be going to salary arbitration yesterday, none of which are Jets, meaning that the remaining offers the Jets have sent are on their way to being completed.

Overall, Gustafsson and Stanley are two players that will have a lot of eyes on them next season. For Gustafsson, it will be to see if he can be an everyday 4th line centre who can do what good bottom 6 forwards do offensively and defensively. For Stanley, these next 2 years seem to be the “final” chance for him to show that he was deserving of being picked in the 1st round of the 2016 draft. His size is his best strength, and if Stanley uses his size to be an effective defender and one who plays that strong shutdown role, then there should be a spot in the lineup for him moving forward. The NHL off-season is still in it’s early stages, so we’ll have to wait and see what the Jets next move is now that there seems to have been plenty of “smaller” moves already completed.