The Winnipeg Jets and forward Mason Appleton have avoided arbitration, agreeing to terms on a three-year contract extension.
Ken Wiebe Sportsnet This isn’t the type of move that is going to whip a fan base into a frenzy, not from one that’s been begging for a headline-grabbing transaction since the season ended on May 1. Nor is it going to solve many of the real or perceived problems the Winnipeg Jets are looking to attack this off season. But for a franchise looking to bolster its forward group, having clarity with Mason Appleton is important for general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff. With Appleton and the Jets avoiding arbitration on Sunday, after the two sides agreed on a deal that provides a raise and some security for Appleton (three years, with an AAV of $2.167 million), the organisation was able to lock up a home=grown winger who is just over a year removed from his best season as a professional. The Jets never wanted to lose Appleton to the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft in the first place, but Cheveldayoff wasn’t interested in paying the inflated price set by Ron Francis to keep him. As is often the case in our social media generation, reaction was swift and varied from this is a good deal for the Jets to why in the world would the Jets provide a significant bump in salary and term for a fourth-liner.
The truth is probably located somewhere in the middle and there are several reasons why a deal of this nature is important for the Jets, who have yet to land a key free agent or make a trade that would represent significant improvement on the personnel side of things.
One of the many issues the Jets endured last season was having a third line that lacked its usual identity of being hard to play against and chipping in offensively on a fairly regular basis. Centre Adam Lowry has been the constant in that role, but he had a revolving door of line mates last season, none of whom were able to shine or find much chemistry. So it was not a surprise the Jets went out and re-acquired Appleton from the Kraken for a somewhat reduced price — at least compared to what it would have cost to prevent Francis from selecting him in the summer of 2021. No, Appleton didn’t come back and immediately produce the way he had when he managed to set career-bests with 12 goals and 23 points in 56 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign. But that didn’t mean Appleton didn’t fit in well, he just didn’t have the numbers (two goals, two assists in 19 games) to show it. He’s a strong fore-checking presence, adds some size and his speed allows him to take the puck wide, while his willingness to drive to the blue paint is another obvious plus. He’s also a guy that can be used on the penalty kill, a trait that became even more important after the departure of Andrew Copp to the New York Rangers in the other key deadline deal that was made. With Appleton under contract, the last remaining restricted free agent that will play for the Jets in North America this season is centre David Gustafsson and that deal is expected to come in around $1 million in AAV (since winger Kristian Vesalainen is set to play overseas, though the Jets retain his rights). Appleton, who will be 27 in January, is a draft-and-develop success story, a late-blooming sixth rounder that ended up becoming an NHL regular. It’s true he’s been used primarily in a checking-line role, but there have been flashes where Appleton has shown signs of morphing into more of a middle-six player, though he'd need to do so on a more consistent basis to take the next step in his development.
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