Report: Winnipeg Jets Never Offered Perfetti Long-Term Deal

Cole Perfetti and the Winnipeg Jets finally agreed on a two-year bridge deal this past week, after the beginning of training camp. But why weren't they able to work out a long-term deal, even though the player was interested in one?

According to insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Jets didn't seem to want one.

"To my knowledge, the Jets never came to him with a long-term offer" - @TheFourthPeriod on Cole Perfetti's contract negotiations.

David Pagnotta joined @hustlerama on today's program to discuss Perfetti's contract and other RFA news.

Full conversation: https://t.co/pupbrhRBcF pic.twitter.com/lG5vf4wYcb
— Winnipeg Sports Talk (@SportsTalkWPG) September 24, 2024

Pagnotta says the team "never came to (Perfetti) with a long-term offer. It was always hovering around two years, I believe...

"I think you wanna see how he does with more responsibility, you wanna see how he performs with more ice time, more accountability in terms of being able to produce and being counted on to produce. So I think it makes sense, because we really don't know where he's at."

Some of the hesitation likely stems from Perfetti's performance in the second half last season, when he went on a 23-game goalless drought, and even was relegated to the bench on a total of 15 healthy scratches (including playoffs). He finished the year with 19 goals and 19 assists in 71 games, but only 13:35 of ice-time on average.

He was also injury-prone in his first two seasons, another risk factor, though he seemed to allay that fear this past campaign.

At the same time, being only a two-year deal, and with Perfetti set to get full-time top-six minutes and power play responsibilities, he has a chance to take his game to the next level and capitalize big-time on his next extension, when the overall cap is even higher.