The Winnipeg Jets have signed RFA defenceman Dylan Samberg to a three-year, $5.75 million AAV contract extension, according to a league source. The contract avoids arbitration, which would have resulted in a one-year contract that made Samberg an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Samberg, 26, emerged as a cornerstone on Winnipeg’s blue line last season, playing big minutes on the Jets’ penalty kill and on their second pair. He has a great stick, gaps well, and ends plays quickly in the defensive zone, while also utilizing his size and reading of the play to get in shooting and passing lanes. He also scored 20 points in 60 games — 19 of those at even strength — which is a total that undersells the shutdown defenceman’s all-around impact.
There was interest in a long-term extension from both the Jets and Samberg, although the price was a sticking point. Samberg’s $5.75 million AAV buys two UFA years; it would have cost Winnipeg much more to sign him to a seven or eight-year pact. He’s eligible for UFA status as soon as 2028, when he’ll be 29 years old.
This should earn him a much bigger payday: Players tend to get paid for multiple years of top-four excellence, whereas Samberg’s breakout season happened in 2024-25. Meanwhile, the salary cap is scheduled to increase from a maximum of $95.5 million this season to a maximum of $113.5 million in 2028-29. Winnipeg is projected to enter the 2025-2026 season with approximately $4.8 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia.
Samberg will likely return to top-four shutdown minutes alongside fellow Hermantown, Minn., product Neal Pionk, who has been a great mentor as Samberg has developed his all-around NHL game.
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