On Monday evening, with an arbitration hearing pending, Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dylan Samberg boarded a flight from Duluth to Toronto as he and his agent prepared to enter a courtroom ready for the unknown.
As a restricted free agent on an expiring contract, the 26-year-old Samberg officially concluded his current deal on June 30 and hit restricted free agency on July 1.
Photo by Stephen Brashear/USA Today
With no agreement in place for an extension over the past season, Samberg’s team of representatives – including his player agent Pete Rutili – opted to file for player salary arbitration – a process that involves the team and player submitting numbers to an independent arbitrator, who hears both sides of the argument and provides a ruling in the form of a contract.
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Feelings are often hurt, players’ weaknesses are typically exploited, while teams are known to lowball their offers in advance of such hearings. This process tends to sour player/team relationships and drives players away from the organization down the road – see Jacob Trouba and Andrew Copp, for instance.
Samberg, whose hearing was scheduled for July 30 in Toronto, boarded his flight and made it to the site of the NHL’s head offices in advance of the Wednesday meeting.
But according to the now four-year pro, the two sides struck and agreement in the late night hours on Tuesday.
“There are some nerves that go into it, especially as you get down to the deadline and what not, but I’m glad we were able to agree on a deal and get things moving forward,” Samberg said of finding common ground.
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“Obviously, very excited about it. I’m excited to be back in Winnipeg for three more years.”
The contract will pay Samberg $17.25 million over the course of three years, featuring an annual average value of $5.75 million – a hefty upgrade from the $1.4 million earned last season.
Despite avoiding the arbitration hearing, neither the team or player was willing to budge enough to find a number that would work to lock the shutdown defender in for the long term, rather settling for the three-year, bridge-style deal.
“You always want to have longer term, everyone wants that,” he said. “Sometimes it doesn’t work out that way and both sides can’t agree. With the three years, I still have some time. I have one year of proving myself and I want to continue to add more years onto that and prove that I belong here. I’m excited to do it in Winnipeg for three more years. Hopefully later down the road it continues to go and I can stay there longer.”
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With the departure of Brenden Dillon this past offseason, Samberg was called upon to step into the shutdown role on the team’s second pair alongside good friend, fellow Hermantown product and groomsman Neal Pionk.
“This last year, with moving up to that second pair and logging more minutes playing against tougher competition, I was happy with how I handled it,” Samberg said. “I’m excited for next year, and I want to continue to grow on that second pair and playing alongside Neal Pionk, because it’s been awesome. And all those guys have been great to me over the years. So they’ve been a huge help.”
In terms of personal success, Samberg put up a career high six goals and 20 points, while effectively finishing the season with 120 blocked shots and a stellar +34 plus/minus.
He helped Winnipeg to the best record in the league and the Presidents’ Trophy, but came up short in the second round of the playoffs. Samberg hopes 2025-26 will be another step in the right direction for a group that he sees lots of promise with.
“It shows that guys want to stay here,” Samberg said of teammate Gabe Vilardi’s six-year contract. “With that group we had last year, we were very tight-knit and very close. We had a fun year. It’s always fun when you’re winning, and we want to continue to do that. It goes to show that guys who sign those longer-term deals, they want to be around here and want to be around this group and this organization. We are treated very well and everyone loves it up there. I am just very excited to get it going.”
“Along with some of our new additions this year, I think it’ll be good,” he continued. “With adding Schenner last year, I think he was another big, important role for us with, with being another voice to hear from. And he’s had a lot of experience, won Stanley Cups, so that was huge. But, yeah, we have a good group here. Everyone’s very close. And I’m really excited to get back and get to work.“
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And in terms of the logistics of travel, negotiations, contracts et al, Samberg hopes he’ll never have to hear the phrase ‘arbitration hearing’ again.
“It was all new for me, in a sense,” he laughed. “I’ve never gone through a process like this. There was a lot to learn, but it was cool to learn it all. We eventually agreed on a deal the Tuesday night before the hearing, so it was good.”
Despite the inconvenience of a quick trip northeast to Toronto, Samberg left town $17 million richer and ready to get back at it with the boys in Winnipeg. But for now, a few more weekends out fishing on the lake will have to suffice.