DULUTH — Dylan Samberg and the Winnipeg Jets are avoiding arbitration, agreeing to a new three-year contract Wednesday.
The 26-year-old defenseman from Saginaw will make $5.75 million per year on average over the life of the new deal,
Samberg was a restricted free agent and had he and the Jets gone to arbitration this week, it would have resulted in a one-year contract that would make Samberg a highly sought-after unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2026.
Samberg will be in line for a much larger payday when he’s eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in 2028.
A two-time Minnesota Class A state hockey champion at Hermantown High School and two-time NCAA champion at Minnesota Duluth, Samberg is coming off his best NHL season in 2024-25 with six goals and 20 points, despite missing over 20 games to injury. His plus/minus rating of plus-34 in 60 games was the best on the Jets and tied for sixth overall in the NHL.
Samberg has 51 career points via nine goals and 42 assists in 216 career games over four NHL seasons. He was drafted in the second round by the Jets in 2017 out of Hermantown High School and signed after his junior season at UMD in 2019-20. He played one full season for the Manitoba Moose in the American Hockey League before getting the call up to Winnipeg.
Samberg is one of four former Bulldogs signed to the Jets for 2025-26 along with Alex Iafallo and fellow Hermantown natives Neal Pionk and Cole Koepke.
Former Bulldogs signed to NHL contracts for 2025-26
* indicates player on two-way NHL/AHL deal
Dylan Samberg, Winnipeg Jets
Cole Koepke, Winnipeg Jets
Neal Pionk, Winnipeg Jets
Alex Iafallo, Winnipeg Jets
Justin Faulk, St. Louis Blues
Noah Cates, Philadelphia Flyers
Mikey Anderson, Los Angeles Kings
Carson Soucy, New York Rangers
Joey Anderson, Chicago Blackhawks
Dominic Toninato, Chicago Blackhawks*
Scott Perunovich, Utah Mammoth*
Riley Tufte, Boston Bruins*
Hunter Shepard, Ottawa Senators*
Ryan Fanti, Tampa Bay Lightning*
Isaac Howard, Edmonton Oilers*
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