Kyle Connor had an excellent season for the Winnipeg Jets. He was on the first line for the team most of the season and was one of their best players all season. His chemistry with Mark Scheifele in particular was a huge boost to the Jets offence.
Connor was able to help the Jets at both even strength and on the power play. One thing to remember when looking at his stats is that the Jets all struggled at five on five when it came to possession. Although Connor’s numbers do not look great, his numbers are coming from someone who is just below the team average.
| Player | Season | Team | Position | GP | TOI | G | A | P | P1 | P/60 | P1/60 | GS | GS/60 | CF | CA | C+/- | CF% | Rel CF% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KYLE.CONNOR | 2018-2019 | WPG | L | 82 | 1167.35 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 30 | 1.8 | 1.54 | 32.51 | 1.67 | 1118 | 1189 | -71 | 48.46 | -0.69 |
As you can see, Connor played very well this year and did help the team out at even strength. Connor was someone who was always around when good things were happening, even though his statistics do not reflect this.
Connor spent a majority of his season with Scheifele and Blake Wheeler. However, he was successful on whatever line he was put on and elevated other players to his level. One of the most fun lines to watch was him with Nikolaj Ehlers for a couple games. Both players are fast and creative and they showed high potential for good chemistry in the future.
He recorded 34 goals and 66 points overall. He showed that his rookie season was not a fluke and that the only mistake the Jets have made with his development was forcing him onto the team when he first turned pro instead of letting him start in the AHL where he could adjust to the speed of the game in increments.
The pressing need for Connor this off-season is a new contract. It will be interesting to see if the Jets would like a bridge contract or a longer-term, Scheifele-like contract. The Jets and Connor have to agree to which type of contract they will negotiate before negotiating the actual contract. There has been no word yet on how talks are going.
One thing to note when it comes to contracts: Connor does not have arbitration rights so no third party can come in and help the Jets and Connor reach an agreement nor can the Jets file arbitration to protect him from offer sheets. Outside of that, Connor should be with the Jets for a long time into the future and should continue to help the team going forward.
