The Winnipeg Jets made a big announcement this morning that will hopefully motivate the team when the face the Carolina Hurricanes this evening. Kevin Cheveldayoff and Nino Niederreiter’s agent have agreed to terms on an extension, keeping the Swiss winger in the Peg for another 3 years.
The $4M per year deal will keep Niederreiter in a Jets’ uniform until the 2026-27 season, when he will be 34 years old. El Nino has 423 points (211 goals, 212 assists) in 833 games over his NHL career, which includes 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in 23 games this season.
Playing alongside Adam Lowry and Mason Appleton on the “third line“, Niederreiter has been excelling this year and is on pace for a 50 point season. If you look at lines that have played more than 60 minutes together, the Lowry line sits in 26th in the NHL in actual goal percentage (68.8%), which is only second on Winnipeg behind the Cole Perfetti, Vladislav Namestnikov, & Nik Ehlers line (75%). The “third line” also lead the Jets in expected goals percentage (57.2%), so it will be great to have all three locked up for next season.
On his own, Niederreiter is also performing well statistically. He has 7.3 expected goals (2nd on Jets), blocked 16 shots (3rd amongst WPG forwards), leads the team in expected goals per 60 minutes (1.24), sits 4th in Corsi & Fenwick percentages, and is second only to Cole Perfetti in on-ice goals percentage (74.3% & 67.9% respectively). With a shooting percentage hovering around 10%, the hard-checking forward could actually expect increased point production as that number is 2 to 4% lower than his career norms.
A great signing by the Winnipeg Jets…glad to have Nino in the city for three more years!!
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