Nikolaj Ehlers Not Interested In Extension With Jets

Nikolaj Ehlers has been a key part of Winnipeg’s top-six forward group for the last nine seasons and remains under contract for 2024-25.  However, it doesn’t appear that he’s interested in extending that number any further as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that the winger isn’t interested in signing a new deal with the Jets.  He adds that while no formal trade request has been made, Ehlers would welcome a move.

Last month, it was reported that Winnipeg GM Kevin Cheveldayoff was likely to explore the trade market for the 28-year-old in the weeks leading up to the draft.   With this report now out there, it stands to reason that his camp had notified the Jets earlier in the offseason that they weren’t interested in engaging in extension talks at this time.

Ehlers is coming off one of the most productive seasons in his career.  He played in all 82 regular season games for the first time since 2017-18 and put 61 points, his second-best total.  However, he was limited to just two assists in their first-round exit at the hands of Colorado.

Despite being one of Winnipeg’s more consistently productive players, it hasn’t resulted in him playing higher up the depth chart.  Ehlers logged under 16 minutes a night in each of the last two years under now-former head coach Rick Bowness.  With associate coach Scott Arniel taking over behind the bench, he might be inclined to keep the status quo in terms of Ehlers’ role so he’s likely hoping to have a more prominent role elsewhere.

Ehlers has one year left on his contract with a $6MM AAV with $6.75MM in salary.  He also has some control on where he could be moved with a ten-team no-trade clause.  That price tag is below what a 25-goal, 60-point scorer is likely to get on the open market next month so teams looking to make a more affordable addition will certainly be calling if they haven’t already.

Of course, Ehlers is a year away from cashing in on a more lucrative contract which has to be factored into the equation.  Generally, players who are open to immediate extensions with an acquiring team will get more in return; Pagnotta adds that it’s unclear if Ehlers is willing to go that route at this time.  Notably, he won’t be able to officially sign an extension in this scenario until July 1st.

The trade market is likely a few weeks away from fully opening up as teams often wait until after the Stanley Cup Final before reshaping their roster.  It appears that Ehlers will be one of the more prominent names on that market when it gets going.