Jets’ Nikolaj Ehlers gets confusing $10 million contract update as Capitals, Hurricanes wait

Billy Heyen

Jets’ Nikolaj Ehlers gets confusing $10 million contract update as Capitals, Hurricanes wait image

Nikolaj Ehlers is making everyone wait.

The Winnipeg Jets star winger, expected to leave in free agency, has yet to sign a new contract.

Reports indicated that he was down to just two teams, the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes. Whether that's true or not, his final destination is evidently not decided yet.

Since Mitch Marner was off the market before free agency actually opened, Ehlers became maybe the best forward available. He could command eight figures a year if someone really wants to ensure they land him.

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Ehlers is 29 years old, and the left-shot left winger is coming off 69 games in 2024-25 in which he scored 24 goals and assisted 39 times.

It's been 10 seasons in the NHL in total for Ehlers, who has 225 goals and 295 assists in 674 games. 

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This is probably his last chance at a huge contract, so Ehlers is probably trying to pair financial security with the best team fit.

He could decide at any moment, but at this point, Ehlers appears to have the power.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle