Winnipet Jets sign Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele to identical seven-year contract extensions

The Winnipeg Jets have announced that they've signed centre Mark Scheifele and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to matching seven-year, $59.5 million contract extensions that carry an annual average value of $8.5 million against the cap.

Both Scheifele and Hellebuyck were entering the last year of their respective contracts and were pending unrestricted free agents.

Accordingly, these extensions caught many in the hockey world by surprise. Hellebuyck's name has been floating on the trade market from pretty much the moment the Jets lost their first-round series to the Vegas Golden Knights in last year's playoffs, specifically after he expressed his desire not to be part of a rebuild.

Hellebuyck finished last season with a 37-25-2 record and a .920 save percentage – both comfortably top-10 marks in