Will Nikolaj Ehlers return to the Jets?

One of the lesser talked about free agents this summer, particularly on the higher end of the market, is Nikolaj Ehlers. The Danish winger has spent all ten seasons of his career with the Winnipeg Jets, but all signs seem to point to him going to market.

And you can’t really blame him. While he’s had plenty of success with the Jets, with production that’s rounded out to that of a second liner, a lot of that has been due to the fact that the Jets have never given him the proper ice time. He’s averaged just 16:26 of ice time in his career, and has only averaged above 17 minutes in a season twice. If not for that, he would be much more productive, as his 2.28 5v5 points per 60 minutes ranks over the last 10 years ranks first on the Jets.

So is there any chance that Ehlers decides to return to the Jets? Surely there will be interest from Winnipeg to bring him back, but does Ehlers want to come back to a team that has underutilized him? Frank Seravalli talked about Ehlers and if there’s any chance that he may re-sign with Winnipeg on Daily Faceoff Live.

Frank Seravalli: I don’t know if you can officially rule out Winnipeg. It sounds like they want him back necessarily more than he might want to be back. I think if you’re Ehlers, you’re leaving a competitive team that has a chance to win that’s going to pay you really handsomely, a place you know and like, I would think, and a place where you’ve had success.

Look at his numbers here. Not quite a point-per-game guy, and he has missed chunks of time, but still gets you 58-62 points every season and scores 25-28 goals. Those types of players are important on your team as secondary scoring threats. I also liked what I saw from him in big moments for the Winnipeg Jets in these playoffs and beyond.

You can watch the full episode here…