Jets re-sign Tyrel Bauer to two-year contract

The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms on a new two-year, two-way contract with defense prospect Tyrel Bauer, the club announced Monday afternoon.

Bauer, 24, will count for $875,000 against the salary cap for any time he spends in the NHL over the next two seasons. The Jets originally selected the 6’4″ right-shot defender in the sixth round (No. 164 overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft.

A product of Cochrane, Alta., Bauer has spent his entire professional career to date with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. He skated in 52 games with the club during the 2025-26 regular season, collecting one goal, five points, and 110 penalty minutes; he was held pointless in seven games during the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs.

After developing in the Airdrie AAA Xtreme and Bisons programs, Bauer spent parts of five seasons with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds from 2017-18 to 2021-22. He served as team captain in his final two years in Seattle before turning pro with the Moose in 2022-23.

Never a particularly high-scoring defenseman, Bauer has amassed just five goals and 21 points in 214 games over his four seasons with the Moose. But the big righty is one of Manitoba’s more punishing physical players, having compiled 401 penalty minutes during his tenure.

In recognition of his strong work with local charities and in the greater Manitoba hockey community, Bauer was named the 2026 recipient of the AHL’s Yannick Dupre Memorial Award, given annually to the league’s “Man of the Year” — selected from a pool of 32 nominees, one from each team.

Bauer has yet to make his NHL debut. He was the last of the Jets’ restricted free agents waiting to be re-signed, and he’ll most likely be scheduled to become a Group 6 unrestricted free agent when his new contract expires in 2028.