Winnipeg Jets avoid arbitration with Morgan Barron, sign two-year deal

The Winnipeg Jets have signed forward Morgan Barron to a two-year contract worth $1.35 million per season.

Barron was set for an arbitration date on August 2 had the two sides not come to an agreement in advance.

Barron, 24, is coming off of his best NHL season to date, scoring eight goals and 21 points in 70 games with the Jets. He also skated in five playoff games, but came up short on the scoresheet. It was the 6-foot-4 forward’s second season with the Jets, having scored two goals and four points last season after the team acquired him from the New York Rangers.

Through three NHL campaigns, the depth forward has 11 goals and 27 points in 102 games, as well as 38 points in 51 AHL games between Winnipeg and Hartford.

Barron was an accomplished college player, winning two ECAC regular season titles with Cornell University. He was the ECAC’s player of the year in 2020 and finished as a Hobey Baker Award finalist as the NCAA’s best male player that season, too. Drafted 174th overall by the Rangers in 2017, Barron was selected after spending most of his draft campaign as captain of St. Andrew’s College.

According to CapFriendly, Barron currently has $7.217 million in projected cap space. The club still has RFAs Rasmus Kupari, Gabe Vilardi and Logan Stanley to sign, with all three likely to get smaller deals. The biggest question surrounding the Jets right now is the future of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who is set to become a UFA next summer. His name has been in the rumor mill for quite some time, but there’s been no real traction as of now.