Winnipeg Jets sign Ville Heinola to two-year, $800,000 AAV contract
The team from the True North has locked in a young blueliner for a couple more seasons.
On Monday, the Winnipeg Jets announced they have signed defenseman Ville Heinola to a two-year contract. The deal will carry an $800,000 AAV through the 2025-26 season.
Congrats Ville!
The @NHLJets have re-signed Ville Heinola to a two-year extension.
Heinola is eighth all-time among #MBMoose defencemen with 102 points (23G, 79A) in 152 @theAHL games.
DETAILS >> https://t.co/GDvcv69dWE#GoMoooseGo | #ManitobaMade pic.twitter.com/EAlmt8f8YV
Heinola is coming off the final year of his entry-level contract with an AAV of $1.075,833.
Heinola has been with the organization since the Jets took him in the first round, 20th overall, of the 2019 NHL Draft. He joined the team the following season, also spending time with Liiga club Lukko, with whom the Honkajoki, Finland nave had spent the previous season.
Over the first four seasons with the club, Heinola was going up and down between Winnipeg and its American Hockey League affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. That was, until this past season, when a fractured ankle suffered during the preseason against the Ottawa Senators kept him off the ice for three months. He would not make his on-ice return until Jan. 13 with the Moose. Unfortunately, Heinola was not needed by the big club, as he spent the entire 2023-24 campaign in the AHL. In 41 games with Manitoba, the 23-year-old potted 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points. That was down from a career-high 37 that he posted during the 2022-23 season.
Heinola hasn’t appeared in an NHL game since Jan. 19, 2023. He has played in just 35 games over his career, registering a goal and 10 assists.
In 152 AHL games, Heinola has notched 23 goals and 79 assists for 102 points, including eight points in 11 Calder Cup Playoff appearances.
Heinola made a name for himself thanks to his play on the international stage with Team Finland. He played for Suomi at the 2017 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge, the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2019 IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship. Heinola also was on the Finnish squads in three straight IIHF World Junior Championships, winning gold in 2019 and bronze in 2021, where he was named to the tournament all-star team.