Winnipeg Jets and Cole Perfetti “bridge” the gap on two-year deal

The contract stalemate is finally over between Cole Perfetti and the Winnipeg Jets.
The club announced on Monday night that an agreement had been reached on a two-year bridge deal that will pay the 22-year old forward $6.5 million for an average annual value of $3.25 million.
THREE POINT TWO FIVE MILLION REASONS TO SMILE 😁 pic.twitter.com/LOorPvQOtt
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) September 24, 2024

Perfetti will still be two years away from gaining unrestricted free agency when this current contract expires at the end of the 2025-26 season.
According to CapWages, the Jets will have just over $3.3 million of cap space available heading into the start of the 2024-25 regular season.
The 5-11, 185-pound forward had a great start to his third pro season in 2023-24, scoring 14 goals and adding 15 assists for 29 points in the Jets first 40 games. But the offensive well ran dry for the Whitby native during the second half of the schedule when he managed to score just one goal along with two assists over a 25-game span from January 11 through March 26.
During that stretch, the Jets 2020 first-round pick was also made a healthy scratch on five occasions.
Perfetti did have a strong finish to his season, scoring four goals and adding two assists for six points in the five final games he suited up for. Perfetti played 71 games last season with 19 goals and 19 assists for 38 points.
His first two years in the NHL were cut short by injuries that limited him to just 18 and 51 games respectively.
It would be fair to presume it was the Perfetti camp that eventually had to accept a lesser dollar figure in order to get a deal done on day six of training camp.
Perfetti will be at practice on Tuesday and will speak to the media afterwards.