The Jets lose four players, including linebacker Dillon, as free agency opens

WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Jets lost four players to the open market on the opening day of NHL free agency.

Defenseman Brenden Dillon, goaltender Laurent Brossoit and forwards Tyler Toffoli and Sean Monahan — all unrestricted free agents — signed with other teams Monday.

Dillon signed a three-year, $12 million contract with the New Jersey Devils.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound defenseman spent the last three seasons in Winnipeg. He played in 77 games last season and posted 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) with a plus-20.

A physical presence on the blue line, the 33-year-old led the Jets with 241 shots and 92 penalty minutes last season.

Brossoit signed a two-year, $6.6 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The 31-year-old from Port Alberni, B.C., posted a 15-2-2 record with a 2.00 goals-against average and .927 save percentage last season in support of star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. Brossoit was in his second stint with the Jets.

Toffoli and Monahan were both acquired before last season’s trade deadline. Toffoli signed a four-year, $24 million contract with San Jose, and Monahan signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract with Columbus.

Toffoli, from Toronto, had seven goals and four assists in 18 regular-season games for Winnipeg and added two goals in five playoff contests.

Monahan, from Brampton, Ont., had 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) in 34 games with Winnipeg and added an assist in the playoffs as the Jets dropped five games to the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.

To shore up the goaltending following Brossoit’s departure, the Jets signed netminders Eric Comrie and Kaapo Kahkonen.

Comrie signed a two-year contract with an average annual value of $825,000, while Kahkonen signed a one-year contract worth $1 million.

It’s the 28-year-old from Edmonton’s third stint with the Jets.

He played the last two campaigns with the Buffalo Sabers and went 2-7-0 with a 3.69 goals-against average and .874 save percentage in 10 games last season.

Comrie was originally selected by Winnipeg in the second round (59th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

He has a 24-26-2 record with a 3.38 GAA and an .893 save percentage in 57 NHL games with Winnipeg, Detroit, New Jersey and Buffalo.

Comrie is also the franchise leader in games played (203), wins (86) and saves (5,683) with the Winnipeg American Hockey League affiliate Manitoba Moose.

Kahkonen, 27, played in 37 games for the New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks last season and posted a 7-24-3 record with one shutout, a 3.64 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage.

The goalie from Helsinki, Finland played 139 career NHL games for New Jersey, San Jose and the Minnesota Wild and posted a 49-67-15 record with four shutouts, a 3.33 GAA and a save percentage of 0.899.

He was a fourth-round pick by Minnesota in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Hellebuyck, who recently won his second Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender, will likely shoulder the bulk of the goaltending load in Winnipeg again next season.

The Jets also agreed to terms with defenseman Colin Miller on a two-year contract with an average annual value of $1.5 million. Miller, 31, had eight points in 46 games with the Jets and New Jersey Devils last season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 1, 2024.

The Canadian Press