And not long after Laine, Kyle Connor inked his next deal, one that will seee him be a Jet for the next seven years with an AAV of 7.143M. It's plenty of money and plenty per year on the AAV that will see Jets pay him a total of 50.01 million in that time until he is 29 years old. He's going to cash in again. That's if he's still a Jet.
The deal has controls on the contract in the last two year with an NMC. That's a bit curious as it's usually the front end that has the protection.
With that being done and Laine too, the Jets have their team back together in some form that should give the fans something to be excited about but there still remains the issue of Byfgulien. The Jet have to keep 7.6 million free for his return and they have the space with just 116,000 in caps space should the big guy come back soon. That being said there's a bit of a hiccup here as they have the potential for $272,000 in performance bonuses. So something has to give.
At the point it's safe to say that one of Luoto, Appleton, Bourque or Suess are being sent down which increases cap space by a minimum of $700k. That give them room but not much and now the Jets are right at the top, pushing the envelope. It's not going to be easy but what about that 7.6 million from Buff how does that work?
When a team suspends players for off-ice issues such as the case of Byfuglien (although there is no known 'issue') his salary does not count against the cap. At this point I cannot find how the salary is calculated if the player returns but the cap is calculated on a daily basis and thus it makes sense Buff's salary would be pro-rated to the day he returns. After that I need the math shown to me if it increases space or not.
The fact that Chevy managed to keep Connor and Laine for just under 15 million in total salary, something many said would be impossible, is a hat tip to him but he's got work to do. This roster is top heaving on forwards and offense. This team has to consistently out score the opposition as trying to grind teams in 2-1 or 3-2 score games may not be what this roster is best suited for as it currently stands.
More on this as the season draws near as we look at what could happen and what needs to happen for the Jets. For now the band is back together but it's on Maurice to make sure it can still make beautiful sounds rather than a big fart noise like it did many times last season.