The Winnipeg Jets tied a 2.0 era record with 52 regular-season wins in 2023-24 and got strong contributions from throughout the lineup. Unfortunately, however, they made a second-straight first-round exit, losing to the Colorado Avalanche in five games. In this Report Card series, we’ll take a look back on the season, player by player, and grade their individual performances with an eye toward their future with the team.
Cole Perfetti had the best statistical season of his young career, but also the most challenging one as he experienced being a regular healthy scratch for the first time in his life.
Perfetti Started Out Strong on Top-6
In the first half of the season, the 10th-overall 2020 pick excelled and his play showed significant leaps forward. Through 41 games, the now 22-year-old was a key contributor to the Jets’ surprisingly-dominant play: as a fixture on the second-line right wing, he had 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists), just one point shy of his season career high with half the season to go.
Of particular note, he had an eight-game point streak from Oct. 30 through Nov. 17, which included a five-game goal-scoring streak.
Perfetti Struggled Through Second Half; Was Frequent Scratch
However, Perfetti fell into an extended scoring slump at about the same time the team started experiencing second-half struggles. He suffered through a 23-game goal-scoring drought from Jan. 11 to March 23, leading now-retired head coach Rick Bowness to bump Perfetti down to the fourth line and into the press box after the team added Tyler Toffoli to the forward group at the 2024 Trade Deadline.
“There’s been some dark times,” Perfetti told the Free Press amidst a late-March stretch of being out of the lineup. “There’s been some learning parts from it. I’d be lying if I said it’s been easy. It’s been tough.” (From ‘Perfetti works hard, remains positive while waiting to return to action, Winnipeg Free Press, March 22, 2024.)
Perfetti spent 11 games as a healthy scratch, but scored five goals and added two assists for seven points in his final 10 regular-season games to end the campaign on a positive note. Overall, he finished with 19 goals and 19 assists for 38 points in 71 games, all career highs other than assists.
Perfetti was also scratched for the first four games of the first-round playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche before finally getting into Game 5 for the first postseason game of his career.
Perfetti Stayed Healthy All Season for First Time in His Career
One positive development was that Perfetti stayed healthy all season for the first time in his three-season career. In 2022-23, he missed 31 games due to two separate injuries; in his rookie 2021-22, he was knocked out for the remainder of the season in mid-February by a Jamie Oleksiak hit and suffered a separate injury while rehabbing that one.
Four injuries in 69-career games to the end of 2022-23 caused some skepticism to build as to whether he was capable of handling the physical grind of being a full-time NHLer. This season, he appeared more capable of protecting himself against hard contact and did not frequently put himself in spots where an opponent could crunch him, which was crucial considering his smaller stature at 5-foot-11, 177 pounds.
Perfetti Likely to Get Bridge Deal
Perfetti’s entry-level contract has ended and he is a pending restricted free agent. A two-year bridge deal worth between $3 and $4 million annually is the most likely solution as it would allow him to continue on his development path and to cash in on a long-term dealer in summer, 2026 if he is successful. Conversely, it allows Jets’ general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff to not commit too much money to him in the short-term; after a 52-win season followed by another disappointing first-round exit, Cheveldayoff needs as much money as possible in his attempt to re-sign key unrestricted and restricted free agents during the Stanley Cup window.
Related: Winnipeg Jets Restricted Free Agent Overview
Some fans are concerned Perfetti will request a trade, but those concerns seem overblown as Perfetti has the maturity to understand that an NHL career is not all sunshine and rainbows and to not take being scratched personally. The organization still sees him as a huge piece of their future and he is great at completing high-danger passes leading to primary assists, generating offensive chances when set up in the offensive zone, and posts above-average defensive numbers.
He still has improvements to make, but if recently-appointed head coach Scott Arniel — who described young players as “vital” in his introductory press conference — gives him the top-six slot Bowness did at the beginning of this season, he should be able to make them.
Overall, Perfetti’s grade will take a bit of a hit due to his extended slump, but a 39-point season for someone in his early 20s is still impressive and the steps forward he has taken were evident.
Final Grade: B
Read more Jets 2023-24 report cards below:
