Jets Sign Stafford

The Winnipeg Jets saved forward Drew Stafford from officially going into unrestricted free agency on Tuesday, signing him to a new 2-year deal, reportedly worth $8.7 million.

Stafford was acquired by the Jets in the same deal that brought Tyler Myers to town and both have fit in quite well with the culture of the team.

In Winnipeg, he did quite well, scoring 9 goals and 19 points in 26 games, giving him a total between the teams of 18 goals and 43 points in 76 games.  He finished ranked 109th among all forwards, a little lower on the depth chart for most poolies, but he was playing on a pretty awful Sabres team at the start of the year.

New section for the big free agent signings, we'll see how this works.

If I'm projecting Stafford now, I would take into account his numbers with the Jets, giving his projection a boost, while another boost may be in order, since the Winnipeg Jets are going to be an exciting team for next season.  I don't think Stafford is really going to light up the league, at this point, but he has been a very reliable source of points over the last few years, but you don't want to pick him too early.  He's the kind of player that works much better as a potential bargain.