RFA Perfetti says talks continue with Jets: 'At this point, I want to be there'

Winnipeg Jets unsigned restricted free Cole Perfetti said Wednesday negotiations continue with the team and he's hopeful a deal will be reached soon. 

"Our side is working on a deal with them," Perfetti told The Athletic's Michael Russo at the NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas. "At this point, I want to be there. But it's exciting to hopefully get this going soon... I'm positive that something's going to come here soon, hopefully."

Perfetti is coming off of a breakout season in 2023-24, in which he scored 19 goals with 38 points in 71 games. The 22-year-old's season ended on a sour note as he dressed in just one of Winnipeg's five playoff games.

He noted Wednesday he's looking forward to a "fresh, clean slate" this season. 

Prior to his strong campaign this year, the 10th overall pick in 2020 saw limited playing time due to injuries in each of the previous two seasons.

“I think Cole is just scratching the surface,” Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said last month. “Unfortunately for him, he had a couple of injuries in his 19- and 20-year-old years, but last year he had a great year. We’re looking forward to good things with him moving forward with our core.

“He’s been around for a couple of years now, he’s one of the guys you start integrating within that group and that’s the kind of team that we have here right now. We had a great year last year, but I think we need some of our younger guys to continue to take steps and move forward for us to grow.”

In 140 career games with the Jets, Perfetti has 29 goals and 75 points.