ANALYSIS: Extending Morgan Barron should rank high on Jets’ off-season to-do list – Winnipeg

The focus for Winnipeg Jets fans — and rightfully so — would be on GM Kevin Cheveldayoff negotiating contract extensions for Gabe Vilardi and Dylan Samberg.

But getting Morgan Barron’s name on the dotted line will also rank high on Cheveldayoff’s priority list.

When we think of the trades the Jets GM has been able to complete over the last few years, two stand out in particular: the return on the Pierre-Luc Dubois transaction with Los Angeles, and the March 2022 Andrew Copp swap with the New York Rangers for Barron — and draft picks that turned into Brad Lambert and Elias Salomonsson.

Barron has sometimes been overlooked because of the fourth-line role he has been assigned for most of his first three full NHL seasons, and modest totals of 29 goals, 29 assists and 58 points in his 238 games as a Jet.

But even though his eight goals and 15 points this past season would appear to be a bit of a step back from year two, my opinion is the six-foot-four, 220-pound Halifax native took strides forward in 2024-25, especially in the post-season.

Barron can play in the middle — and with physicality. He averaged just over 14 hits per 60 minutes, which trailed only Luke Schenn, Adam Lowry and Brandon Tanev among those Jets who played 10 or more games in the playoffs.

The former Cornell captain lost what would have been his first career playoff goal on a secondary deflection by linemate Jaret Anderson-Dolan in the series-opening victory versus St. Louis, and then another on an offside review in Game 6 of that series. But what should not be forgotten is that “shoulder down power drive to the net” we saw from him on multiple occasions.

With Lowry scheduled to miss anywhere from 10 to 25 games to start next season and Rasmus Kupari opting to play in Europe, this should be Barron’s chance to keep pushing the needle forward — and perhaps staking a claim to a bigger role than he has played since becoming a full-time NHLer.

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