HENDERSON, Nev. — All decked out in his crisp Winnipeg Jets home uniform, Cole Perfetti is twirling and shooting and posing for the television cameras inside a cold practice rink amid the bright lights on a scorching Nevada afternoon.
The great paradox here is that the budding 22-year-old talent sent to rep the Jets at the NHL’s annual Player Media Tour in Las Vegas doesn’t technically work for the team.
Yet.
Perfetti — one of a few key restricted free agents without contract — accepted his rights holder’s invite, happily faced the questions and pumped up the ‘Peg in promos, despite the unsettled state of his future with the club.
It’s a rare move. (The Boston Bruins had considered sending Jeremy Swayman as their rep at the event but reconsidered with the goalie’s contractual stalemate ongoing.) But it’s a move that Perfetti has embraced.
Moreover, it’s a sign that negotiations are speeding toward an amicable conclusion — hopefully before the Jets are required to report to training camp next week.
“It’s not awkward. I mean, it’s great opportunity for me. It’s a great experience. Personally, I’m honoured that they still wanted me to come,” Perfetti said Wednesday in a sitdown with Sportsnet.ca. “It hasn’t been weird, for sure. My group’s working hard there with the team, and I’m confident that something will get figured out here. It’s just a matter of time.”
Despite Perfetti’s season ending unceremoniously with a string of healthy scratches, and the Jets’ season ending with an ugly first-round bulldoze by the Colorado Avalanche, the Saginaw Spirit product is upbeat and optimistic with a new contract and campaign just around the corner.
“I don’t want to be missing camp,” he says. “I want to be there for camp. I want to be a part of this team. I want to be a part of a big part of this. We’ll see what happens. Hopefully it gets done. And I know both sides are trying to get something done.”
Perfetti, 22, headed to the negotiating table after a healthy but uneven campaign that saw him thrive for stretches in the Jets’ top six and set career highs in goals (19) and points (38).
He also endured a 23-game goal drought, 11 healthy scratches, and got limited to a grand total of 10:56 time on ice in Winnipeg’s five-game loss to the Round 1 buzzsaw that was Nathan MacKinnon & Co.
A superstar in junior, Perfetti admitted to struggling mentally with his inconsistent usage and performance. And as the Jets sped toward the post-season, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff went out and rented a couple more top-six forwards, Tyler Toffoli and Sean Monahan, to eat up meaningful minutes.
Simply put: coach Rick Bowness (now retired) trusted his veterans more than Perfetti.
“If you look, it was bit of a trend with him and other teams. In Tampa, he was the assistant. In Dallas, (he was) scratching (Jason) Robertson and Roope Hintz,” Perfetti points out. “He kind of treated them the same that I was getting treated. And he explained that to me.”
Perfetti recalls Bowness pulling him aside and explaining that he limited Robertson and Hintz’s ice time when they were on their entry-level deals. Like it or not, Perfetti was in for a similar dose of tough love.
“They had to be scratched and learn through it. And now look at them: Now they’re stars, He said it’s a part of the learning process,” Perfetti recalls. “As much as maybe I disagreed with it. I figured: Just because they did it, why do I have to go through it?
“But at the same time, he’s been around for a while. He’s a respected coach, and I respected what he had to say, and at the end of the day it wasn’t my decision. I just had to live with it, roll with the punches, and be the best that I could be. So, it sucked. But I’m definitely using that as motivation for the future.”
Perfetti sees his future as bright now that assistant Scott Arniel has been promoted to bench boss.
“He was the D and PK coach, so I didn’t deal with him as much, but we had a great relationship, and we had some great conversations this summer for this upcoming year,” Perfetti says.
With Monahan and Toffoli walking out the door and a reshuffled bench, Perfetti is in line for a fresh start.
“I think Cole’s a guy that really stands to gain a lot,” Cheveldayoff said at the draft.
The player remembers his ice time escalating when Arniel stepped in to coach a dozen games when Bowness took a temporary leave to be with his wife, Judy.
“I think I was playing 17, 18, minutes a night and was point-per-game. In a small sample size, it was really good with him,” Perfetti says. “So, I’m hoping that’s how it continues. I think the opportunity is gonna be there, and then it’s gonna be up to me to make the most of it. That’s all I can really ask for.”
Perfetti has been involved in every step of the negotiations alongside agent Kurt Overhardt, and the process has opened his eyes to the business side of the sport.
“It kind of sucks that way, when you think about it. Because until you deal with it, it’s all just for fun. Like, it’s hockey. It’s fun. It’s just the game you love playing for a living. And then all of a sudden, the business side comes into it,” he says.
Perfetti’s situation shapes up like a classic bridge-deal case: The team needs to see more production and consistency, and the player has no arbitration power and should be careful about negotiating long-term based on a stat line that should only escalate.
Yet Perfetti, who spends his summers back in Ontario, isn’t shy about wanting to commit for the long haul in Manitoba.
“I love being in Canada. I love Winnipeg. I love the organization. I love playing there. So right now, I would love to be a staple in this organization and a key piece of the core for the years going forward. I would love that, and it would be an honour to be a part of that,” Perfetti gushes.
“But I don’t determine what happens there. But I would love to be a part of this. I love this group of guys. I love this team. I love the city. So, if a deal gets done long term, that’d be great.
“And if not? If they want to go short term, whatever it is, then I’d stay just focused on this year, being the best player that I can be for this team, and whatever happens, happens.”
With the Jets losing top forward prospect Rutger McGroarty to Pittsburgh, making things work with Perfetti becomes more crucial.
Cheveldayoff, too, has said talks were still ongoing and both sides remain hopeful a deal will be struck sooner rather than later.
As for the one lever Perfetti could have pulled — the offer sheet, which helped earn ex-Edmonton Oilers Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway juicy raises with the St. Louis Blues — the Jets’ representative wasn’t tempted.
“I never really wanted to do that. I mean, if you want to be in an organization, I feel like that might just create some tension,” Perfetti says. “I was also pretty determined that a deal was going to get done. So, those thoughts never really crossed my mind.
“I’m committed to being in Canada, being in in Winnipeg, and trying to be a solution for this team and help this team take the next step.”
The immediate next step: Sign the player representing your team to the national media.
