Winnipeg Jets sign defenceman Dylan DeMelo to 4-year contract extension

Deal carries an average annual value of $4.9 million US, the club announced

The Winnipeg Jets have signed defenceman Dylan DeMelo to a four-year contract extension, the club announced Tuesday.

The deal carries an average annual value of $4.9 million US.

DeMelo, 31, played all 82 games for the Jets last season, setting career highs with 31 points and 28 assists.

He also had a team-best plus-46 rating, second highest in the NHL, and led the Jets with 139 blocked shots.

Selected by San Jose in the sixth round (179th overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft, the defenceman from London, Ont., has played 554 career games for the Jets, Ottawa Senators and Sharks, tallying 144 points (17 goals, 127 assists) and 265 penalty minutes.

He has also registered four assists and 16 penalty minutes in 29 career playoff games.

READ MORE: Winnipeg Jets add two goalies, re-sign defenceman, lose four to free agency

The Winnipeg Jets filled a void between the pipes with the return of Eric Comrie to the organization and the addition of Kaapo Kahkonen, who finished this past season with New Jersey after previous stops with San Jose and Minnesota.

 

Winnipeg retained some experience on the blue line late in the day by re-signing veteran defenceman Colin Miller to a two-year deal with an average annual value of US$1.5 million.

Miller played just five games for the Jets after being acquired in a trading deadline deal with New Jersey and also suited up for the fifth and final game of Winnipeg’s first round playoff loss to Colorado.

The 31-year-old native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., has played 512 NHL games for six different teams entering his 12th season as a pro.