Kyle Connor, the left winger for the Winnipeg Jets, has scored14 goals in 17 games this season—tied for first in the NHL. “That is a lot of goals,” I thought to myself. “Gosh, it always seems like he is scoring,” I noted as well. I then decided to take a deep dive into his career, and, lo and behold, it seems like he is always scoring because he is always scoring. Since he entered the league in 2016, he has notched 223 goals in 483 games, or .46 goals per game. That rate of scoring ranks 10th among players with at least 100 games played during that period. He sits behind players like Auston Matthews, Alex Ovechkin, Kirill Kaprizov, David Pastrnak, and Connor McDavid. For seven years now, Kyle Connor has been one of the most consistent goal scorers in the league. And for that, the Winnipeg Jets should be thankful.
Nevertheless, whether it is because of the never-ending drama surrounding the Jets (Blake Wheeler losing the captaincy or the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade), or the shadows cast by Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck, Kyle Connor never seems to garner the attention he deserves. A closer look at his statistics though reveal him to be a lethal offensive force that rivals the best in the league.
The Winnipeg Jets selected Kyle Connor 17th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. He debuted the following year and posted two goals and three assists in 20 games. Obviously, this was not the start anyone wanted. Apparently, those 20 games were all he needed to transition to the NHL. In the 2017-18 season, Connor deposited 31 goals in 76 games. He has never looked back. In six full seasons since 2017, he has posted at least 30 goals four times and over 40 goals once. He had 26 goals in 2020-21 but only played 56 games because of injury. Had he played a full season, he would have netted 38.
Connor’s shooting percentage (the number of goals scored divided by the number of shots taken) proves he deserves to be in the conversation with the best. He nets 14.7% of his shots. This clocks right in line with the names mentioned above: Matthews (15.9%), Ovechkin (12.9%), Kaprizov (15.6%), Pastrnak (14.2%), and McDavid (15.4%). Few forwards can boast of keeping pace with these dominant scorers.
Stack Kyle Connor up against his peers from the 2015 NHL Draft, and he holds up extraordinarily well. He is sixth on the list in total points with 446, ahead of names like Dylan Strome (taken third overall), Pavel Zacha (selected sixth overall), and Timo Meir (picked ninth overall). Even more impressive, his .92 points per game is fifth behind only McDavid (1.5), Mitch Marner (1.1), Mikko Rantanen (1.1), and Jack Eichel (.93). Finally, Connor’s durability has allowed him to log 483 games at the age of 26, putting him on track for a long career if he stays healthy.
Connor’s production places him in the upper echelon of scorers. However, if you were to look at his current contract, you would never guess he is pacing the NHL in goals. In 2019, he signed a seven-year, $49.98 million deal with the Jets. That registers as a $7,142,857 average annual value. Compare this number to the players’ contracts sitting with him at the top of the leaderboard. Auston Matthews (14 goals) is in the final year of a five-year contract at $11.64 million per year, which will increase to $13.25 next season. Nikita Kucherov (13 goals) takes home $9.5 million per year. David Pastrnak (12 goals) makes $11.25 million every season. Kyle Connor makes about $4.5 million less than Matthews, $2.4 million less than Kucherov, and $4.1 million less than Pastrnak. Quite the steal, I would say.
I am not arguing that teams would rather have Kyle Connor than any of these players. What I am positing is that Connor remains one of the most consistent scorers in the NHL, and the Winnipeg Jets have him at a bargain deal about which general managers dream. His name is too often forgotten, especially when discussing players born in the United States. Since Connor played his first NHL game in 2016, his 223 goals rank second among U.S.-born players (behind Matthews’ 313) and his 446 points rank eighth. Despite his offensive prowess, Connor rarely receives the recognition he deserves when discussing the best American players in the league. (I must give a huge shoutout to my friend Dan who crunched these statistics for me!)
There has been no shortage of news surrounding the Winnipeg Jets this season. After signing forward Mark Schiefele and goalie Connor Helleybuck to identical seven-year, $8.5 million contracts, concerns about empty seats and low attendance have plagued the team all season. The future of the Jets remains uncertain. Amidst these struggles, and rumors of another relocation, the organization and the fans should remain grateful for Kyle Connor.
Featured Image: Colby Spence, Illegal Curve
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