Morrissey maintains he wants to be a Jet long term
‘I’d love to play here throughout my career,’ D-man says
WINNIPEG There was no hesitation in Josh Morrissey’s voice Wednesday.
Asked if talks had begun on a contract extension for the 24-yearold defenceman, who is entering the final season of a two-year, US$6.3-million deal, Morrissey volunteered that indeed they had.
Over the last couple of weeks and at other times throughout the summer, Morrissey said chats between club and player have taken place.
In a summer that has lacked commitment from a wide range of big-name players, Morrissey then offered this:
“I’d love to get something done. I’d love to play here throughout my career,” Morrissey said after an informal skate at Bell MTS Iceplex. “We’ll see what happens.”
For fans of the Jets, a statement like that comes at a time when the futures of Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor remain in flux and after three years of knowing that Morrissey’s former defensive partner Jacob Trouba was likely going to leave this off-season.
“From the time throughout last summer, when we spoke after I had signed, I’ve always maintained I want to be a Jet and that I want to play here in Winnipeg,” Morrissey said.
Morrissey’s role as a top-pairing defenceman is only expected to expand this season with the departures of the aforementioned Trouba along with veterans Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot.
And with an expanded opportunity comes the potential for an expanded dollar figure if Morrissey was to wait a bit and see how this coming season progresses.
To that, Morrissey said he doesn’t think it would be a bad thing if the season finishes without an extension in place.
“I still have another year left on this deal,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter, I guess, if the deal gets done any time before you walk into the arbitration room if that was something that was going to happen.
“But I’m hopeful and I would like to get it done and I would like to be playing here in Winnipeg. I just feel like it’s a great fit for me as a player and a person.”
A year ago at this time, Morrissey was in the same boat as Laine and Connor. Morrissey wouldn’t sign until a few days into training camp, eventually settling on the bridge deal that will carry him back into restricted free agency — this time with arbitration rights — next summer.
Morrissey understands the business side of the game now, he said. But he didn’t not so long ago.
“You sort of don’t know what to expect,” he said. “For myself, it helped me a lot last summer in terms of understanding and learning about the business side of the game.
“It was just a process that wasn’t a whole lot of fun. From the start of the summer, I think anyone would be remiss if they didn’t have that thought into their mind every single day of, ‘Are we going to get something done or not?’ But at the same time, you look at the way this trend has been going, I think everyone is kind of prepared that it might take some time.”