Jets sign Cheveldayoff, Maurice to multi-year extensions

The Winnipeg Jets have signed general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff and head coach Paul Maurice to multi-year extensions, the team announced Thursday.

Cheveldayoff has been with the club since it relocated from Atlanta, and has built a competitive roster through strong drafting, landing the likes of Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Patrik Laine, among others.

Maurice, meanwhile, joined the Jets in January 2014, and in the following season led the club to its only playoff berth since returning to Winnipeg. In the two years since their first-round sweep at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks, the Jets have finished seventh and fifth, respectively, in the Central Division.

Despite the recent disappointments, the Jets have the talent to improve, and Maurice is expecting his team to turn things around in 2017-18.

"I expect our team to get better at everything, in all areas of our game," Maurice told reporters. "We scored a lot of goals last year - seventh in the National Hockey League - and I think we can score more. We absolutely have to become a better defensive hockey team, and some of that is experience and understanding the game, but the other part of is (focusing on) certain things to be good defensively: Staying out of the penalty box, blocking shots, grinding when the puck's in your own end."

Winnipeg is set to begin training camp next week, while its regular season officially gets underway Oct. 4 at home versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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