The Jets and Evander Kane are working on a new long-term contract. (Getty Images)

Earlier this offseason reports surfaced that Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane may not be willing to sign a long-term contract with the club. As it turns out, there may not have been much to any of it.

Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press reported on Tuesday that the two sides are currently working on a contract that could potentially keep him in Winnipeg for the next six seasons.

Kane, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2009 draft, has seen his production improve every year he's been in the NHL and is coming off a breakout season in 2011-12 as he scored a career-high 30 goals while playing in just 74 games. He also finished second on the team in overall scoring with 57 points, trailing only Blake Wheeler.

Lawless points out that Kane's new deal could be similar to the ones signed by John Tavares (the No. 1 overall pick in Kane's draft year) and Phil Kessel when they came off of their original entry level deals.

Tavares recently signed a six-year, $33 million contract that begins this upcoming season, while Kessel's second contract was a five-year deal worth a total of $27 million.

Kane just completed his entry level contract this past season.

When looking at the production of the three players it's pretty clear that Kane's development is nearly identical to Kessel through their first three years in the NHL, and in some areas is behind Tavares -- but pretty similar in others.

First, just some raw numbers...

Evander Kane, Phil Kessel, John Tavares: First three years in NHL
Player Games Goals Assists Points Pts/Gm
Evander Kane 213 63 63 126 .591
Phil Kessel 222 66 60 126 .567
John Tavares 243 84 118 202 .831

Obviously Tavares stands out above the rest, both in terms of the raw numbers and the per-game averages.

The biggest difference between Tavares and Kane to this point is that from the very beginning the Islanders have relied on Tavares to be one of their go-to-guys on the power play and given him top minutes in those situations. In his rookie year he averaged over four minutes per game on the man advantage, and he's been one of their top forwards every year since.

Kane has had no such opportunity and has had to do the majority of his scoring during 5-on-5 situations. In fact, at no point in his career has he finished a season averaging more than two-and-a-half power play minutes per game. When you dig down to their even-strength numbers they're pretty similar in their production, while Kane has actually been the more productive point-producer with the play even over their first three years.

Kane doesn't turn 21 until August and is still improving every year. He probably hasn't hit his peak season yet or the prime of his career, he's productive, and one of their best players at driving the play up the ice in the right direction. If the Jets can get him secured on a deal in the six-year between $5 and $6 million it seems like it would be an excellent deal for both sides.

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