The contract will pay Lipon $650K at the NHL level or $150K at the AHL level, however, his deal holds a guarantee of $210K. The 25-year-old skated in 68 games for the Manitoba Moose in 2017-18, putting up 17 goals and 38 points, while serving as an alternate captain.
Now with former Moose captain Patrice Cormier playing hockey overseas, a new face will be called upon to serve the captain’s role in the upcoming season. With five years of American Hockey League experience under his belt with the Moose and the St. John’s IceCaps, the 6-foot, 185-pound winger may be the ideal candidate.
With the exception of some serious injuries or other holdouts, Lipon will most likely begin the 2018-19 season with the Moose. Battling the likes of Jack Roslovic, Marko Dano, Nic Kerdiles, Nic Petan, Brendan Lemieux and Kristian Vesalainen for one of the final roster spots, the Regina SK. product is in for quite the fight this season.
On top of holding the Manitoba Moose record for most assists by a right winger with 109, Lipon has 56 goals and 165 points in 331 AHL games. He has averaged roughly half a point-per-game and over 100 penalty minutes a season in the minors.
With Lipon now signed to a fresh contract, Jets’ General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has just two players left to sign, goaltender Eric Comrie and defenceman Josh Morrissey.
