Jets’ Kupari Signs 2-Year Contract With Switzerland’s HC Lugano

Winnipeg Jets centre Rasmus Kupari has signed a two-year contract with the Swiss National League’s HC Lugano.

Kupari, a 25-year-old pending restricted free agent from Finland, recorded five goals and three assists for eight points in 53 games this season. 2024-25 was his second campaign with the Jets since being acquired from the Los Angeles Kings along with Alex Iafallo and Gabriel Vilardi in the June 2023 trade that sent Pierre-Luc Dubois out of Winnipeg.

Kupari missed time with a concussion late this season and was scratched for all of the Jets’ 13 playoff games. Last season, he was limited to one assist in 28 games due to a combination of a upper-body injury that kept him out for more than two months and healthy scratches.

If the Jets tender Kupari a qualifying offer, they will maintain his NHL rights. The 2018 first-rounder has 38 points (14 goals, 24 assists) in 217-career NHL games.