Mason Appleton is leaving the Winnipeg Jets for the second time.
The free-agent forward has signed a two-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings that has an average annual value of $2.9 million, the team announced Wednesday.
Appleton has played all but 49 of his 400 career NHL games with the Jets. His lone time away came after the Seattle Kraken picked him in the 2021 Expansion Draft before trading him back to the Jets at the 2022 trade deadline.
Appleton had 10 goals and 12 assists in 72 games for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Jets last season. He has 57 goals and 81 assists for 138 points in his career.
The Jets picked the Green Bay, Wis. native in the sixth round (168th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft. He was the AHL rookie of the year in 2018 with the Manitoba Moose.
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