Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said the team will continue to speak with pending unrestricted free agent Nikolaj Ehlers for as long as possible.

“We’ll continue to have conversations until we can’t — or until we’re saying ‘Congratulations." Cheveldayoff told the media during his pre-draft availability on Thursday.

Earlier in the offseason Cheveldayoff said the club would put it's 'best foot forward' in trying to make Ehlers a Jet for life.

Ehlers, 29, recorded 24 goals and 53 points in 69 games with the Jets this season. He added five goals and seven points in eight playoff games before his team was eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the second round. The 6-foot winger is coming off a seven-year, $42 million contract that carried a cap hit of $6 million.

Ehlers is No. 4 on TSN's Top-50 Free agent list, behind Mitch Marner, Sam Bennett, and Brad Marchand. 

Ehlers headlines the team's list of pending unrestricted free agents along with trade-deadline add Brandon Tanev, forward Mason Appleton and blueliner Haydn Fleury. Gabriel Vilardi, Morgan Barron and Dylan Samberg are in need of new deals as restricted free agents.

The Jets recently announced that veteran Jonathan Toews has agreed to a bonus-laden one-year contract, bringing him back to the NHL after two years. 

Drafted ninth overall by the Jets in 2014, Ehlers has 225 goals and 520 points in 674 career games.

The Aalborg, Denmark native represented his country five times at the World Championship finishing as high as fourth place.