The Winnipeg Jets re-signed RFA Gabriel Vilardi to a six-year contract on Friday.
Vilardi, 25, is now under contract through the 2030-31 season at a $7.5-million cap hit, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. Vilardi filed for arbitration earlier in July, so this signing avoids a hearing where the Jets would have had to try to convince an arbitrator why Vilardi is not worth as much as the player's camp says he is.
Of all the RFAs who signed contracts since the opening of free agency on July 1, Vilardi's cap hit is tied with newly acquired Carolina Hurricanes defenseman K'Andre Miller for the highest.
In 71 games this past season, Vilardi recorded 27 goals and 34 assists for 61 points, which were all career highs. It was a breakout campaign for the right winger, who had 36 points in 2023-24 and 41 points in 2022-23.
Vilardi earned a solid role on the top line alongside Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele, who had 97 and 87 points, respectively.
The 25-year-old from Kingston, Ont., has come a long way since the Los Angeles Kings picked him 11th overall in the 2017 NHL draft.
It took over two-and-a-half years after being drafted for Vilardi to play his first NHL game in February 2020. He only played 32 games in the OHL the season afterward, and a chronic back injury limited him to four AHL games in 2018-19.
Vilardi was an NHL regular in the 2020-21 season, but in October 2021, he put up only one point in seven games. The Kings assigned him to AHL Ontario, where he recorded 38 points in 39 games before being recalled. Vilardi hasn't played in the AHL since then.
The Kings traded Vilardi with Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and a 2024 second-round pick to the Jets in exchange for center Pierre-Luc Dubois, who lasted only one season in Los Angeles before being moved to the Washington Capitals for Darcy Kuemper.
Dubois had 60 and 63 points in two full-length seasons in Winnipeg as a center. If Vilardi keeps up his production from this past season or improves, he'll at least replicate Dubois' scoring as a Jet.
Winnipeg also has about $10.5 million in cap space after re-signing Vilardi. Kupari and Dylan Samberg remain RFAs.
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