Winnipeg Jets re-sign Gabriel Vilardi to two-year contract with $3.4375 million AAV

The Winnipeg Jets have re-signed winger Gabriel Vilardi to a two-year contract with a $3.4375 million cap hit.

Vilardi, 23, was a restricted free agent after the conclusion of his one-year, $825,000 contract that he originally signed with the Los Angeles Kings. He was set for an arbitration hearing on July 28th, so the two parties managed to settle on a deal well in advance of it. His new closest cap hit comparable is Arizona Coyotes’ winger Matias Maccelli at $3.425 million.

Vilardi is coming off a career year with the Kings in 2022-23, where he had 23 goals, 18 assists, and 41 points in 63 regular season games, with his goal total alone tying his previous career-high in points. He also played in five playoff games, with two goals, two assists, and four points as the Kings were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in six games by the Edmonton Oilers.

Vilardi was the 11th overall pick of the Kings in the 2017 draft out of the OHL, although he is currently only tied for 17th in scoring among players drafted that year. Vilardi has spent his entire professional career thus far with the Kings, but was dealt to the Jets this offseason along with Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, and a second-round pick for Pierre-Luc Dubois.

Outside of the Dubois trade, the Jets have had a quiet offseason, with their only new big addition on the free agent market being the return Laurent Brossoit, who played for the Jets from 2018 to 2021 as well. They have started to tear down their previous core as promised, as along with trading Dubois, they also bought out Blake Wheeler’s contract, but two other big trade targets in Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck remain on the team for the time being. They currently still have just under $3.8 million in cap space with two restricted free agents still to sign in Kupari and Logan Stanley.