Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) skates between Winnipeg Jets center Morgan Barron (36) and defenseman Dylan Samberg (54) in the first period at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-Imagn ImagesWinnipeg Jets restricted free agents Morgan Barron, Gabriel Vilardi and Dylan Samberg have filed for arbitration.
The trio of Jets players were among the 11 RFAs around the NHL to file for arbitration.
Although they filed for arbitration, both the players and the team are hoping an agreement on a contract will occur before the hearings. Arbitration hearings can become a bit nasty, with the team making the case of why they shouldn't be paid as highly as they'd want, and the player making the case for why they deserve the salary they desire.
The deadline for club-elected salary arbitration was today at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT. Now the arbitration hearings will be held from July 20 to Aug. 4.
Barron, Vilardi and Samberg have all become important pieces to the Jets' current roster and their future. Barron is a physical force in the bottom six who provides occasional offence when the team is in need of it.
Vilardi has become a pillar on the top line and is due for an increased role following Nikolaj Ehlers' departure. He's one of the best net-front presence forwards in the NHL and has only improved since joining the Jets.
Samberg took the biggest jump of the three, truly developing into a shutdown, top-four defenseman. He averaged a career-high 21:08 of ice time this season while recording six goals and 20 points in 60 games.
His size, skating and defensive instincts played a large role in why the Jets tend to win most of his minutes.
Contract negotiations with the trio of RFAs were important prior to the arbitration filings, but they've gained an additional level of importance.
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