The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms on a six-year extension with Gabe Vilardi. The Winnipeg Jets have re-signed top line winger Gabe Vilardi to a new six-year deal with an annual cap hit at $7.5 million per season. 2024-25 was Vilardi’s second season with the Jets after spending the first four years of his career in Los Angeles. He was originally drafted 11th overall by the Kings in 2017, and was ultimately traded to Winnipeg in 2023 as part of the Pierre-Luc Dubois blockbuster trade. In 71 games last year, the 24-year-old forward posted career-highs across the board, tallying 27 goals and 34 assists, for 61 points. He was a key contributor on the power play, registering 25 power-play points, while averaging meaningful minutes at over 18 minutes of ice time per night. Vilardi spent the entire season playing on the team’s top line, one of hockey’s most impactful lines in the league last season, alongside Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele. He missed time at the end of the season due to an upper-body injury but returned in the playoffs for Winnipeg. Each of Vilardi, Scheifel and Connor were hurt for good chunks of the 2023-24 season, so it was really only the 2024-25 calendar year that he was able to build such chemistry with his new teammates on both the top scoring line and power play. Could Chibrikov, Lambert Take Over Ehlers Role For Winnipeg? [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/bbaeefa0-0b19-4e0a-85f7-8ec019bdd4d6.webp] Could Chibrikov, Lambert Take Over Ehlers Role For Winnipeg? Exploring options for top-six winger with high-end prospects Nikita Chibrikov and Brad Lambert being potential options. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/winnipeg-jets/latest-news/could-chibrikov-lambert-take-over-ehlers-role-for-winnipeg] Vilardi’s deal as a restricted free agent will keep him in the polar night blue through the 2030-31 NHL season. He now has an estimated $18 million in career earnings to his name.
