Welcome to another edition of NHL Notebook, where we review current events across the league! It was a relatively quiet lead-in to the weekend, but the transactions keep rolling in, as the Winnipeg Jets secured a major component of their future Friday.

Winnipeg Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi will be a central pillar of the organization for the foreseeable future. Vilardi signed a six-year contract worth $7.5 million annually, avoiding arbitration. PuckPedia reported that Vilardi’s first year of the deal will be structured as $3.5 million in salary, with a $3.5 million signing bonus, while the rest of the year will see him receive a $7.6 million salary.

The 25-year-old is coming off the most productive season of his career where he recorded 27 goals and 61 points in 71 games last season, before adding a goal and four points in nine playoff contests. Winnipeg controlled 51.7 percent of the expected goals when Vilardi was on the ice at 5-on-5, while sporting a plus-17 goal differential last season, via Natural Stat Trick.

Vilardi now projects to be the Jets’ first-line right wing through his age-31 season, as he’s rounding into his prime. With the salary cap slated to rise over the next three seasons, this is a deal that will certainly age well for the Jets, at least through the first four seasons barring injury. Vilardi has been a prolific scorer at every level of his career dating back to major junior, and he’s now responsible for commanding top-line production through the duration of the deal.

Winnipeg acquired Vilardi, along with Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and a 2024 2nd-round pick from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois in June 2023. It’s a move that’s worked out handsomely for the Jets, and Dubois’ tenure with the Kings was short-lived, as he was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Darcy Kuemper in June 2024.