The highlight of Wednesday ‘s NHL transactions was the Winnipeg Jets avoiding arbitration with recently-acquired forward Gabriel Vilardi.
Vilardi agreed to a two-year deal worth $6.875 million with his new. The 23-year-old was an restricted free agent acquired by the Jets as part of the trade that sent Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings. Vilardi scored 23 goals and 41 points in 63 games with the Kings last season.
The Vegas Golden Knights also avoided arbitration with restricted free agent Brett Howden by inking him to a two-year contract worth $3.8 million. Howden, 25, had 13 points in 54 regular season games last season and added 10 more points in 22 playoff games to help the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup for the first time.
Vegas also re-signed restricted free agent forward Pavel Dorofeyev to a one-year deal with an AAV of $825,000. Dorofeyev is a 2019 third-round pick (79th overall) who played in 18 games for the Golden Knights during the 2022-23 season, recording seven goals and nine points in a 10-game stretch from March 12 through April 3.
Unrestricted free agent forward Tomas Nosek signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the New Jersey Devils. Nosek, 30, spent last two seasons with the Boston Bruins. He scored seven goals and added 11 assists last season.
The St. Louis Blues signed undrafted free agent Jérémie Biakabutuka to an entry-level contract. Biakabutuk, a 21-tyear-old defenseman, produced 42 points in 56 games with the QMJHL’s Charlotte Islanders before playing three AHL games for the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2022-23.
Defenseman Noah Warren signed an entry-level contract with the Anaheim Duccks. The Ducks selected Warren in the second round (42nd overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. He collected 20 points in 47 games during his third season with the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL.
The Chicago Blackhawks and forward Philipp Kurashev have an arbitration hearing scheduled for today. According to reports, Kurashev filed a request for a one-year contract with a salary cap hit of $2.65 million. Chicago’s countered with an offer that would pay him $1.4 million per season for the next two years.