Winnipeg Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff pulled off a tidy bit of work Friday in locking up forward Gabriel Vilardi to a six-year extension worth $7.5 million per year.

The Winnipeg Jets locked up forward Gabriel Vilardi on Friday, signing the forward to a six-year contract extension worth $45 million US.

Vilardi, 25, is now under contract through the 2030-31 season at a $7.5-million cap hit, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. Vilardi filed for arbitration earlier in July, so this signing avoids a hearing where the Jets would have had to try to convince an arbitrator why Vilardi is not worth as much as the player's camp says he is.