The Los Angeles Kings announced on Twitter Saturday afternoon that they agreed to terms with forwards Gabriel Vilardi and Jaret Anderson-Dolan. Vilardi’s contract extension is a one-way deal for one-year and worth $825,000.00. He will be an RFA at the end of the 2022-2023 season. Anderson-Dolan’s extension is a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000 at the NHL level. He will also be an RFA at the end of the 2022-2023 season.
SIGNED ✍️
We’ve signed Gabe Vilardi & Jaret Anderson-Dolan to one-year contracts.
— LA Kings (@LAKings) July 23, 2022
Los Angeles Kings Re-Sign Forwards Gabriel Vilardi and Jaret Anderson-Dolan
The Kings hope that with proven results in the AHL, both players can sharpen their game to produce breakout years in the NHL.
Gabriel Vilardi
Since entering the NHL during the 2019-20 season, Vilardi has 89 games played, 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points with a plus/minus of -13. He showed a little more muscle playing for the Ontario Reign (AHL) this past season with 38 points in just 39 games played. The Kingston, Ontario native was drafted by the Kings in the first round, 11th overall, in the 2017 NHL Draft. Although burdened by his history of injuries, Vilardi has proven his dominance in his time with the Reign. This has also led to an occasional call-up to the Kings roster. From the looks of it, this short-term deal might be a “prove it” extension for the Kings to see if he can remain healthy and live up to the production he’s shown in Ontario.
Today seems like a great day for Gabe Vilardi to score a goal. #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/efyxo3ZbPo
— Ryan Sikes (@ryan_sikes10) March 22, 2022
Jaret Anderson-Dolan
On the other side, there is Jaret Anderson-Dolan: the 22-year-old Calgary, Alberta native who spent the better part of this past season in the Reign lineup. He has proven his worth in the AHL finishing this past season as one of the team’s leading scorers. Anderson-Dolan finished the 2021-22 season with 24 goals and 47 points in Ontario. He has shown that he has what it takes to produce consistently on the farm team, but showing that production is another story for the Kings. With just seven games played this past season, he tallied 0 points with a plus/minus of -3. There is still a lot of improvement he can show and the Kings are willing to take that risk on this one-year deal.
What’s Next
With Vilardi and Anderson- Dolan locked in, the Kings still have to pen two other players whom they issued qualifying offers. Those two new contacts would belong to defencemen Michael Anderson and Sean Durzi. As the offseason progresses, the Kings will look to lock in the rest of their young prospects to their respective contracts. This will add much-needed depth if these players can improve upon their skills and bring it to the NHL.
