The Winnipeg Jets have checked another big item off the summer to-do list -- and crept ever closer to the salary cap ceiling.
Defenceman Neal Pionk signed a two-year deal Sunday night that will pay him an average of $3 million per season. Pionk was a restricted free agent who had filed for arbitration. His case was set to be heard on Wednesday in Toronto.
The 23-year-old, who was born in Nebraska but grew up in Minnesota, made $1.775 million last year. He was obtained from the New York Rangers last month, along with the 20th-overall draft pick, in exchange for Jacob Trouba.