Who's headed for salary arbitration?
Salary arbitration gives NHL players the opportunity to land better contracts when negotiations with their teams reach an impasse, but the process is never a pleasant one. The player and his agent attempt to justify their worth while the team, usually represented by the general manager, attempts to justify paying the player a lower salary.
In other words, the player tries to build himself up while the general manager tries to tear him down.
Regardless of which side the arbiter favors, the player usually feels unappreciated and bolts via unrestricted free agency within one to two years depending on their eligibility, thus teams usually try to avoid the process by re-signing the players before their scheduled hearing.
Currently nine players are headed for arbitration: Boston's Dennis Wideman, Colorado's Marek Svatos, Detroit's Valtteri Filppula, Florida's Jay Bouwmeester, Minnesota's Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Stephane Veilleux, Nashville's Ville Koistinen, Ottawa's Antoine Vermette, and Washington's Shaone Morrisonn.
Of these, the cases of Wideman, Svatos, Filppula, Bouwmeester, Bouchard, and Vermette are attracting the most attention, given their respective talents and value.
Bouwmeester is the biggest name in this group, and while the Panthers hope to re-sign him to a long-term contract, it's widely speculated he'll push for arbitration, accept a one-year deal, and jump into next summer's UFA market, where there'll be no shortage of suitors.
Panthers GM Jacques Martin denies he'll shop Bouwmeester if he fails to re-sign the blueliner long term, but it's already being speculated Bouwmeester could hit the trade block between New Year's Day and the February trade deadline.
Bouchard's situation is equally intriguing, as like Bouwmeester he could become eligible for UFA status next summer if he lands a one-year contract in arbitration.
The Wild reportedly have made him an offer, but the fact the club apparently offered him up last month to the Panthers in a failed bid to acquire Olli Jokinen probably doesn't sit well with Bouchard. He too could become potential trade bait by the February deadline.
Vermette's contract status has been an almost daily guessing game for Ottawa fans and pundits. The Senators hope to re-sign him and, despite Internet speculation that Vermette wants a trade, his agent insists his client wants to remain a Senator, but with a fair deal.
For Senators GM Bryan Murray, available cap space is the issue. He'd also like to re-sign RFA blueliner Andrej Meszaros and add a top-six winger to his forward lines.
Reports out of Detroit and Boston suggest the Red Wings and Bruins could have Wideman and Filppula re-signed prior to their arbitration hearings, while there's been little word out of Denver, Nashville and Washington as to the status of Svatos, Koistinen and Morrisonn.
Veilleux's situation took a surprising twist when the Wild recently placed him on waivers, but he cleared on Thursday. He and the club can continue negotiating up until his arbitration hearing.
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