TORONTO/NHLPA (July 5, 2007) – The following players
have elected Salary Arbitration:
Atlanta Thrashers
Garnet Exelby
Jim Slater
Buffalo Sabres
Nathan Paetsch
Derek Roy
Calgary Flames Eric Godard
Dallas Stars
Antti Miettinen
Mike Ribeiro
Florida Panthers
Steve Montador
Los Angeles Kings
Mike Cammalleri
Minnesota Wild
Pierre-Marc Bouchard
Nick Schultz
Kurtis Foster
Montreal Canadiens
Michael Ryder
Nashville Predators
Vernon Fiddler
Greg Zanon
New York Islanders
Trent Hunter
New York Rangers
Sean Avery
Marcel Hossa
Ottawa Senators
Ray Emery
Chris Kelly
Christoph Schubert
Phoenix Coyotes
Brendan Bell
Josh Gratton
Pittsburgh Penguins
Colby Armstrong
St. Louis
Lee Stempniak
San Jose Sharks
Rob Davison
Tampa Bay Lightning
Ryan Craig
Washington Capitals
Milan Jurcina
Brooks Laich
The deadline for Club-Elected
Salary Arbitration notification is July 6, 2007 at 5 p.m. ET. Hearings will be held in Toronto from July 20 to August 4, 2007
Cammalleri, Avery and Roy are going to get sizeable rewards. Roy and Cammalleri are probably in no danger of their respective teams walking away from their awards, but it will be very hard for the Rangers to hang on to Avery if they plan to either re-sign Shanahan or ink Souray. Avery would be quite sought-after, especially by clubs who need some versatility up front and an agitating presence. Imagine him with Toronto on a line with Darcy Tucker...
The Caps' Brooks Laich seems like a nice guy, but he's going to arbitration on a $600-something thousand dollar contract with 18 points in his pocket from last season? Could this be a strategy to reach UFA status sooner, because I don't imagine he's going to get an amazing boost in salary, and if he did, I think the Caps would let him loose.
Avery has to be the best player on this list. If the rangers do fail to sign him, or they walk away, he will be the brier of the second ufa season. He's tough, scores goals, works hard and wants to win...what team wouldn't he be a good fit on. If the rangers ink shanny, which I think they will, and persue souray...how much room will they have, not to mention hossa is on the list along side avery.
Last year when the sabers walked away from JP Dumont, he didn't get signed for a while, and he's AMAZING....I'm not saying Avery is as good, but he's deffinately an impact player most any team would love to have.
How much do you think him, along with others, are worth?
The Emery case is going to be huge. If it gets to arbitration that award is going to be at least north of $3 million, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it in the neighbourhood of $5 million. Meanwhile, Ottawa has roughly $9 million in cap space available and stil a bunch of roster holes to fill.
If Ottawa can move Gerber, they could #### a $5 million contract for Emery and patch the rest of the team together if they go to the cap max. Otherwise, taking that contract could really cut into their depth.
How do the other teams play this out? Does someone send Emery an offer sheet in advance of the hearing that's well beyond the ability for the Sens to match, say $6 million a year for at least two years? Do they wait until after the award to see if the Sens have a fire sale to clear cap room? Might the Senators have to use their walkaway rights?
An interesting game of chess is going to be played out...
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on July 5th at 5:02 PM.
Put the bongs down bloggers. Ray Emery is the man to watch out of all the dudes going to arbitration. For one, Ottawa needs him back big time next year, and for two it will definatly be interesting to see what a goalie with one good season under his belt can get out of arbitration.
Avery? He'll be staying with the rangers for no more than 2million a season next year. Toronto better not touch him. He'll suck up valuable resources, as he needs good players to make him look like a competent hockey player.
Cammalleri and Roy will definatly be signed by their teams, but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw Ryder and Ribeiro find new teams to play for. *sniff sniff* sounds like a few Islanders pick-ups.
The Wings need to get somebody soon. They dropped Lang, Bertuzzi, Calder, and Schneider (who was obviously replaced by Rafalski). I dont' think there's enough in their farm team to replace hits like that.
As was just said in the last comment, the Islanders seem like the team to scoop up some of the few big names left. From Guerin's interview, Garth Snow sounded very positive in trying to build a team. Obviously you can't do that without getting some stars on your team first.
I'm no Wings booster, but Schneider was replaced, and the others were either rentals or slugs. I'm not saying they don't have to do anything, but I think they are in pretty good shape even with those guys playing elsewhere. Assuming Hasek signs one of these weeks..
As for the Islanders, you're going to build a team eerily reminiscent of your old one when you pay fading veterans through the nose. I recognize their need to sell tickets, but letting go of character guys like Blake to pay millions to ones on oxygen tanks screams desperation city to me.
To follow up on Matt's remarks, I do think many clubs will be following the Emery situation and his potential award closely. There are still a few out there who need the help between the pipes and would be willing to pay for it. Ottawa clearly cannot afford to lose Emery. To say he was important to the Sens this past season risks an understatement of the millennium nomination. They would be well advised to keep the channels open during this process, as you often see with these. I definitely think Ryder ends up with a new jersey. (Not a pun.)
At the rate the salaries are going, you could agree to the decision and probably trade him somewhere anyway. There's more than one potential destination that would gladly take anyone with remote offensive capability, as we've seen.
Hey, this is Fox Sports! Home to overzealous censorship. Besides, the extreme right doesn't like the word con####uous, makes them feel paranoid. O.K. back to hockey.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Rangers walk from Avery. Sather'd be a fool, but this reminds me of the late 1990's. The Rangers haven't had a spark-plug player since they gave up on PJ Stock. On the other hand, they have two really good one-two punches up the middle. I'm betting Sather lets him walk.
For Ryder, i hope he's gonna be trade because yes he ha around 30 goals last season but i don't like this player because he plays for himself (he does never passes) and i don't know or if we can't (Montreal Canadiens) trade him i hope he's gonna be more creative next season...
I would have to believe the Rangers would like to re-sign Avery, but depending on the amount, the payoff could go either way. He's a very talented player...skilled, fast, aggressive...but also his potential to sel####estruct could hinder his appeal to this newer roster. With the character of the players signed this past month, will he be an asset/liability? Loved him here in L.A. when he was focused. Loose Cannon Avery is what would make me hesitate if I was Sather & the Rangers. Would still be a keeper for this organization, though, and seems to fit in nicely.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
