Avery and Hossa headed to arbitration
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- July
- 5
That Sean Avery is headed to salary arbitration isn’t a surprise. Marcel Hossa may be another story.
Meanwhile, after speculation grew that the Rangers were close to something else today, they now say they’re done—for the night, at least.
Tomorrow’s another story. I suspect Brendan Shanahan is still close to signing. How close I suppose we’ll find out then.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, July 5th, 2007 at 6:15 pm by Sam Weinman.
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Josh Thomson Josh, who is 26 and a native of Carmel, graduated from Boston University in 2002 and began working for The Journal News the following March. 
Arbitration! That stinks… does this mean, however, that both will stay as Rangers?
Do youknowany details about what they are asking etc?
Is it player or team elected?
How the NHL salary arbitration process works.
NHL salary arbitration is a tool available to settle some contract disputes. The player and team each propose a salary for the coming season, and argue their cases at a hearing. The arbitrator, a neutral third party, then sets the player’s salary.
Most players must have four years of NHL experience before they are eligible for salary arbitration (the term is reduced for those who signed their first NHL contract after the age of 20). The process is used by restricted free agents, because it is one of the few bargaining options available to them.
The deadline for players to request salary arbitration is July 5, with cases heard in late July and early August. A player and team can continue to negotiate up until the date of the hearing, in hopes of agreeing on a contract and avoiding the arbitration process.
Teams can also ask for salary arbitration. But a player can be taken to arbitration only once in his career, and can never receive less than 85 per-cent of his previous year’s salary. There are no such restrictions on the number of times a player can ask for arbitration, or the size of the salary awarded.
A decision must be made within 48 hours of the hearing. When the decision is announced, the team has the right to decline, or “walk away” from the award. If the team exercises this right, the player can declare himself an unrestricted free agent.
The evidence that can be used in arbitration cases:
The player’s “overall performance” including statistics in all previous seasons.
Injuries, illnesses and the number of games played.
The player’s length of service with the team and in the NHL.
The player’s “overall contribution” to the team’s success or failure.
The player’s “special qualities of leadership or public appeal.”
The performance and salary of any player alleged to be “comparable” to the player in the dispute.
Evidence that is not admissible:
The salary and performance of a player who signed a contract as an unrestricted free agent.
Testimonials, video and media reports.
The financial state of the team.
The salary cap and the state of the team’s payroll.
Bryan – thanks – where did you find this info.
Sather has himself a cap headache.
Im thinking Avery will get awarded anywhere from 1.2-1.5 million.
imagination- Based on what? Did you read that article above?
If they lose Avery, the Rangers lose the heart and soul of the team.
Avery will get at least 2.5 IMO.
Sam, I just saw a blog where a poster claiming to be you says Forsberg is close to the Rangers on a 1 year deal. Was that you? And is that what you were alluding to when you mentioned “something else”?
Mike what are you basing it on? Michelle Oullete had 48 points, as did Avery. He got a deal at 1.2 million
BRYAN do you have the over 35 , 1 year contract bonus exemption rules that would apply to Shanahan?
I’m thinking Avery gets double those numbers
not to speak for Sam or anything, but I think if Sam’s going to blog somewhere that Forsberg is coming to NY… it’s going to be on his blog, not somewhere else. So chances of that being 1) Sam and 2) true are both slim.
Besides, signing forsberg makes no sense unless they dont bring Shanahan back and they move Drury to the wing. Forsberg is damaged goods, that’d be an awful move no matter what.
my guess is Avery gets something around 1.75M
Players 35 and older as of June 30 in the League Year that they sign a contract may earn performance bonuses, as well as players with 400 or more games played and who spent 100 or more days on injured reserve in the last year of their most recent contract; however, in these two cases, performance bonuses are only allowed for 1-year contracts
When teams calculate how much room they have under the cap to add players, any potential bonuses that a player can earn must be included in the player’s cap count. Teams may exceed the upper limit by up to 7.5% in order to pay such bonuses
Yeah I doubted that rumor as well, but “something else” is suspicious, no?
As for Avery getting $2.5, that’s what he’s probably worth. He brings alot more to the table than points, and he’ll exploit that in arb.
The rangers will sign Avery but probably not Hossa.
I think the most Avery gets is 2 million. Plus, they could, in theory work out a deal prior to the arbitration hearings.
According to those rules above, regarding bonuses, the Rangers could give Shanahan a contract that has bonuses that exceed the cap by 3.7725 million
LI Joe- Found them on the NHLPA site. All of that kinda stuff is on there.
Avery will get between 1.25-1.5 million and Hossa between 900,000-1.1 million based on comparative players and stats.
They won’t loose Hossa unless it’s by their choice.
That being said, this is all a formality as the majority of players who have not reached agreement by 5pm on July 5 continue negotiations up until the hearings which are from July 20- Aug 4. This gives both sides time to continue while assuring the player his rights under the CBA. If you go and look back at the 2006 arbitration hearings you will find most were “settled before hearing” .
Out of 68 players who requested salary arbitration only 13 players actually went through with the hearing. Of those 13 players only two teams rejected their arbitrators decision (
David Tanabe awarded a one-year, $1.275 million contract, which the Bruins rejected & J.P. Dumont awarded a one-year deal for $2.9 million, which the Sabres rejected) .
Vitali Vishnevski awarded a one-year deal for $1.55 million, which the Ducks accepted
Daniel Briere awarded a one-year, $5 million contract, which the Sabres accepted
Adam Mair awarded a one-year deal for $675,000, which the Sabres accepted
Kyle Calder awarded a one-year, $2.95 million contract, which the Blackhawks accepted
Jim Vandermeer awarded a one-year, $1.225 million deal, which the Blackhawks accepted
Jay Bouwmeester awarded a two-year deal for $4.35 million, which the Panthers accepted
Scott Gomez awarded a one-year, $5 million deal, which the Devils accepted
Mike York awarded one-year at $2.85 million, which the Islanders accepted
Ladislav Nagy awarded one-year at $3 million, which the Coyotes accepted
Ryan Malone awarded a two-year, $2.75 million deal, which the Penguins accepted
Mark Smith awarded one-year, $700,000 contract, which the Sharks accepted
If you look at the players and their awards from last year you can guage what Avery and Hossa will receive, IMHO.
I’m thinking Avery was player-filed, Hossa was team-filed. Hossa will probably get less than he did this past season based on those rules, since he didn’t score much overall and had a month-long injury. Arbitration for him is probably a good thing for the Rangers’ cap. Avery will probably get around $2 million because of the “special qualities of leadership” and the fact that he can say his trade sparked the Rangers’ turnaround last season. Hopefully, the Rangers can sign avery for slightly cheaper than that before arbitration comes through because he’s realistically not worth that much more than Prucha.
Go NYR what does what Sam wrote have to do with the cap? Sather will more than likely be close to the max. His capologist has to figure it out. That’s why I said a cap headache.
Just to clarify, any bonuses given in a contract results in the amount being subtracted from the following years cap space.
Actually I take that back about Hossa; it’s gonna be hard to give him less than $600,000. Maybe he’ll get the same.
I agree with those who think Avery gets about $2m, maybe a couple hundred g’s more. If Hossa is awarded more than $1m I think the Rangers will simply walk away.
Steve not absolutely in the over 35 bonus exemption. It can be 7.5% over for that year, it only goes to the following year if they’re over the $3.77 mil .
I’m worries about the relationship with Avery after this and I hope both sides can reach an agreement. Sometimes these things can get ugly and beyond repair after the year is over.
This bites. I hope this doesn’t upset Avery and change his attitude about the team and the organization. This is a key player on our team, probably the most important after Henrik and Jagr.
Here is a story on the winners and losers of the Free Agency period.
Gotta LOVE IT!
http://www.nbcsports.com/nhl/1726379/detail.html
I think Avery—and most players—understand that business is business and that the cap is tight and that arbitration is a necessary evil in most cases. Every word I’ve read indicates that Avery loves being a Ranger and loves being in New York. I don’t think this will ruffle his feathers too much.
The Forsberg post was definitely not from me.
Meanwhile, Holy Islanders: They signed both Mike Comrie and Bill Guerin today.
Suddenly they’re no longer looking so pathetic.
Sam
At 26 years old, why would they only sign Comrie to a one year deal?
Good point – I think the Isles are upgraded to plain pathetic.
Guerin, their new 1st line forward will be 37 years old this November.
The Atlantic division is going to be really strong this year. I suspect the Rangers, Devils, and Pens will all make the playoffs. I don’t think Philly or the Islanders will make the postseason, but I have a feeling they’re going to be pesky teams to play that are going to have an impact on ultimately who wins the division.
I think Shanny will be re-signed in the next few days, followed by Henrik sometime next week, and then Avery and Hossa in the following days/ weeks. I have no info to back that off of, just my personal opinions.
Interesting post Bryan. From a quick glance, it seems that most of those players are no longer with the team that they took (or took them) to arbitration. I really hope we get a deal done with Avery (and Hossa, but to a lesser extent) before it ever gets to arbitration.
Avery is not going anywhere. We upgraded Our team and it sends a message that We wanna win. He will resign if he doesnt I will be shocked.
BlueClue—Because, at 26 years old, he’s already on his 5th team.
Comrie is a pretty heartless player. Teams have gotten sick of him VERY easy around the NHL. He says he wants to prove himself as a #1. Well, IMO the only way to sign Comrie is on a 1 year deal so the Islanders actually did a decent thing there. He will actually be playing for a contract so he might not be that heartless ;)
Jon Rx
That crossed my mind, but say he is playing for the contract and then has a breakout year, he probably won’t want to sign with the Isles the next year.
Now if they signed him to a 3 year deal, that would have made more sense. They could have always traded him down the line if he faltered and the upside could have been bigger.
This signing coming from a guy who locked up Dipietro to a 15 year deal.
Hey Sam,
With Weeksy signing with NJ, have you heard anything about what the Rangers backup goalie scenario will look like for this season. Please tell me they are not going with Stephen Valiquette as their real back-up. This guy is a career minor leaguer. Please tell me they plan on bringing up Montoya to be the King’s backup. If not, are they quietly looking for any potential backup in the UFA pool or through a cheap trade? Any ifno would be greatly appreciated.
What does IMO mean???
And someone told me that Avery wants to go back to LAK cause his gf like it there…or he wants to go to a canadian team
IMO: In My Opinion
ORR – what does your name mean
Im not trying to be an a hole but im just curious
It means Orr Kicks A$$, i got it from Denis Leary on Rescue Me. He’s always saying Yin Yang, it sounds funny.
Anyway
Is there any way we can lose Avery, im getting nervous over here….
The only way Avery walks is if the Rangers dont like what he is awarded in arbitration. If they dont agree, he gains UFA status
Shanny will sign..
we will all breathe easier after Lundy and Avery are sure to be back
Fan reports from the Rangers Fan Fest (for season ticket holders), said that Valiquette was talking as if he’d been told he’s the backup for next year.
Sam, you eluded to something happening today, was that the signing of one of our own or something from outside the organization?
this avery thing is a joke.we sign too great all around players,than WASTE 600k on strudwick.why are we pussyfooting around with avery and the king?lets put it this way.if WE DID NOT HAVE AVERY AND THE KING LAST YEAR,WE WOULD NOT BE IN THE PLAYOFFS.PERIOD CASE CLOSED.hossa probably want’s prucha money.he could not touch prucha’s jock strap.this thing with two of the most vital players on the is like being a penny wise and a dollar stupid!!i for one couldn’t care less if hossa comes back at all.he is not even a top nine forward on this team.he can be replaced easily with any of the kids in hartford.infact if we needed to sacrifice a player i for one would also say bye bye to shanny.this team played damn well without both shanny and hossa at the end of the season and that’s without the addition of gomez or drury as a second line center wich they didn’thave last year.please nyr management,don’t screw up what so far has been one of the best offseasons in m 32 years of being a fan!
Mike Comrie isn’t that special. He had all of 6 points in the playoffs this year. The Islanders are looking to be the weakest in the division at this point. DiPietro’s their only glimmer of hope.
I was just checking out more video of Drury and Gomez at the Rangers’ website. And honestly, I still cannot believe we have both of these guys locked up as ours for the next 5-7 years. Sit and really think about it. We took the Sabres best player, and the Devils best player, BOTH of them wanted to come here, and added them to Jagr and Lundquist, in addition to everyone else we have. The most important thing now is to sign Lundquist. It sounds as if neither he nor the team is filing for arbitration, which almost certainly means he’s getting locked up long term.
And yes, I understand the Sean Avery thing. The guy brought adrenaline and energy and passion to a team that lacked those ingredients sorely. But are we still going to lack those things? With Drury, Shanny, and Gomez in the locker room? With Nylander – who did a great job but certainly had little defensive presence, and was pretty unemotional – now gone?
I understand what Avery did for us last year, and I’d love to have the guy back. But the big question is was he just the right spark dropped into the right place at the right time, or is he someone the Rangers need on a continuous basis? We love him for what he did, but can he and will he continue to do those things? On a good team – a very good team, as we now really are – is he any more than a third line player (not that I wouldn’t love to swap he and Prucha on those line combos)? I hope it works out and he signs, but honestly for right now the biggest thing the guy brings are intangibles that the two UFAs we just signed have in spades. For people to make it out like the Rangers not fitting the guy under the cap will kill us is likely a gross overreaction. The single most important thing they must do is keep Hank happy.
think Avery needs to be signed too. Should see about trading one or more of Malik, Mara, Prucha to help with salary cap and get draft picks (2nd rd or 3rd). I like Prucha but his salary can be sliced in 1/2 with Dawes or another Hartford player. Key is to be strong up middle (3 good and 1 adequate center) and of course THE KING.
Peter: You have an interesting point, but I think we need Avery more now than we did last year given that we’ve lost an energy guy who brings it every night in Ortmeyer. I don’t think that people realise what a huge loss he’ll be.
At this point, trading somebody for as low as a second round pick next year like the Islanders did would be a very good thing for a few years from now. It is supposed to be a draft much deeper than this year’s, which really isn’t saying much, but there will probably be very talented players in all of the second round.
How do I get my name in bold?? I feel so insignificant :(
The truth is they sign lundqvist no matter if it meant only signing one of the following avery, shanny, or hossa maybe even none of them. Goaltending is the most important thing in the game and most important for winnning. Henrik will be on this team for another decade.
I’m just hoping the vital signings get done soon..
i.e. Henrik and Avery
what a bunch of nervous annies. Avery will get signed, he just hired a new agent, Arliss. So relax.
Sam, should we expect anything from Rangers today? Are we waiting for Avery & Lundqvist to be signed and then from the remaining cap we’ll get Shanny?
Fishsticks sign Guerin and Comrie. Big deal, they are still bottom feeders. Guerin is way past his prime and his best years are behind him. Comrie just can’t get his head screwed on right.
The only thing the Fishsticks might gain from their moves are players they can unload for prospects/picks at the deadline.
The reason I am so upset about Avery going to salary arbitration is that the team usually states their case as to why the player should be receiving X amount of dollars. Sometimes, this has a negative affect on the player since the team has to argue a case and somewhat knock the player and his production. Avery’s case should be simple: “If the NYR didn’t trade for me in February, they probably don’t make the playoffs.” That might be a bit extreme to say that, but I think it’s true. He lit a fire under them that was missing all season. And he probably scored the biggest goal of the year for us in the regular season when he tied the game at 2 against St. Louis. That game at the beginning of March got this team on a roll.
I’m not saying Avery deserves a huge contract, but would a 3 year deal at $8 million been so difficult to propose? I guarantee you he gets upwards of $2 million per season, maybe even $2.5.
Peter – Avery is every bit as important to this team with Drury and Gomez as he was without. In fact, he’s probably MORE valuable with them because he can now stay on the wing and perhaps skate third-line. This makes third line MUCH tougher, first of all, and it makes the team deeper all around.
Brandon – If Strudwick is given $600,000, I doubt even the Rangers’ first offer to Hossa was for that ammount.
Czech – Hossa is a strong player with a solid, well-rounded game. If you’ve watched him play, and then watched whats brewing down in Hartford, there’s no way one of those kids is comming up and filling that void. Of course he’s not an all-star, but he’s a role player, like Orts was and Dom Moore was before him. These are guys that fill holes the stars leave open. Hossa also happens to have a very reputable breakout streak behind him, along with a strong showing in the first round of the playoffs. It’s very concievable that this kid is breaking out of whatever shell he’s been in since being drafted. Losing him now would be a risk I wouldn’t take as GM.
The Islanders. LOL. It’s the joke that just gets funnier by the minute. Comrie and Guerin? Ha. Ha ha. Sure, Comrie’s a good move I guess. But Guerin? Pulease.
Weekes is on the Devils now? That’s even more hilarious. What a friggin’ useless sot. I figured he’d sign for a team where he’d actually play. Behind Brodeur, he’s facing a maximum of 10 games. What a lazy bum. Good ridance to bad rubish. I’d take Valliquete over his overpaid a$$ any day.
tdchi weekes signed for 675 & 700 while Valliquette is making 617.
I’m a Kings fan here and just understand that Avery only had 48 points because he was on the Kings until February of this season. If he had been on the Rangers all year (or most of the other teams for that matter), he would have generated more offense, thus more points.
He generated about 0.5 points per game with the Kings and 0.7 with the Rangers. He would have had about 59 points, using this logic, if he had played all 82 games with the Rangers and only 42 points if he had remained with the Kings.
So comparing him to Michelle Oullete (48 points, same as Avery) and saying Avery would command about 1.2 million like Oullete isn’t completely reliable. I say 1.5-2 million, somewhere in that range.
SIGN HENRIK AND AVERY IMMEDIATELY!!! I DON’T UNDERSTAND THE RATIONALE THAT SATHER IS USING WITH THE DELAY OF THESE SIGNINGS….
I love the Drury signing…my wishes came true. Although Gomez is a good player ( and his #’s went down last season), I honestly think he was over-paid. Six million, maybe, yes, but not over 7 million. Anyway, both are an upgrade over Nylander who is both slower and older. Both Drury and Gomez have an edge to them and work hard. The Rangers are looking good but without Henrik signed long term this all will be for nought. And Avery does play an essential role for this team and does play hard.
Liza
Your stats make perfect sense to me.