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Arbitration Can Get Ugly
by Alanah McGinley on 07/28/08 at 11:11 PM ET
Comments (4)
From James Mirtle at the Globe & Mail:
NHL salary arbitration hearings have been few and far between this summer, and there’s a reason. When cases go to a hearing, they can often get ugly, as players, agents and teams fight for dollars under the salary cap.
Washington Capitals defenceman Shaone Morrisonn is the only player who’s been through the process this off-season. He was awarded a one-year, $1.975-million (all currency U.S.) contract last Saturday after a hearing last Thursday in Toronto.
According to arbitration documents obtained by The Globe and Mail, the Capitals offered several less than flattering assessments of Morrisonn, a stay-at-home defenceman who was fourth on the team in ice time last season. Calling him “one-dimensional,” Washington argued that Morrisonn received substantial playing time in 2005-06 and 2006-07 on a weak team as a result of being “at the right place at the right time.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: arbitration, shaone+morrisonn,
Comments
Both sides fought for arbitration rights during the last lockout, but it’s never a fun option and one that almost inevitably results in the player departing via free agency by the end of their contract or traded (Luongo, Cammalleri).
Bruce Dowbiggin in his book “Money Players” presented a good example of that in covering Bobby Holik’s with the Devils back in 2001. At the time Holik was considered the Devils best all round forward and was seeking $5 million per season, but GM Lou Lamoriello ran him down by claiming he wasn’t worth what he was asking for.
Holik was hurt by Lamoriello’s comments and that drove him in 2002 toward the UFA market, despite Lamoriello offering him $7 million per season to stay in New Jersey.
It wasn’t the that drove away Holik, it was what he considered Lamoriello’s lack of respect and appreciation for his efforts.
That’s was ultimately drives away the player following arbitration. In almost every case it’s not about the money, it’s about respect and appreciation.
Posted by Lyle Richardson from Charlottetown, PEI, Canada on 07/29/08 at 06:03 AM ET
Yea the player bashing could certainly lead to some long-term issues between player and management. I would love to see a percentage of players who go to arbitration and then re-sign with that same team again. Bet the number is pretty low.
The teams kinda look stupid in this sense too, because if this guy is a worthless as you say why the hell do you want to sign him anyway?! lol
Posted by WingMan from The Q C on 07/29/08 at 07:55 AM ET
It’s just how the arbitration process is set up. One side argues that the player deserves some value that’s too high and the other argues that he deserves some value that’s too low.
If a player makes it to arbitration, it’s generally because negotiations were going poorly in the first place. So the team may as well try to get the player for as little as they can—then they at least come out of it with something, even if it’s just a player for one/two years or an asset to trade.
Arbitration is a double-edged sword that gives RFAs an out if they feel they’re being taken advantage of and gives teams an out if they feel an RFA is being unreasonable. The problem with double-edged swords (aside from them being used in tacky metaphors), of course, is that they really do cut both ways. Nobody ever really wins an arbitration hearing.
Posted by Ryan from Toronto on 07/29/08 at 12:03 PM ET
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This process of bashing players at the hearing never made much sense to me. Would be interesting to know how many players are eventually traded because the wounds never heal. Morrisonn is a pretty valuable asset for the Caps. He’s the steady guy who lets Mike Green skate all over the ice.
Posted by Leserv from Arizona on 07/29/08 at 02:11 AM ET