2012 NHL Arbitration

The following NHL players have elected to file for salary arbitration this summer. The hearings will be held from July 20 to August 4. Arbitrators are only allowed to hand out one to two year deals and their decisions must be made within 48 hours of the hearing. Teams then have 48 hours to accept or decline the arbitrator's decision. If a team has more than one player filing for arbitration, that team has 48 hours from their last player's hearing to decide if they want to accept or decline the arbitrator's decision. If a team declines an arbitrator's decision, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent. If an arbitrator's award is for more than $1,633,131 on a one-year contract, the team has the right to walk away from the decision and let the player become an unrestricted free agent. Anything under that amount, the team must accept the award. Players who have filed for arbitration cannot be given an offer sheet. The following players are still scheduled for arbitration:


All players re-signed with their teams before their arbitration dates.


The following players have re-signed with their teams prior to their arbitration hearings:

Anaheim Ducks
Nick Bonino, C - 2 years, $1.4 million (7/12/12)

Colorado Avalanche
Jamie McGinn, RW - 2 years, $3.5 million (7/13/12)

Dallas Stars
Richard Bachman, G - 1 year, $625,000 (7/12/12)
Mark Fistric, D - 1 year, $1.475 million (7/21/12)

Detroit Red Wings
Kyle Quincey, D - 2 years, $7.55 million (7/18/12)

Edmonton Oilers
Sam Gagner, C - 1 year, $3.2 million (7/20/12)

Florida Panthers
Kris Versteeg, RW - 4 years, $17.6 million (7/23/12)

Montreal Canadiens
Raphael Diaz, D - 2 years, $2.45 million (7/13/12)

Nashville Predators
Sergei Kostitsyn, LW - 2 years, $6 million (7/23/12)

New Jersey Devils
Mark Fayne, D - 2 years, $2.6 million (7/21/12)

New York Rangers
Anton Stralman, D - 2 years, $3.4 million (7/26/12)

Ottawa Senators
Kaspars Daugavins, LW - 1 year, $635,000 (7/23/12)

St. Louis Blues
T.J. Oshie, RW - 5 years, $20.875 million (7/19/12)
David Perron, LW - 4 years, $15.25 million (7/5/12)

San Jose Sharks
T.J. Galiardi, C - 1 year, $950,000 (7/9/12)

Toronto Maple Leafs
Nikolai Kulemin, RW - 2 years, $5.6 million (7/20/12)

Vancouver Canucks
Mason Raymond, RW - 1 year, $2.275 million (7/9/12)
Dale Weise, RW - 1 year, undisclosed (7/25/12)

Avalanche Acquire Downie, Red Wings Quincey in Three-Team Trade

The Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Detroit Red Wings participated in a three-team swap on Tuesday, which saw right wing Steve Downie head to the Avalanche and defenseman Kyle Quincey join the Red Wings. The Avalanche acquired Downie from the Lightning in exchange for Quincey and the Lightning then flipped Quincey to the Red Wings for minor league defenseman Sebastien Piche and Detroit's first round pick in the 2012 Entry Draft. All three players will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer. In 56 games so far this season, Downie has 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points and 123 penalty minutes, while Quincey has five goals and 18 assists for 23 points and 60 penalty minutes in 54 games. In 22 games with Grand Rapids of the AHL, Piche has three assists. He has yet to appear in an NHL game. The Avalanche needed a lot more grit up front and Downie will bring that to the team. He also brings some offensive ability to the team and is one of the top agitators in the league, so Western Conference teams will have to deal with his grating style of play for the rest of the season and likely beyond. With the emergence of Tyson Barrie and Stefan Elliott, Quincey became expendable on the blueline. For the Red Wings, they get a player who is familiar with the team's system in Quincey. He will bring some offensive ability and plenty of grit to the blueline as a third pairing defenseman. The Red Wings also look to the future a little bit in this deal, as Quincey could be a potential replacement for Brad Stuart, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Lightning are clearly selling off assets and stockpiling draft picks at this point to retool their team. They get a marginal defensive prospect in Piche, who may or may not figure in to their long term plans. The first round draft pick is the key of this deal for the Lightning, even though it is all but certain to be one of the last ones in that round.

Avalanche Re-Sign Winnik, Quincey, Grahame, Talbot, Add Liffiton, Mauldin, Van Der Gulik, Bacashihua

The Colorado Avalanche made a slew of signings Friday night by re-signing defenseman Kyle Quincey and center Daniel Winnik to two-year contracts and center Julian Talbot and goaltender John Grahame to one-year deals. The team also signed defenseman David Liffiton, center Greg Mauldin, right wing David Van Der Gulik, and goaltender Jason Bacashihua to one-year contracts. Financial terms of all the deals were not disclosed. The Avalanche acquired Winnik from the Phoenix Coyotes for a fourth round pick in 2012 on June 28 and Talbot from the St. Louis Blues for forward T.J. Hensick on June 17. The Winnik and Quincey signings are good ones for the Avalanche. Winnik is a good penalty killer and will bring some defensive skill to the checking lines, while Quincey brings plenty of offense and toughness to the blueline. The rest of the players are nothing more than depth signings, as nearly all of them are likely to spend most of next season in the minors.

Kings Acquire Veteran Forward Ryan Smyth from Avalanche

The Los Angeles Kings added some scoring depth to their roster late Friday evening into Saturday morning by acquiring left wing Ryan Smyth from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defensemen Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing and a fifth round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft. The Kings were in the market to acquire a big-name forward and were rumored close to acquiring Tampa Bay Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier last month, but the deal reportedly fell through. The Kings also had reported interest in signing free agent forwards Marian Gaborik and Marian Hossa, but were unable to do so, and were even linked to Dany Heatley at one point. Smyth appeared in 77 games last season with the Avalanche, scoring 26 goals and 33 assists for 59 points. In 920 career games with the Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, and New York Islanders, he has 310 goals and 350 assists for 660 points. Quincey was claimed off waivers by the Kings from the Detroit Red Wings early last season. In 72 games last season, he scored four goals and 34 assists for 38 points, all career highs for the young defenseman. Preissing, who was frequently scratched from games last season, appeared in 22 games with the Kings, scoring three goals and four assists for seven points. He also played in 14 games with the Kings’ AHL affiliate in Manchester, scoring two goals and four assists for six points. In 322 career games with the Kings, San Jose Sharks, and Ottawa Senators, Preissing has 31 goals and 100 assists for 131 points.

This is an okay trade for the Kings, and probably not the one most Kings fans were hoping for. Sure, Smyth brings plenty of offensive and goal-scoring skill, leadership, and experience, but he’s not the offensive force he used to be. A lot of fans will probably wish the Kings had pursued a superstar like Lecavalier or Hossa, but Smyth should work out just fine for the next few seasons. The Avalanche got a pretty good young defenseman in Quincey, as he plays with lots of grit and has great offensive skills. He should be a fixture on their blueline for years to come. Preissing on the other hand, is merely just a depth defenseman anymore. He showed lots of promise early in his career as a top-four defenseman, but has been in constant decline the past few seasons. He still brings some offensive depth to the Avalanche blueline, but may end up being a sixth defenseman given his drop in production.

Kings Claim Quincey Off Waivers

The Los Angeles Kings announced on Monday that they have claimed defenseman Kyle Quincey off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings. The claiming of Quincey off waivers came soon after the Kings reported that defenseman Jack Johnson will miss three months with an arm injury sustained in the October 12 game against the San Jose Sharks. Last season with the Red Wings, Quincey appeared in six games and going pointless in those games. He has yet to appear in a game this season. The Red Wings waived Quincey in an effort to trim payroll. The team was over the salary cap prior to the start of the season and were rumored shopping Quincey and Derek Meech. With a leg injury to Chris Chelios that put him on injured reserve, the Red Wings were able to buy a little bit of time to get below the salary cap. Quincey gives the Kings a physical defenseman who has lots of potential. He will be a decent replace for the rugged Johnson until he returns from injury.

Red Wings Re-Sign Chelios and Quincey

The Detroit Red Wings announced today that they have re-signed veteran defenseman Chris Chelios to a one year contract worth $750,000. The team also announced that they have re-signed defenseman Kyle Quincey to a two-year contract. Terms of Quincey's deal were not disclosed. It was reported last week that the team was closing to resigning both defensmen. In 69 games last season with Detroit, Chelios scored three goals and added nine assists for 12 points and 36 penalty minutes. Quincey played in six games for Detroit last season, going scoreless and adding four penalty minutes. Despite his age, Chelios brings lots of toughness, depth, and leadership to the Red Wings' defense. Quincey, who will likely play most of the season in the minors, gives Detroit lots of toughness on their blueline.

Report: Chelios to Re-Sign with Red Wings

According to TSN.ca and reports out of Detroit, defenseman Chris Chelios is expected to resign with the Detroit Red Wings for one year and make less than the $850,000 he made last season. It's reported the signing could be made official sometime next week. Chelios has played with the Red Wings since 1999 and has been an integral part of their defense since then. While he doesn't put up the numbers he used to, Chelios still brings plenty of experience, depth, and physical play to the Detroit's blueline as a top 4 defenseman despite being 46 years old. Chelios is solid proof that some NHL veterans can still thrive in the new, younger, and faster NHL.

In other Red Wings news, it is reported that defenseman Kyle Quincey is close to resigning a two year deal, while forward Darren McCarty is expected to be resigned to a one year, two-way contract. The signings of Chelios, Quincey, and McCarty would push the Red Wings over the salary cap and would likely have to make a trade to get below the cap. Young defenseman Derek Meech has been rumoured to be the player the Red Wings would likely trade to get below the salary cap.