2011 NHL Arbitration

The following NHL players have elected to file for salary arbitration this summer. The deadline for players to elect salary arbitration was July 5 at 5 PM EST. The hearings will be held from July 20 to August 4, with the specific dates to be determined by the NHL and NHLPA. All arbitration dates are currently to be determined. 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:


Chicago Blackhawks
Chris Campoli - July 20, 2011 (Originally scheduled for August 3, 2011) (Arbitration date was pushed up because the Blackhawks were not going to accept an arbitration award) - Awarded one-year contract worth $2.5 million in arbitration (Blackhawks walked away from the award, making him an unrestricted free agent)

Nashville Predators
Shea Weber - August 2, 2011 - Awarded one-year contract worth $7.5 million in arbitration (Predators accepted the award)


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

Anaheim Ducks
Andrew Cogliano - 3 years, $7.17 million (7/19/11) (Acquired from the Edmonton Oilers on 7/12/11)
Dan Sexton - 2 years, $1.1 million (7/11/11)

Buffalo Sabres
Andrej Sekera - 4 years, $11 million (7/19/11)

Carolina Hurricanes
Derek Joslin - 2 years, $1.4 million (7/8/11)

Chicago Blackhawks
Viktor Stalberg - 2 years, $1.75 million (7/10/11)

Colorado Avalanche
Kevin Porter - 1 year, $850,000 (7/9/11)
Ryan Wilson - 1 year, $1.275 million (7/9/11)

Los Angeles Kings
Alec Martinez - 2 years, undisclosed (7/8/11)
Brad Richardson - 2 years, $2.35 million (7/12/11)

Montreal Canadiens
Josh Gorges - 1 year, $2.5 million (7/22/11)

Nashville Predators
Sergei Kostitsyn - 1 year, $2.5 million (7/8/11)

New Jersey Devils
Mark Fraser - 1 year, $550,000 (7/26/11)
Zach Parise - 1 year, $6 million (7/29/11)

New York Islanders
Blake Comeau - 1 year, $2.5 million (8/2/11)

New York Rangers
Brian Boyle - 3 years, $5.1 million (7/14/11)
Ryan Callahan - 3 years, $12.875 million (7/27/11)
Brandon Dubinsky - 4 years, $16.8 million (7/21/11)
Michael Sauer - 2 years, $2.5 million (7/8/11)

Phoenix Coyotes
Lauri Korpikoski - 2 years, undisclosed (7/20/11)

Tampa Bay Lightning
Teddy Purcell - 2 years, $4.725 million (7/20/11)

Vancouver Canucks
Jannik Hansen - 3 years, $4.05 million (7/28/11)

Winnipeg Jets
Blake Wheeler - 2 years, $5.1 million (7/18/11)

Thrashers Acquire Wheeler, Stuart from Bruins for Peverley, Valabik

The Atlanta Thrashers announced today that they have acquired winger Blake Wheeler and defenseman Mark Stuart from the Boston Bruins in exchange for center Rich Peverley and defenseman Boris Valabik. Wheeler and Valabik will both be eligible for restricted free agency this summer, while Stuart will be eligible for unrestricted free agency. Peverley still has one more year left on his current deal. In 58 games with the Bruins this season, Wheeler has 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points, while Stuart has one goal and four assists for five points in 31 games. In 59 games with the Thrashers, Peverley has 14 goals and 20 assists for 34 points, while Valabik has nine assists and 165 penalty minutes with Chicago of the AHL. He has not appeared in an NHL game so far this season. This is a good trade for the Thrashers, as Wheeler and Stuart will bring plenty of depth to the team at their respected positions. Wheeler will add some two-way depth, size, and offensive skill despite being a little inconsistent in his scoring, while Stuart will add plenty of defensive depth as a stay-at-home defenseman and bring some physical play to the blueline. Trading Peverley will leave the Thrashers a little thin at center and they could perhaps swing another trade for a center before the February 28 trade deadline. Also, the Thrashers likely won't miss Valabik, as he never panned out for the team. It's not a bad trade for the Bruins either, but I give the edge to the Thrashers in this one. Peverley brings the Bruins some offensive skill and two-way ability, perhaps a bit more than Wheeler was providing in Boston. He will also bring some versatility to the team, as he can also play on the wing. At six feet, seven inches, Valabik brings tremendous size to Boston's blueline, as well as lots of toughness and physical play. However, he is a bit slow, tends to take bad penalties, and isn't very offensive minded, which will likely land him a sixth or seventh role with the team for the time being. Although, with Zdeno Chara as a mentor, Valabik's game should improve over time.

Bruins Re-Sign Blake Wheeler to One-Year Deal

The Boston Bruins have announced that they have re-signed right wing Blake Wheeler to a one-year contract worth $2.2 million. He was awarded the deal in arbitration. In all 82 games last season with the Bruins, he had 18 goals and 20 assists for 38 points. Not a bad signing for Boston, as Wheeler has the potential to become a power forward in the NHL. Despite struggling offensively at times last season, he has good size and the ability to score goals. If Wheeler works on his offensive game in the off-season, he could be ready for a break-out year in 2010-11.

2010 NHL Arbitration

The following 32 NHL players have elected to file for salary arbitration this summer. July 5 was the deadline for players to elect salary arbitration. The hearings will be held from July 20 to August 4, with the specific dates to be determined by the NHL and NHLPA on Tuesday. If more players file for arbitration, I will add them to this list. 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. Players who have filed for arbitration cannot be given an offer sheet. The following players are still scheduled for arbitration:

Atlanta Thrashers
Clarke MacArthur - July 21, 2010 - Awarded one-year contract worth $2.4 million in arbitration (Thrashers walked away from the award, making him an unrestricted free agent)

Boston Bruins
Blake Wheeler - July 29, 2010 - Awarded one-year contract worth $2.2 million in arbitration (Bruins accepted the award)

Buffalo Sabres
Tim Kennedy - July 29, 2010 - Awarded one-year contract worth $1 million in arbitration (Sabres accepted the award, but later bought out his contract, making him an unrestricted free agent)

Chicago Blackhawks
Antti Niemi - July 31, 2010 - Awarded one-year contract worth $2.75 million in arbitration (Blackhawks walked away from the award, making him an unrestricted free agent)

Vancouver Canucks
Jannik Hansen - July 22, 2010 - Awarded one-year contract worth $825,000 in arbitration (Canucks accepted the award)


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

Anaheim Ducks
James Wisniewski - 1 year, $3.25 million (7/30/10) (later traded to NY Islanders)

Atlanta Thrashers
Ben Eager - 1 year, $965,000 (7/28/10)
Andrew Ladd - 1 year, $2.35 million (7/29/10)

Boston Bruins
Greg Campbell - 2 years, undisclosed (7/15/10)

Buffalo Sabres
Patrick Kaleta - 2 years, $1.815 million (7/21/10)

Calgary Flames
Ian White - 1 year, $2,999,995 (7/30/10)

Columbus Blue Jackets
Jared Boll - 2 years, undisclosed (7/13/10)
Anton Stralman - 1 year, undisclosed (7/28/10)

Dallas Stars
Fabian Brunnstrom - 1 year, $675,000 (7/22/10)

Detroit Red Wings
Derek Meech - 1 year, undisclosed (7/15/10)

Edmonton Oilers
Gilbert Brule - 2 years, $3.7 million (7/27/10)
Jeff Deslauriers - 1 year, undisclosed (7/31/10)
Jean-Francois Jacques - 1 year, undisclosed (7/13/10)

Los Angeles Kings
Brad Richardson - 1 year, undisclosed (7/17/10)

New Jersey Devils
Mark Fraser - 1 year, $500,000 (7/28/10)

New York Islanders
Matt Moulson - 1 year, $2.45 million (7/27/10) (hat tip to TheMetalChick for mentioning this one)

New York Rangers
Dan Girardi - 4 years, $13.3 million (7/9/10)

Ottawa Senators
Chris Campoli - 1 year, $1.4 million (7/30/10)
Peter Regin - 2 years, $2 million (7/29/10)

Philadelphia Flyers
Daniel Carcillo - 1 year, undisclosed (7/13/10)

St. Louis Blues
Cam Janssen - 1 year, undisclosed (7/6/10)

Tampa Bay Lightning
Nate Thompson - 1 year, undisclosed (7/16/10)

Vancouver Canucks
Tanner Glass - 1 year, undisclosed (7/9/10)
Mason Raymond - 2 years, $5.1 million (7/26/10)

Washington Capitals
Eric Fehr - 2 years, $4.4 million (7/8/10)
Tomas Fleischmann - 1 year, $2.6 million (7/27/10)
Jeff Schultz - 4 years, $11 million (7/7/10)