Report: Player-elected salary arbitration hearing dates set
NHL Salary Arbitration Hearings: A Super Simple Guide
What’s Going On? (The Big Picture)
Imagine you and your parents can’t agree on how much allowance you get, so you ask a teacher to decide. That’s kind of what’s happening in the NHL!
According to a hockey information site called PuckPedia, the hearing dates for all the NHL’s restricted free agent players who chose (or “elected”) salary arbitration have now been scheduled.
Key Words Explained (So It’s Easy!)
Before we go further, let’s understand some tricky words in a simple way:
- Restricted Free Agent (RFA): A player whose old team still has special rights to keep them. They aren’t completely free to join any other team.
- Salary Arbitration: A process where a player and their team can’t agree on pay, so a neutral referee (the arbitrator) steps in to decide.
- Offer Sheet: A contract offer from a different team to a restricted free agent.
- Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA): A player who is totally free to sign with any team they like.
The Main Facts
Here is what we know, kept super simple:
- There were 15 player-elected hearings scheduled between July 20 and August 1.
- Three of those cases are already solved because the player and team made a deal before the hearing:
- Ottawa Senators and Xavier Bourgault
- Buffalo Sabres and Peyton Krebs
- New York Rangers and Braden Schneider
- Players and teams can agree on a deal at any time before their hearing.
- Because these players chose salary arbitration, they are not allowed to sign an offer sheet from another team.
Callout – Important Points!
- Electing salary arbitration means a player cannot sign an offer sheet.
- Through arbitration, a player can only be given a one- or two-year contract.
- In player-elected hearings, the team gets to pick if it’s one or two years (with one small exception below).
How Player-Elected Arbitration Works (Step by Step)
Let’s break the process down into numbered steps using the info we have:
- A restricted free agent and their team try to agree on a new contract but can’t.
- The player chooses (“elects”) to go to salary arbitration.
- A hearing date is set (like a meeting with the referee).
- Before the hearing, both sides can still happily agree on a deal and avoid the hearing.
- If no deal is made, the arbitrator awards a contract that lasts either 1 or 2 years.
- In player-elected hearings, the team decides whether it’s a one- or two-year deal.
- Exception: If the player is only one year away from becoming a UFA (totally free), they can only be awarded a one-year deal.
The List of Hearing Dates
Here are all the player-elected hearing dates exactly as scheduled. An asterisk (*) means they already reached a deal ahead of time.
- Monday, July 20: Jamie Drysdale (Philadelphia Flyers)
- Monday, July 20: Cole Perfetti (Winnipeg Jets)
- Wednesday, July 22: Trevor Zegras (Philadelphia Flyers)
- Thursday, July 23: Jet Greaves (Columbus Blue Jackets)
- Saturday, July 25: Xavier Bourgault (Ottawa Senators) *
- Saturday, July 25: Jason Robertson (Dallas Stars)
- Saturday, July 25: Connor McMichael (St. Louis Blues)
- Monday, July 27: Cole Sillinger (Columbus Blue Jackets)
- Tuesday, July 28: Nick Robertson (Pittsburgh Penguins)
- Wednesday, July 29: Braden Schneider (New York Rangers) *
- Wednesday, July 29: Ronan Seeley (Carolina Hurricanes)
- Thursday, July 30: Alex Jefferies (New York Islanders)
- Thursday, July 30: Kirby Dach (Montreal Canadiens)
- Saturday, August 1: Akira Schmid (Florida Panthers)
- Saturday, August 1: Peyton Krebs (Buffalo Sabres) *
* A deal has been reached ahead of the hearing.
Summary
To wrap it up: Fifteen NHL restricted free agents asked for salary arbitration, and their hearing dates are set from July 20 to August 1. Three of them (Bourgault, Krebs, Schneider) already made deals. These players can’t sign offer sheets from other teams. If they don’t settle, they’ll get a 1- or 2-year contract decided by the team (unless they’re super close to UFA status, then just 1 year). The list above shows exactly who is hearing when!
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
1. What is a restricted free agent?
A restricted free agent is a hockey player whose contract ended, but their old team still has the right to match offers from other teams, so they aren’t fully free to leave.
2. What does “electing salary arbitration” mean in kid terms?
It means the player said, “We can’t agree on money, so let’s ask a fair referee to decide for us.”
3. Why can’t these players sign an offer sheet?
Because the rules say if you choose arbitration, you give up the chance to take an offer from another team.
4. How long will the new contract be if they go to arbitration?
Only one or two years. The team picks which one, unless the player is just one year away from being a totally free agent (UFA), in which case it’s only one year.
5. Can they still make a deal before the hearing?
Yes! At any point before their scheduled hearing, the player and team can agree on a contract and skip the arbitration process.
