The few arbitration cases left this year haven't been released by the NHLPA signaling a new approach.
The National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) is set to begin arbitration cases as soon as Saturday. But as for when those cases will occur, that will be up to agents, teams, and of course, hockey insider leaks as cases are either settled or awarded.
The NHLPA, which runs the process, has previously released an entire schedule of cases by day for each player approximately a week before the cases were set to begin. This year, however, they have elected not to do so.
"There's been a change in approach," a source told The Hockey News on Thursday.
That means you likely won't hear about hearings or awards until after they were settled either in arbitration or before the cases are seen before an arbitrator. The NHLPA will hold arbitration cases between July 20 and Aug. 4. More later in the article about what this means.
The latest with Connor Dewar
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Connor Dewar was one of several players who elected for salary arbitration. According to sources, talks are ongoing but it's unclear if there will be a resolution before Dewar's case is seen.
Acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Wild on trade deadline day, Dewar scored a goal and had four assists in 17 games with the Leafs. He also played in six of the team's seven playoff games in Toronto's first-round loss to the Boston Bruins.
According to AFP Analytics, they project Dewar to earn $1,423,221.62 per year on a two-year deal. Arbitrators can award one or two-year deals, but only one can be awarded if the player is an unrestricted free agent after a one-year award.
Last year, goaltender Ilya Samsonov filed for arbitration and the Leafs and goaltender were unable to get a deal done before their hearing started. That led to the Samsonov sitting in and hearing the Leafs argue why the goaltender deserved less money than the comparable his side was arguing. Samsonov was awarded a $3.55 million contract by the arbitrator for the 2023-24 season.
The goaltender struggled mightily when the season opened up. It continued into December where he ended up on waivers before bouncing back in the spring. Samsonov signed with the Vegas Golden Knights this summer on another one-year "prove-it" deal worth $1.8 million.
Samsonov later attributed some of the mental struggles last season to his arbitration experience. The NHL's CBA requires that players must sit in during the hearing, which means they can't avoid hearing the scrutiny of the team that he is playing for. Players have talked about the arbitration experiences in the past and the acrimony it caused.
With the NHL's collective bargaining set to expire in 2026, I wonder if arbitration will be amended to make it so it's like a traffic court case where the player has the option not to appear. There's no benefit in making the player appear for these cases.
And so when the NHLPA decided not to release arbitration cases, I personally wondered if this was a way to diffuse some of the tension that can build in the lead-up to cases.
