Break out the Two Buck Chuck!

by Dirk Hoag on Jul 25, 2007 4:16 PM EDT

On Monday I took a stab at what Brooks Laich's arbitration hearing with the Washington Capitals might look like, and at the risk of dislocating my shoulder patting myself on the back, it pretty much turned out as expected. I guessed he'd get around $700,000 and he ended up with $725K according to TSN.

Considering that his qualifying offer from the Caps was around $660,000, I guess that's a small victory for Laich (you won't catch me frowning at an extra 10% raise), but you have to wonder how his agent feels about this. He just put in the time and effort to file and plead an arbitration case that yielded peanuts for an agent earning a few percentage points of Laich's salary (figure a 5% commision on the increased salary of $65,000 is worth a mighty $3,250). Did they really think there was any large upside here? I guess since Laich was in no danger of exceeding the $1.2 million mark, beyond which the Caps would have had the right to walk away from the deal (much as Buffalo did last summer with J.P. Dumont) Laich's agent may have decided they didn't have much to lose.

You know it's the dog days of summer when this is the kind of news we have to write about!

UPDATE: Many thanks to Jeff and JP in the comments for pointing out that perhaps Laich's big gain here is winning a one-way contract that should keep him in the NHL all season, rather than a two-way deal that could have had him playing in Hershey given all the acquisitions Washington's been making lately.

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Had Laich accepted his qualifying offer, he would make a considerable amount less than the $660,000 he accepted if he gets sent to Hershey. By going to arbitration, he gets $725,000 no matter where he plays. Even if he was awarded $600,000, he'd likely be in a better position than if he accepted the qualifying offer because of the one-way deal. With Nylander, Kozlov, and Backstrom added to the lineup this year, it isn't a given that he will make the team, and if he still had a two-way deal, he would almost assuredly be the odd man out.

by Jeff on Jul 25, 2007 5:08 PM EDT reply actions

Jeff is spot-on - this was about getting a one-way deal, not about the dollars.

by JP on Jul 25, 2007 6:03 PM EDT reply actions

Are we sure that he was awarded a one-way deal, and that his Qualifying Offer wasn't one-way as well? It looks like there's room within the arbitration process for a two-way contract to be awarded (page 63 of the CBA):

(ii) The decision of the Salary Arbitrator shall establish:
(A) the term of the SPC, based upon the Player's or Club's
election of a one or two year SPC, as set forth in its brief
and as consistent with this Article;
(B) the Paragraph 1 NHL Salary to be paid to the Player by the
Club for the season(s) in respect to which the arbitration is
conducted;
(C) the inclusion or otherwise of a Minor League clause (or
clauses) and the amount of Paragraph 1 Minor League
Salary to be paid under each of the season(s) in respect to
which the arbitration is requested;
(D) a brief statement of the reasons for the decision, including
identification of any comparable(s) relied on.

You guys are closer to this than I, so I'm just asking.

by The Forechecker on Jul 25, 2007 7:10 PM EDT reply actions

Could be worse. He could be Jim Slater who turned down a qualifying offer that would have seen him make around $990,000 to file for arbitration then settled in advance for a two-year deal worth $750,000 and $800,000.

Who takes a pay cut from their rookie deal?

by logan on Jul 25, 2007 8:50 PM EDT reply actions