Study Up For Arbitration

Thanks to a pointer from James Mirtle, I highly encourage Preds fans to head over to Daniel Tolensky's recent article about the NHL's salary arbitration process, which includes the full text of a decision made between Dmitri Khristich and the Boston Bruins back in 1998. We've got word now that Ville Koistinen and the Predators are headed down the road to arbitration, and while there's every possibility of a negotiated deal before an actual hearing takes place, it's an intriguing process to follow.

Keep in mind that there are some differences between the arbitration process in the current CBA as opposed to ten years ago, but Tolensky's piece is a great read. Over the next couple weeks I hope to provide some of my own assessments for particular arbitration cases, using statistical measurements currently being used both here and elsewhere around the hockey blogosphere. It's interesting, for example, to see how the arbitrator uses PIM's in the Khristich case; he basically views penalties as a positive factor in player performance, as opposed to being a negative influence on whether or not a team actually wins games.