You’re familiar with the concept of Christmas in July? Well, NHL salary arbitration hearings are sort of like Festivus in the middle of summer.
Anybody with any Seinfield knowledge knows Festivus is the fictional, Christmas-adjacent holiday that gets families — like George’s unhinged Costanza crew — in the same room for, among other traditions, the “airing of the grievances.”
Arbitration cases get teams and players in the same space so the two sides can go at each other in the name of arguing over how the player should be compensated for the next season or two.
It’s a process that has ended in tears before, as was the case when ruthless (and sometimes clueless?) New York Islanders GM Mike Milbury eviscerated Isles goalie Tommy Salo in a 1997 hearing.
It doesn’t have to be that bad, but let’s just say an ideal off-season avoids the NHL’s version of salary court.
While no clubs have elected to take players to arbitration, 14 restricted free agents filed for arbitration before the July 5 deadline to do so. Hearings will be held from July 20 through Aug. 4 for those parties unable to come to an agreement between now and then.
If a player chooses arbitration, the club gets to stipulate whether it wants the decision to be a one- or two-year term. The exception to that is if the player is only 12 months away from becoming an unrestricted free agent, in which case the award is automatically a one-year contract.
With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the more interesting situations to monitor.
Martin Necas, Carolina Hurricanes
Few people have been more involved in the off-season rumour mill than Necas. The 25-year-old forward has made no secret of the fact he covets a change of scenery, and his dad even stated publicly that his son would like to be moved while the junior Necas was helping Czechia win World Championship gold on home ice in the spring.
Necas, who has not always been thrilled with his deployment in Carolina, is a very talented offensive player who comes in a six-foot-two package. After posting a career-high 71 points in 2022-23, the 2017 12th-overall pick slipped to 53 this past season.
Adding another layer of complication to all this is the fact the Canes are now helmed by rookie GM Eric Tulsky after Don Waddell left for Columbus.
It remains to be seen if there’s any path to reconciliation in Raleigh. If not, any squad acquiring Necas probably needs to be prepared to shell out on a long-term deal.
Ryan Lindgren, New York Rangers
This is an interesting case because, as a defence-first blue-liner, Lindgren certainly does not have fantastic counting stats. His underlying numbers are also a bit tough, but this is a player who has started basically 60 per cent of his shifts in his own end over the course of his five-year career.
Lindgren is a heart-and-soul guy whose worth goes beyond numbers. The 26-year-old typically lines up with No. 1 D-man Adam Fox and logs a ton of shorthanded time.
The Rangers defence corps is in flux right now, though, because there have been rumours since the season ended that the club might try to move captain Jacob Trouba to clear an $8-million cap hit that’s on the books through 2025-26. The Blueshirts also have to come to an agreement on a new contract with Braden Schneider, a 22-year-old RFA defenceman who does not have arbitration rights yet.
And, big picture, New York has two other contract situations hanging over its head. Goalie and team MVP Igor Shesterkin is eligible to become a UFA next summer and is surely in need of a sizable raise on the deal that pays him an annual average value of $5.7 million. Also, 2020 first-overall pick Alexis Lafreniere appears to be finding his game at the highest level and his two-year bridge deal — which counts for just $2.3 million against the cap — is up at the end of this coming season, meaning he could be in line for a monster raise.
That’s a lot for GM Chris Drury to navigate.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres
Everything Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams does is under intense scrutiny these days, and these negotiations will be no exception.
Goaltending has certainly been part of the long-term problem in Buffalo, but Luukkonen took an important step this past year, posting a .910 save percentage. More specifically, the big Finn looked great over the second half of the year. In the 2024 portion of the schedule, UPL registered a .919 save percentage, bested only by Connor Hellebuyck (.923), Jordan Binnington (.922) and Pyotr Kochetkov (.920). Luukkonen also started 36 games from Jan. 1 to the end of the season, with only Tampa’s Andrei Vasilevskiy starting more (37).
The 25-year-old can easily argue he was one of the Sabres’ most important players this past season and his ability to play at a high level is crucial to any future success for this franchise that’s desperate to end a 13-season absence from the playoffs.
J.J. Moser, Tampa Bay Lightning
This situation is interesting if only because the parties are new to each other. Moser, of course, has spent his entire three-year NHL career skating for the Arizona Coyotes and was acquired by Tampa from the Utah Hockey Club in the move that shipped out Mikhail Sergachev.
The Bolts are counting on the Swiss D-man, who turned 24 earlier this summer, to help fill the sizable hole left by Sergachev. Tampa is always looking for ways to manage the cap and, given the team must like the player if it just acquired him in a deal, you wonder if there’s an eight-year deal to be struck here pre-arbitration that would allow the Lightning to flatten Moser’s cap hit a bit.
Kirill Marchenko, Columbus Blue Jackets
Marchenko, along with captain Boone Jenner, is the only Jacket to hit the 20-goal mark in each of the past two seasons. His offence has sort of flown under the radar due to how miserable things have been in Ohio in the past 24 months, but this is a six-foot-three winger who has shown goal-scoring ability during his first two NHL seasons.
Marchenko, who turns 24 later this month, has played for two coaches in as many years in Columbus and will be guided by a third bench boss in 2024-25. He is also now negotiating with a new GM in Don Waddell.