The Toronto Maple Leafs and Nick Robertson avoided a Sunday arbitration hearing involving the NHL and NHLPA by signing a one-year contract on Saturday.
The deal, worth $1.825 million, leaves the Maple Leafs with about $1.1 million in cap space.
Robertson was the NHL's last RFA with an arbitration hearing scheduled who hadn't re-signed. In 69 games last season, the 23-year-old recorded 15 goals and seven assists.
Last year, Robertson and the Leafs waited until Sept. 10 to agree on a one-year deal worth $875,000. He gets a raise of $950,000.
On Friday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported the Maple Leafs looked for $1.2 million on Robertson's next contract, while the player's camp filed for $2.25 million.
All Arbitration Cases Are Done With No Hearings
In early July, 11 NHL RFAs filed for arbitration, while two players were subject to team-elected arbitration.
All those players and teams would have had an arbitration hearing where they each submitted what they thought the RFA should get. The player's camp, with the NHLPA, then argues why they think they deserve the bigger raise, while the team, with the NHL, argues why that player is not worth that much. An independent arbitrator would have then awarded a contract.
Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman described the experience of an arbitration hearing in 2023.
"I definitely don't wish it upon any of my friends and teammates moving forward, and I don't want to do it ever again as well," he told reporters.
The 13 players in total avoided what could have been a tense hearing by getting a deal done. Here are those re-signings:
– Jack McBain, C, Utah Mammoth (team-elected): five years, $4.25-million cap hit. Read more
– Bowen Byram, D, Buffalo Sabres (team-elected): two years, $6.25-million cap hit. Read more
– Morgan Barron, C, Winnipeg Jets: two years, $1.85-million cap hit. Read more
– Lukas Dostal, G, Anaheim Ducks: five years, $6.5-million cap hit. Read more
– Drew Helleson, D, Anaheim Ducks: two years, $1.1-million cap hit. Read more
– Gabriel Vilardi, C, Winnipeg Jets: six years, $7.5-million cap hit. Read more
– Kaapo Kakko, RW, Seattle Kraken: three years, $4.525-million cap hit. Read more
– Maxim Tsyplakov, RW, New York Islanders: two years, $2.25-million cap hit. Read more
– Arvid Soderblom, G, Chicago Blackhawks: two years, $2.75-million cap hit. Read more
– Conor Timmins, D, Buffalo Sabres: two years, $2.2-million cap hit. Read more
– Jayden Struble, D, Montreal Canadiens: two years, $1,412,500 cap hit. Read more
– Dylan Samberg, D, Winnipeg Jets: three years, $5.75-million cap hit. Read more
– Nick Robertson, LW, Toronto Maple Leafs: one year, $1.825-million cap hit. Read more
What Comes Next?
Now that all the cases are over, a second buyout window will open for the teams that had players file for arbitration: the Ducks, Sabres, Blackhawks, Canadiens, Islanders, Kraken, Maple Leafs and Jets.
That 48-hour window is expected to open three days after the final arbitration case is settled. In this case, that would be on Tuesday.
Unlike the first buyout window, which lasted from 48 hours after the end of the playoffs to June 30, the second buyout window has more restrictions.
The only contracts eligible to be bought out in the second window must have a cap hit of $4 million or greater and must have been on the team's roster at the last trade deadline, according to PuckPedia.
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