NHL SALARY ARBITRATION CHRIS STEWART AND THE ST. LOUIS BLUES BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF CHRIS STEWART

Transcription

1 NHL SALARY ARBITRATION BETWEEN: CHRIS STEWART AND THE ST. LOUIS BLUES BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF CHRIS STEWART Team 16 Player

2 1 Table of Contents I: INTRODUCTION... 2 II: PLAYER... 2 (A) Overview of Career... 2 (B) Statistics and Experience... 2 (C) Games Played and Durability... 3 (D) Length of Service and Value to Club... 4 (E) Special Qualities and Appeal... 5 III: COMPARABLES... 5 (A) Comparable Player 1: Sam Gagner... 5 (B) Comparable Player 2: Blake Wheeler... 7 IV: CONCLUSION... 9

3 2 I: INTRODUCTION This brief has been prepared for the salary arbitration involving Chris Stewart (the Player ) and the St. Louis Blues (the Club ), pursuant to Article 12 of the 2012 Collective Bargaining Agreement (the CBA ) 1 between the National Hockey League ( NHL ) and the National Hockey League Players Association (the NHLPA ). This brief begins with an overview of the Player, his NHL career statistics, injuries, games played and recent performance. Secondly, an analysis of the Player s value, service and contribution to the Club will be discussed along with his special qualities, awards, off-ice work and appeal. Finally, the third section identifies and compares eligible NHL forwards and their salaries with the Player to show that the Player should receive an award greater than the midpoint of $4.15 million per year. II: PLAYER (A) Overview of Career Chris Stewart is twenty-five years old and was born in Toronto, Ontario. He is a 6 2, 231 pound forward playing for the St Louis Blues. He was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in 2006 in the 1 st round, and was picked 18 th overall. In his 5 years in the league, he has played 2.5 seasons with the Avalanche before he was traded to the Blues where he has spent the last 2.5 seasons. Since joining the Blues, the Player has played in nearly every game demonstrating his commitment to the Club and his pursuit of development as an important NHL forward. (B) Statistics and Experience The Player s performance has improved throughout his career. The season was his breakout season, as his statistics were on their way to being career highs if it were not for the lock-out shortened season. He did however achieve a career high shot percentage and scored NHL CBA, Article 12,

4 3 three game winning goals in the 48 game season. He was a formidable presence on the power play with 6 goals and 6 assists, and averaged 0.75 points per game. His plus minus rating of 0 is demonstrative of his overall value as a player, and is a notable improvement from his -6 rating from the season. A quick look at his statistics reveals a positive upward trend. Figure 1: NHL Regular Season Career Statistics for Chris Stewart 2 Year Team GP G A PTS +/- PPG PPA SHG GWG PIM Shots Shot % STL STL COL/STL COL COL Total The Player s performance in the playoffs has also been very consistent. In the most recent playoff appearance, Stewart was tied for second on the Club in shots on goal. 3 However, he has not been part of a team that has advanced past the first round of the playoffs, but that is not a reflection on his abilities, since he has scored 5 goals in his career during the playoffs. Figure 2: NHL Playoff Statistics for Chris Stewart 4 Year Team GP G A PTS +/- GWG PIM Shots Shot % STL % STL % COL % Total % (C) Games Played and Durability

5 4 The Player does not have a track record of ongoing injuries. One of his greatest strengths is his durability, which is important for any club looking for someone to rely on. While he was sidelined with a serious injury during the season for which he was forced to miss 32 games, he has not been injured since. The injury that did occur during that season has not been a recurring problem. Aside from a suspension for 3 games due to aggressive play, Stewart has been a constant and reliable part of the Club s roster, evidence by the fact that he played in all 48 games last season during the lock-out year, a rarity given the intensive schedule presented. Figure 4 Missed Games Record 5 : Season Type of Injury/Reason # of Games Missed Suspended by NHL Broken Left Hand 32 (D) Length of Service and Value to Club The Player has been a valuable part of the team for more than 2 seasons. From the beginning of his career with the Club, Stewart was able to make an impact as he recorded the best start to a Blues career in franchise history when he scored 6 goals in his first 5 games 6. Furthermore, he has continued to excel as he plays on the second line and led the Club in goals and points last season 7. This is exceptional given his age which shows great development. Additionally, his value is demonstrated by his leading the team in power play, game winning and overtime goals. His shooting percentage was the second highest on the team, a statistic that highlights his skill and ability to get to the net. The Player expects his impressive performance to continue in the upcoming season and in his career, in pursuit of winning awards and more games with the Club

6 5 (E) Special Qualities and Appeal The Player represented Canada at the 2011 IIHF World Championship. While Canada did not win the tournament, Stewart played exceptionally well for the team. He recorded 2 goals and 2 assists and had a +/- rating of In addition to his international play, Stewart has maintained a clean record without any off-ice misconduct which could derail his promising career. Finally, the Player s stock continues to rise as he was prominently featured on the NHL s Hot list in March of the season 9, and was named the No. 1 Star of the week. 10 This will serve him well to become a household name as he gets better and takes on more responsibility. III: COMPARABLES In this section a comparison of the Player will be done with other forwards around the league who are eligible for salary arbitration this year or were eligible last year. In each section the brief outlines and compares general information such as height, weight, age, number of seasons and salary of the respective Players. There is a comparison of both the Player and their counter-parts career statistics as well as a comparison of their most recent years of play. Both are listed in figures for ease of reference. Ultimately, through an analysis of all the factors, one would conclude that Stewart s midpoint salary should be augmented given his exceptional play. (A) Comparable Player 1: Sam Gagner First, a comparable player to Chris Stewart is Sam Gagner who is a 24 year old, 5 11, 202 pound forward for the Edmonton Oilers. Gagner has been playing in the NHL for the last six seasons with very good overall statistics. Gagner does have more career assists, points and shots than the Player, but this is mainly because of his additional year of play in the NHL. Despite his

7 6 one year more experience than the Player, Gagner has 9 less goals, lower shot percentage and an abysmal +/- rating of -48, whereas the Player is at -21. Stewart also has been able to score more game winning goals, showing his calmness under pressure, which seems to be lacking in Gagner. Finally, Stewart has more than 3 times the hits than Gagner, and although that is not an immense consideration for forwards, it does demonstrate Stewart s toughness and well rounded ability. The Player therefore deserves a salary comparable to Sam Gagner for numerous reasons. Firstly, while Gagner has more total points that the Player, it is important to note that the points per game statistics for each player are nearly identical, with the Player having a slightly higher result. Secondly, the Player is a much better goal scorer which is indicative of a great forward. Stewart has scored more goals than Gagner in less games, and his goals per game is roughly 50% higher. Additionally, the Player scored more than twice the number of game winning goals scored by Gagner. This demonstrates the value of the player at his position. Lastly, the Player s career plus minus rating is significantly better that Gagner s, and the same can be said for the Player s shooting percentage, which increases his likelihood of making a difference by scoring. Figure 5: NHL Career Comparison Stewart and Gagner 11 Player GP G A PTS PTS/GP +/- PPG GWG Shots Shot % Hits Stewart Gagner Furthermore, the statistics from the last NHL season demonstrate that Chris Stewart is comparable to Sam Gagner in many respects and is actually better than him in others, and therefore should be awarded a salary close to the average salary of $4.8 Million being paid to Gagner. There was only a 2 point difference between the two players during the season, 11

8 7 and the Player led Gagner in goals and power play goals. Furthermore, the Player scored 2 more game winning goals, and his shooting percentage was significantly higher than Gagner s. Lastly, the Player had a plus minus rating of 0 for the season, whereas Gagner s plus minus rating was a -6. Overall, it is clear that the Player provides greater value for money than does Gagner. Figure 6: Recent Season Comparison Stewart and Gagner 12 Year Team Player GP G A PTS +/- PPG PPA GWG Shots Shot % STL Stewart EDM Gagner Given the numbers discussed above, it is important to note that Stewart received only a 2 year $8.3 million deal as a midpoint for this year s arbitration. This is $4.15 million per season, which is considerably less than the Gagner s 3 year $14.4 million deal worth $4.8 million per season. Since the statistics of the Player are actually better with respect to scoring and playing the actual position of forward, and do not hurt the team in terms of +/- rating given recent statistics, the Player should receive a salary that is equivalent in yearly value to that of Gagner. (B) Comparable Player 2: Blake Wheeler Another comparable player to Chris Stewart is Blake Wheeler. Wheeler is a 26 year old, 6 5, 205 pound forward for the Winnipeg Jets. Wheeler has exceptional statistics for his career which, given the relative similarity to Stewart, demonstrates their compatibility. Wheeler has played more games than Stewart which has afforded him the opportunity to record more statistics as he is a 6 year veteran of the NHL, compared to Stewart s 5. This has enabled Wheeler to have a slightly higher career assist, point, shot and hit total than the Player, but it is very slight and this difference is likely to diminish as both progress in their careers. Notwithstanding that, Stewart 12

9 8 has been able to record more goals, power play goals and game winning goals than Wheeler in a shorter period of time. He also has a slightly higher points per game total and shot percentage. Finally, the only real difference is with respect to +/- rating but a part of that is skewed because Wheeler was able to achieve a +36 rating in his rookie year with the Bruins 13, which offsets other years in which he had a minus rating. Given all of these statistics, both players are highly similar in their styles, and given Wheeler s higher salary, Stewart should be respected in the same way. Figure 7: NHL Career Comparison Stewart and Wheeler 14 Player GP G A PTS PTS/GM +/- PPG GWG Shots Shot % Hits Stewart Wheeler During the season, both Wheeler and Stewart played in all of the games for their respective clubs, therefore focusing on this season is a highly accurate reflection of their worth and comparability. Although Wheeler did record considerably more shots than did the Player, his shot percentage was actually lower. Furthermore, most of the statistics for that year were almost identical with respect to goals, assists, points and game winning goals being very close. The only real difference is on the power play where Stewart recorded 4 more goals than did Wheeler, as well as the +/- rating, where Wheeler s -3 was worse than Stewart who was able to stay even. Figure 8: Recent Season Comparison Stewart and Wheeler 15 Year Team Player GP G A PTS +/- PPG PPA GWG Shots Shot % STL Stewart WPG Wheeler

10 9 Given the similar numbers discussed above, it is very interesting to note that Wheeler received a 6 year $33.6 million salary during this year s arbitration period. This is $5.6 million per season, which is considerably higher than the $4.15 million per season that Chris Stewart has been set at. Since the statistics of both players are very similar, there is no reason why the Player should receive so much less than the salary of someone like Wheeler, since both provide an immense contribution to their team and are both exceptional goal scoring forwards. Therefore, Chris Stewart should have a higher salary than the midpoint of $4.15 million provided in order to make him equivalent to or closer to that of Wheeler given their relative abilities and worth. IV: CONCLUSION Ultimately, through an analysis of Chris Stewart s career and his upward trajectory in terms of abilities and statistics, it is clear that Stewart is being undervalued as a Player. His contribution to his club is highly significant given the numbers he has been able to put up recently and he has a great upside due to his lack of injuries and ability to play a full season. The last aspect is highly important given the rigours associated with a full schedule of 82 games. Furthermore, when comparing him to other eligible forwards with similar skills and statistics who are making more money annually, it is clear that the Player s midpoint salary is too low. He is currently making much less than others in similar positions in their career, who exhibit the same if not slightly worse statistical qualities than what the Player has shown in the recent year. Therefore, in this case the Club respectfully submits that the Player s salary for the upcoming year should be more than the midpoint of $4.15 million per season as it would accurately reflect his worth in the market, to the team and his continued improvement and excellence in the NHL.