2014 Hockey Arbitration Competition of Canada

Transcription

1 2014 Hockey Arbitration Competition of Canada Lars Eller vs. Montreal Canadiens Hockey Club Submission on behalf of the Player Midpoint Salary: $3,500,000 Submission by Team 16

2 I. INTRODUCTION... 2 A. Career Year Performance... 2 B. Platform Year Performance... 3 III. NUMBER OF GAMES PLAYED AND INJURY HISTORY... 4 IV. OVERALL CONTRIBUTION TO THE CLUB... 4 V. SPECIAL QUALITIES OF LEADERSHIP OR PUBLIC APPEAL... 5 VI. COMPARABLE PLAYERS... 5 A. Patrik Berglund... 6 B. Josh Bailey... 7 C. Nick Spaling... 8 VII. CONCLUSION

3 I. INTRODUCTION This brief analyzes forward Lars Eller (the "Player"; "Mr. Eller") with regards to his past performance and contributions to the Montreal Canadiens (the "Club"; the "Canadiens") for the purpose of determining his salary for the season. Mr. Eller was drafted 13th overall in the first round of the 2007 NHL entry draft by the St. Louis Blues ("Blues"). Since then, Mr. Eller has played one season with the Blues and four seasons with the Canadiens. Having played in the NHL for five seasons, Mr. Eller is eligible for salary arbitration pursuant to Article 12.1 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (the "CBA"). 1 The CBA lists the following as types of evidence that may be offered for the purpose of an NHL salary arbitration: the overall performance of the player in the previous season or seasons; the number of games played by the player; his injuries or illnesses during preceding seasons; the length of service of the player in the League and/or with the Club; the overall contribution of the player to the success or failure of his Club in the preceding season; and any special qualities of leadership or public appeal. 2 This brief will proceed by assessing the Player in regards to the aforementioned criteria before comparing his $3.5-million midpoint salary to the compensation of comparable players. II. OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF THE PLAYER A. Career Performance Exhibit A: Lars Eller Career Performance Statistics 3 Season GP G A P P/g +/- PIM PPG SHG GWG S S% TOI/g :

4 : : * : :57 Career :11 *Shortened 48-game season Lars Eller signed his entry-level contract with the St. Louis Blues in He spent the proceeding season on loan to Frolunda HC of the SHL. The following season in , Mr. Eller made the move to North American hockey and spent the bulk of that season playing for St. Louis AHL affiliate in Poeria, and was traded to Montreal after playing 7 NHL games for the Blues. In his rookie year with Montreal he played 77 games and demonstrated his versatility and two-way ability as a forward. Mr Eller accumulated 17 points in a checking role. Since his rookie season with the Candiens his role has expanded significantly with his PPG and TOI/G both increasing particularly over the last 3 seasons. He has also been consistently used on the penalty kill ( PK ) unit. His ability to contribute offensively while getting defensive assignments makes him one of the more valuable third liner players in the NHL. B. Platform Year Performance Exhibit B: Lars Eller Platform Year Statistics 4 Season GP G A P P/g +/- PIM PPG SHG GWG S S% TOI/g :57 In the season, Mr. Eller s points per game ( PPG ) dropped following a career year in the season. This was due in part to a career low shooting percentage of 8.8%, which is unlikely to be repeated, considering his career S% is 10.2%. He continued to be used in 4 3

5 a largely defensive role, given 1:24 of PK time per game on the team s second unit, helping the Canadiens end up with the 4 th best PK percentage in the league. III. NUMBER OF GAMES PLAYED AND INJURY HISTORY Mr. Eller has played 286 out of a possible 295 total games since becoming a full-time NHLer with the Montreal Canadiens. He has proven himself as one of the most durable and reliable forwards for the Club, missing only 8 regular season games since joining the Club. His most significant injury came in the post-season, when he was the result of an unlucky and violent hit which resulted in facial and dental fractures as well as a concussion, sidelining him for the remainder of that years playoffs. He returned from that injury at the beginning of the regular season, bouncing back with 8 points in the first 8 games. IV. OVERALL CONTRIBUTION TO THE CLUB Since being acquired by the Montreal Canadiens, Mr. Eller has become a staple in their lineup. Though Mr. Eller had a fairly quiet rookie season, being given minimal time on ice per game ( TOI/G ), he established himself as a reliable two-way forward in the three seasons that followed. He has consistently been one of the team s best PK forwards, and has contributed offensively in that role with 6 career shorthanded goals. The Canadiens have demonstrated their reliance on Mr. Eller, giving him close to 16 minutes of TOI/G in his platform year. Offensive inconsistencies should be attributed to lack of consistent linemates. In his second season with the Canadiens he recorded 16 goals and 28 points while playing with the skilled winger Andrei Kostitsyn. The following lockout shortened season he was on pace for a 53.3 point full season, spending the majority of the year with Mr. Galchenyuk and Mr. Gallagher. However Mr. Gallagher was moved to a different early in the season and Mr. 4

6 Galchenyuk was in and out of the lineup due to injury. The result was a dip in offensive production for Mr. Eller. After missing almost the entire playoffs due to injury, Mr. Eller proved himself as a valuable playoff performer the following season. Despite a dip in regular season numbers, he had an outstanding playoffs in his platform year with 5 goals and 13 points in 17 games, the second most of any player on the Canadiens roster. V. SPECIAL QUALITIES OF LEADERSHIP OR PUBLIC APPEAL Mr. Eller has become a reliable and recognizable member of the Canadiens in his four years with the team. He has participated in charity golf tournaments in the area and is one of several young players that are considered the future of the Canadiens franchise. He was also the highest drafted Danish player ever at the time of his draft in He has represented his country in several World Junior Championship and World Championship tournaments. Mr. Eller provides international appeal to the Canadiens as he is one of a scant few Danish born and trained players in the league. VI. COMPARABLE PLAYERS In determining which players would serve as the most useful comparables, the Club has chosen forwards eligible for salary arbitration within the past two years who are similar in age, games played and have demonstrated similar production to Mr. Eller or been used in similar roles within their respective teams. After attempting to control for these factors, we can assess the salary figures by comparing the comparables to Mr. Ellers on the basis of the remaining criteria set out in Article 12 of the CBA

7 A. Patrik Berglund Patrik Berglund ( Berglund ) is a 26-year old forward with the St. Louis Blues who had played in 6 NHL seasons with the Blues, and was eligible for arbitration at the end of the season. Similarities in age, offensive production, and role within the lineup make him the most useful comparable player to Mr. Eller of all forwards eligible for salary arbitration in the last two years. Exhibit C: Patrik Berglund vs Lars Eller Career Performance Statistics 6 Berglund :05 Eller :11 Exhibit D: Patrik Berglund vs. Lars Eller Platform Year ('13-'14) Performance 7 Berglund :10 Eller :57 Patrik Berglund entered the league a year earlier than Lars Eller, and experienced more immediate offensive results due to playing on a better team and being given almost five more minutes of TOI/G as well as significant PP minutes. However, as Mr. Eller began to establish his offensive game, his and Berglund s offensive numbers became much closer. In their last two seasons Mr. Eller and Mr. Berglund scored 56 and 57 points respectively. Although Patrik Berglund has moved around the lineup of the Blues during his six year tenure there, he has mostly recently settled into a consistent role as their third line centre, the same position that Mr. Eller fills most frequently with the Canadiens. He has however found

8 himself part of the Blues powerplay ( PP ) more often than Eller has been part of Canadien s. This similarity in offensive statistics over the past two seasons despite being given fewer opportunities on the PP implies that Mr. Eller possesses a similar level of offensive potential to Mr. Berglund. Also Similar to Mr. Eller, Berglund has been one of the most consistent players for the St. Louis Blues missing only 22 games over the course of his 6 years with the team In the past two seasons Berglund registered only 1 goal and 2 points in 10 playoff games, numbers far worse than the 5 goals and 13 points in 18 playoff games that Mr. Eller has contributed over the same period of time. The Canadiens owed much of their playoff success last spring to Mr. Eller, their second leading scorer during his platform season. In June of last year Patrik Berglund and the St. Louis Blues negotiated a three year contract with an annual average salary ( AAV ) of $3,700,000. B. Josh Bailey Josh Bailey ("Bailey") was a 24-year old forward with the New York Islanders ( Islanders ) when he was eligible for arbitration in the summer of Similarities in age, career games played, and offensive production make him a very suitable comparison to Mr. Eller for the purposes of salary arbitration. Exhibit E: Josh Bailey vs Lars Eller Career Performance Statistics 8 Bailey :55 Eller :11 Exhibit F: Josh Bailey vs. Lars Eller Platform Year Performance

9 Bailey Eller :57 Josh Bailey is the same age as Lars Eller, however entered the NHL a year earlier than Mr. Eller and as a result also had 5 seasons of NHL experience at the time when he was arbitration eligible during the summer of Bailey had accumulated 139 points by that point in his career, however had by that time spent several seasons being used on the Islanders PP unit, once again inflating his offensive numbers. Similar to Mr. Eller, Bailey has also been a regular on his teams PK unit as he has also proven himself as a defensively capable forward. Mr. Eller s platform season does not accurately represent his offensive potential, a look at the prior (lockout shortened) season shows his ability to put up similar offensive numbers to a player like Bailey. Mr. Eller and Mr. Bailey had 30 and 32 points respectively during that time. Mr. Bailey has, however, not demonstrated the same level of reliability as Mr. Eller throughout his NHL career. Bailey had missed 57 games in the NHL by the time he was eligible for salary arbitration, and 11 of those games were due to him being sent down to the Islanders AHL affiliate during his 3 rd season in the NHL. Since joining the Canadiens, Mr. Eller has only missed 8 regular season games. This is the most telling distinction between Mr. Bailey and Mr. Eller. Before going to salary arbitration, Bailey and the Islanders negotiated a new 5 year contract worth an AAV of $3,300,000. C. Nick Spaling Nick Spaling ("Spaling") had amassed five seasons of professional experience with the Nashville Predators ( Predators ) and was then traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins when eligible for arbitration in the summer of Mr. Spaling and Mr. Eller are similar in both age and role 8

10 within their teams as defensive forwards, making Spaling a suitable comparable player. Exhibit G: Nick Spaling vs Lars Eller Career Performance Statistics 10 Spaling :55 Eller :11 Exhibit H: Nick Spaling vs. Lars Eller Platform Year ('13-'14) Performance 11 Spaling :01 Eller :57 Nick Spaling played 5 seasons with the Nashville Predators and was given similar defensive responsibilities to Mr. Eller. He also spent time with the Predators AHL affiliate. Spaling is of similar age and has been given similar minutes and assignments as Mr. Eller but has shown much less offensive upside. His platform year was by far his best offensively and represents what would be an average year for a player like Lars Eller. Mr. Eller s offensive production should earn him more than Nick Spaling s recently negotiated $2.2-million contract. VII. CONCLUSION Mr. Eller has established himself as a reliable two-way forward with significant offensive potential. When playing with consistent and skilled linemates he is capable of a 50+ point regular season. The player respectfully requests that the panel find that Lars Eller is entitled to a salary arbitration award of $3.7-million, more than the salary of Josh Bailey and more similar to that of Patrik Berglund