HOCKEY ARBITRATION COMPETITION OF CANADA IN THE MATTER OF SALARY ARBITRATION BETWEEN DERRICK BRASSARD - AND - THE NEW YORK RANGERS BRIEF OF THE NEW YORK RANGERS SUBMITTED BY TEAM 14
TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION... 1 II. OVERVIEW OF PERFORMANCE... 1 A. Low Puck Retrieval Skills..1 B. Defensive Liability... 2 C. Recurring Shoulder Injury... 3 III. VALID COMPARABLE PLAYERS... 4 A. Mats Zuccarello New Rangers ($3.5M AAV)... 4 i) Counted on when the game is on the line... 5 ii) Work Ethic... 6 B. Chris Stewart St. Louis Blues ($4.15M AAV)... 7 i) Physical Presence and Intimidation... 7 IV. CONCLUSION... 8 i
I. INTRODUCTION [1] Pursuant to section 12 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement ( CBA ) between the National Hockey League ( NHL ) and the National Hockey League Player s Association ( NHLPA ), this brief will provide an analysis of Derrick Brassard s overall performance and his contribution to the New York Rangers hockey club. As the evidence below will demonstrate, Mr. Brassard is a one- dimensional player who provides average offensive stats, while lacking in many aspects of the game. For these reasons, we respectfully ask the arbitrator to award him below the $5M midpoint salary. We submit that $4M for a one- year term would be fair and generous. II. OVERVIEW OF PERFORMANCE [2] Mr. Brassard is a player who has never broken the 50 points mark in his career, and yet benefits from a 1 st or 2 nd center ice time. With his 45 points in 2013-2014, Mr. Brassard finished 48 th in scoring amongst all NHL centers. We will be trying to gauge Mr. Brassard s impact on the ice, as the 45 points alone cannot justify such a huge salary increase. Furthermore, the fact that Mr. Brassard was assigned a mere 20% of the team's face offs that year demonstrates that the Rangers entrust Stepan and Boyle with that task when the game is on the line A. Low Puck Retrieval Skills [3] One stat that is often overlooked when it comes to assessing a player s overall presence on the ice is surely the takeaways. A dominant player has as an increased ability to strip the puck away from his opponents, denying them scoring chances, while providing his team with the advantage of puck possession. This creates more scoring more goals while allowing less. Players who lead in the takeaway column tend to show a superior work ethic, never quitting on the plays, always battling for the puck, and forcing the other team to take penalties. Those kinds of players 1
are the heart and soul of a hard working team, leading by example. No player likes a teammate who lacks the courage to go in the dirty areas, or who doesn t want to go the extra mile to retrieve the puck. [4] In short, today s NHL is a game of speed where, puck control is crucial. Mr. Brassard ranked 91 st amongst all NHL centers with 28 takeaways while, Ryan O Reilly finished first with an impressive total of 83. 1 That stat alone says a lot about a player s implication, offensively and defensively. Furthermore, when compared to his teammates, Mr. Brassard is tied for 10 th in takeaways with his comparable, Mr. Zuccarello, finishing 4 th with 44. 2 It s a known fact that centers are usually the playmakers on their respective lines. In hockey, puck retrieving skills are crucial as they create turnovers, which lead to scoring chances. B. Defensive Liability [5] It is our opinion that a second center commanding a salary of $5M should be an important piece of a team s defense success. It s no secret that the New York Rangers adopt a more defensive style of play. They rely on one of the best goaltenders in the league and a strong defensive core to prey on their opponents by forcing turnovers. Yet Mr. Brassard s contribution in the Rangers side of the ice is lackluster at the best. [6] It s obvious that achieving 45 points in the NHL is no easy feat. Still, to be deemed worthy of a $5M a year contract, one should be a solid two way player. Mr. Brassard s stats show that he doesn t contribute as much as he should to the Rangers defensive system. He s never used 1 http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchkey=20142allcacall&viewname=rtssplayerstats&sort=takeaw ays&pg=1 2 http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchkey=20142nyrsasall&sort=takeaways&viewname=rtssplayerst ats 2
on the team s penalty kill unit, averaging barely 0:05 minutes of short-handed ice time. 3 Within the Rangers ranks, he also comes in 19 th in the shots blocked category with 19. His numbers are quite revealing when compared with forwards like Mr. Zuccarello, Mr. Richards and Mr. Stepan who all have 20 more blocked shots. 4 With the Rangers system, the blocked shots are crucial. [7] As referenced before, the fact that Mr. Brassard has so little takeaways is quite alarming, as the center is supposed to be the one retrieving the puck in the defensive zones, acting as a third defenseman. When a player loses his one-on-one battles, it puts the whole team in jeopardy, especially in their own end. Mr. Brassard cannot be entrusted with defensive missions in late period or late game if he s a liability due to his lack of effort in the corners. As a center, a player should pride himself in being reliable before even thinking about scoring games. C. Recurring Shoulder Injury [8] Finally, we ve arrived to one of the biggest, if not the biggest, concerns of a team in negotiation talks with a player: the medical history. No team wants to commit large sums of money to a player who might spend more time on the injury reserves than helping out the team on the ice. It s a valid concern. [9] Although accumulated some time ago, the Rangers are quite aware of Mr. Brassard s significant history of medical issues, especially the scary shoulder injuries that occurred early in his career. Notably, Mr. Brassard missed a total of 11 games due to a recurring hand injury. 5 Furthermore, in his last season in the juniors, Mr. Brassard only played 14 games due to a shoulder injury. Finally, he had to undergo surgery and was sidelined for the rest of his rookie 3 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473544&view=splits 4 http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchkey=20142nyrsasall&sort=blockedshots&viewname=rtssplaye rstats 5 http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/player-bio/derick-brassard/bio 3
season due to a dislocated shoulder suffered during a fight. 6 That year, he had cumulated 10 goals and 15 assists in 31 games and was leading the league in rookie scoring. 7 [10] Lastly, Mr. Brassard was sidelined during game one of the Eastern Conference Final following a shoulder-to-shoulder hit from Montreal s Mike Weaver. 8 Despite only missing two games due to the injury, this suggests that Mr. Brassard s shoulder maybe cause for concern. Some red flags may be raised, especially if considering awarding a player $5M per year. Due to the significant stress the game of hockey imposes on a player s body, a recurring shoulder problem should not be overlooked. The New Rangers are extremely concerned about this issue. Shoulder problems tend to get worse with time, not better. The Rangers have to take that into account when committing such a huge sum to a player. III. VALID COMPARABLE PLAYERS A. Mats Zuccarello New Rangers ($3.5M AAV) [11] Both players are on the Rangers second line and enjoy an equal amount of power play time: Mr. Brassard has a bit less with an average of 2:31 min to Mr. Zuccarello s 2:36. 9 Yet despite having four less games played than Mr. Brassard last season, Mr. Zuccarello managed to produce 19 goals and 40 assists, for a total of 69 points and a plus -11 rating. 10 Mr. Brassard, on the other hand, had a good production of 18 goals and 27 assists for a total of 45 points and a plus -2 rating. 11 Overall it s not a bad season for a second line center. Mr. Zuccarello had a far better offensive season and was entrusted with a bigger role, averaging 17:08 min of ice time per game 6 Ibid. 7 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473544&view=stats 8 http://www.nhl.com/ice/blogpost.htm?id=29445 9 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8475692&view=splits 10 Ibid. 11 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473544&view=splits 4
to Mr. Brassard s 15:47 min, and yet only signed a contract of $3.5M for the upcoming year. 12 [12] They had an equal amount of game winning goals with 4. Mr. Brassard collected 7 points on the power play while Mr. Zuccarello only produced 4. 13 Both players have been paired together and benefited from a good chemistry. But the argument could be made that without Mr. Zuccarello on his wing, Mr. Brassard wouldn t have enjoyed the same offensive success. Mr. Zuccarello s work ethic and willingness to play in high traffic areas explain his constant increase in offensive numbers and bigger role with the Rangers. Ipso facto, Mr. Brassard s offensive statistics are inflated due to Mr. Zuccarello s effective play. i) Counted on when the game is on the line [13] One statistic that is now of utmost importance in today s NHL is the shootout goals. Many times we have seen teams struggling in shootouts, which led to them conceding the extra point to conference rivals to whom they ended up losing the 8th place, and consequently a playoff spot. This is why players who are relied upon to secure the extra points in shootout are a rare and valuable commodity. When the game is on the line, Mr. Zuccarello has been called upon 19 times in the last 4 seasons and succeeded in scoring 9 goals, which is just under 50%. 14 [14] In contrast, Mr. Brassard for his part has been in the shootouts 5 times in the past 4 years and succeeded once. Of course, negotiations cannot be solely based on that fact, though it does demonstrate the value of a player who has the ability to grab the extra point. When the game is on the line, the Rangers rely on guys like Mr. Zuccarello, who have had proven success in shootouts, rather than Mr. Brassard. 12 http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=724642#&navid=nhl-search 13 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473544&view=splits 14 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8475692&view=splits 5
ii) Work Ethic [15] An other stat, that should be taken in consideration when comparing those two players is the penalty minutes, not so much the total as the type of penalties. The type of penalties taken can reveal a lot about a players caracter. In this situation despite Mr. Brassard not being known as a tough or an intimidating player with his 6 1 202 lbs frame, he gives body checks when need be, as his 124 hits from last year show. 15 The problem is, the majority of the 46 minutes of penalties collected last year, most of them were stick related infractions, which are quite often seen as «lazy penalties»: slashing X 3, tripping X 6, Hi-sticking X 2, Hooking X 3. 16 Those kinds of penalties tend to bring the morale of the team down because the players know that they could have likely been avoided. They are also momentum killers, which coaches dread. Mr. Zuccarello had a total of 32 PIM and 116 hits in the 2013-2014 campaign. 17 [16] Mr. Zuccarello is known to be a sparkplug/pest or in your face kind of player as evidenced by his stats, but he manages to play on the edge of legality as shown by his low amount of PIMs. The stats despite, being quite similar to Mr. Brassard, reveal that Mr. Zuccarello has a bit more grit and goes in the traffic areas : roughing X 7, interference Goalkeeper, slashing X 2, hooking X 2, hi sticking X 1. 18 Usually a player of Mr. Zuccarello s type gets the roughing penalties after the whistle, which means he has a greater chance of bringing an opposing player in the box with him, thus not giving an advantage to the opponent. Roughing penalties, although they remain penalties, are usually seen has a sign of grit and implication and the coaches/players are more likely to forgive those than lazy stick infractions. The fact remains that Mr. Zuccarello has a better offensive upside than Mr. Brassard and manages to bring a lot more than offensive 15 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473544&view=splits 16 Ibid. 17 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8475692&view=splits 18 Ibid. 6
numbers, which can t really be said for the latter. This is why we think Mr Mr. Brassard deserves a contract with numbers similar to Mr. Zuccarello, closer to $3.5M rather than $5M. B. Chris Mr. Stewart St. Louis Blues ($4.15M AAV) [17] In this case the comparison is a bit different due to the fact that Mr. Stewart s platform season happened during the lockout of 2012-2013, when the season was shortened with a total of 48 games. Despite the shorter season, Mr. Stewart was on pace to have a record year, accumulating 18 goals and 18 assists for a total of 36 points. 19 To put that in perspective, Mr. Stewart had 0.75 point per game to Mr. Brassard s 0.56 point per game, during the shortened season Mr. Brassard had 0.62 point per game. 20 By looking at the raw stats, we can determine that both players have a similar offensive upside with almost the same ice time during their Platform Years. They enjoyed similar ice time on the man advantage with Mr. Brassard having 2: 31min and Mr. Stewart 2: 19min. 21 Yet the latter managed 2 more power play points. It s important to note here that due to his bigger frame, Mr. Stewart usually occupies the front of the net. In short Mr. Stewart is tasked with the job of playing in the dirty area, something that Mr. Brassard seems to be lacking in his game. i) Physical Presence and Intimidation [18] The difference between the two players is the role they can play for their respective teams. Mr. Brassard is a good 2 nd center that helps put points on the board. Mr. Stewart with similar numbers, is a prototypical power forward with his 6 2, 231 lbs frame who shoots from the right. 22 In today s game where the guys get bigger and faster, Mr. Stewart is a rare commodity who 19 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473485&view=splits&season=20132014&gametype=2 20 Ibid. 21 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473544&view=splits&season=20122013&gametype=2 22 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473544&view=stats 7
combines offensive prowess and toughness that gives an intimidation advantage on the ice. Mr. Stewart compiled 40 PIM during the 2012-2013 season with a total of 7 roughing and 4 fighting penalties, which means Mr. Stewart usually manages to bring someone with him in the box. Besides, in hockey, players who are willing to drop the gloves often have the respect of their teammates. Bringing that intimidation factor on the ice also means that the star players are given a bit more space by the opposition, knowing they ll have to answer to guys like Mr. Stewart if they take liberties. In his 6 seasons in the NHL, Mr. Stewart took part in 34 fights. He s definitely earned the fear and respect of players across the league. Mr. Brassard in his 7 seasons was involved in only 3 fights, an invaluable aspect of the hockey game. The point we hope will come across is that although both players bring the same offensive numbers to the table, Mr. Stewart also brings the physical and intimidation factor to his game, a role Mr. Brassard can t take on because he doesn t have the tools for the job. And yet, Mr. Brassard is asking for more money than Mr. Stewart despite being less versatile. The bottom line is if Mr. Brassard doesn t produce he is pretty much invisible, while Mr. Stewart can make his presence known by dropping the mitts or delivering crushing hits that may change the momentum of the game in his team s favor. IV. CONCLUSION [19] As stated in the brief, Mr. Brassard shows good offensive numbers but his lack of contributing in other aspects of the game is concerning. The evidences shows that Mr. Brassard is a one- dimensional player who s had recurring shoulder injuries. As such the New York Rangers submit that he should be awarded below the $5M midpoint salary and closer to $4M a year. 8