While the Anaheim Ducks are at at standstill with both Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale over their future contract extensions, a rumor is floating around that the Ducks might have pulled a shady move with Drysdale, a player who missed most of his games with the Ducks last season.
Part of the issue for Drysdale as he negotiates an extension is that he only played 8 games last season. The season before, he scored 32 points, so there’s not necessarily a big enough sample size to commit the funds the player might be asking for. But, the limited games might have been the plan all along in Anaheim.
Darren Dreger and Ray Ferraro were talking about the Ducks’ situation with both players and Dreger pointed out there’s some chatter the Ducks intentionally held Drysdale out of the lineup last season even though he might have been medically able to make a return. The reason is supposedly because they wanted to ensure Drysdale didn’t hit enough games to earn arbitration rights as an RFA.
Salary arbitration, a common tool in the NHL, resolves contract disputes between teams and restricted free agents. Players or teams can initiate arbitration, scheduling a hearing within two weeks. Despite this, negotiations often lead to settlements before the hearing, as seen in 2021. In arbitration, both player and team propose salaries to a neutral third party, presenting their arguments for consideration.
When the arbitration award is given (assuming teams don’t settle beforehand) it can never be for less than 85% of his salary from the previous season. A player can request arbitration as many times as they are eligible and can ask for any amount of salary. The team can only take the player to arbitration once. Troy Terry had it this summer and settled for a big deal ahead of his hearing.
As a team that wasn’t going to make the playoffs and were looking for the best odds at the NHL Draft Lottery possible, if the Ducks intentionally kept Drysdale from reaching arbitration at the age of 21 (must have three years in the NHL), with at least 10 NHL contests, it’s a pretty shady move. Granted, this is only a rumor and it might be difficult to prove that Anaheim did such a thing, especially if a medical expert said Drysdale wasn’t good to return.
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