(UPDATE 7:59 AM)- They just needed a little push apparently.
It goes without saying but this is pretty much the ideal contract from Ottawa’s perspective. The three-year term means that they can reevaluate where things stand on right wing in a few years and the cap hit of $3.6 mil is more than reasonable. Pierre Dorion’s patience really paid off here.
Meanwhile Connor Brown is exactly the type of player you want your young guys learning from.
Glad he’s sticking around for the next three seasons.
***
Arbitration day has arrived.
Pierre Dorion has had a busy off-season to this point but there is one fairly significant item lingering on his To Do list.
Connor Brown, the now 26-year old forward from Toronto, Ontario, is still without a contract. And as a restricted free agent, he has arbitration rights. His hearing is scheduled for later this morning.
Brown played a significant role with the Senators last season. His 43 points were a career-high and ranked second to only Brady Tkachuk. He was a favourite of DJ Smith too, playing in all situations and leading all Ottawa forwards in ice time with a shade over 20 minutes a night.
And as you might expect, Mr. Brown would like to get paid.
A year away from unrestricted free agency, Brown recognizes that this is a perfect time to cash-in and he’s made it clear that he’s willing to risk the arbitration process to make it happen.
From Ottawa’s perspective, this is a contract they have to be careful with. Brown is an important player now but should this rebuild progress as planned in the next few years, Brown ideally slots in on a third line. And those are exactly the type of players you want to avoid overpaying.
Earlier this week, we got a glimpse at the numbers that have been submitted for the purposes of the hearing. Brown’s side has come in at $4.8 million while the Senators have countered at $2.25 million.
As we’ve learned over the years, these numbers don’t mean much and really don’t reflect where things stand in the negotiation. Just both sides dancing the precarious arbitration dance. But they do set the parameters for a potential arbitrator’s ruling. It does seem like there’s still a three-year deal on the table in the lead up to this hearing but time is running out for the two sides to sign on the dotted line.
It’s no secret that the arbitration process can be a messy one and ideally, both sides would like to avoid it entirely.
But the clock is ticking.
