It seems fitting that my post on the Alex Chiasson arbitration ruling would be about 24 hours late.
After Sens fans spent the majority of Saturday morning and afternoon waiting for news from the Alex Chiasson arbitration case, the ruling was finally handed down early on Sunday morning. And in the end, it was good news for the Ottawa Senators.
BREAKING: National Hockey League arbitrator has awarded #Sens forward Alex Chiasson a one-year contract at $1.2 million.
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) July 26, 2015
1 year. $1.2 million. The Senators went into the hearing with an ask of $1 million while Chiasson’s camp was asking for $2.4 million. It’s safe to say that in the end, it was the Senators that made the more convincing argument.
While Chiasson isn’t exactly a core player for the Senators, getting this deal done at such a reasonable price is a huge win for the Senators. Not only do they get Chiasson at a relatively low cost, but this ruling also saves them some money on next year’s budget. Initial projections for the Chiasson ruling seemed to be in the $1.5-$1.8 range so saving between $300,000 and $600,000 is good news for the organization.
Especially with that Mike Hoffman arbitration ruling looming on the horizon.
From Chiasson’s perspective, I’m sure he’ll just be happy to have this whole process behind him. Chiasson and his agent were obviously hoping to get a little more out of the arbitrator’s ruling but now he just has to turn his focus to being a productive player for this team next season. And if he can have a bounce back season, he’ll have a little more leverage next summer when he negotiates his next contract.
For now, all the focus shifts to Mike Hoffman, who has an arbitration hearing of his own scheduled for this Thursday.
More on that in a little bit.
