I think we all sort of assumed that the great Alex Chiasson arbitration case of 2015 would never actually make it to the arbitrator’s table.
But as of this morning at 9:00 AM, that’s exactly where the two sides ended up.
Arbitration is never a fun process for the player or the team but in some rare instances, it’s a necessary evil that helps to bridge the gap in difficult contract negotiations. These things almost always get resolved before arbitration but the two sides just couldn’t find common ground before this morning’s hearing.
Chiasson is coming off a less than impressive season and really didn’t appear to have much leverage in contract negotiations. Rumour has it Chiasson was looking for a deal with additional term, possibly as long as three years, and the Senators just weren’t willing to make that type of commitment. Arbitration became the only option really.
The Senators were confident that an arbitrator would see their side of any dispute on salary and in the end, they would get the short term deal they were looking for. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where the arbitrator rules anything higher than $1.5 mi. It really ends up being a win/win from the Senators’ perspective.
Chiasson had a decent start last year. He was playing 14-15 minutes a game under Paul MacLean. He had seven points in his first ten games as a Senator and seemed to be on track for a pretty good season. But his production declined steadily the rest of the way and by year’s end, Dave Cameron had him primarily in a fourth line role, often playing less than ten minutes a night.
I don’t think we really know who Alex Chiasson is just yet. He was billed as a potential top six power-forward but in his first season in Ottawa, wasn’t able to live up to those expectations. But the fact is, he’s only 24 years old and still has room to grow as a player. Once he gets that one year deal, it will be up to him to prove he can be the player the Senators hoped they were getting in last summer’s Jason Spezza trade.
No news is expected from the hearing today. The arbitrator has 48 hours to make a ruling.
