More money in the system means fewer NHL players filing for salary arbitration in 2024.
On Friday, the NHL Players’ Association released its list of 14 players from 10 teams who have initiated the arbitration process. The two biggest names both come from the Metropolitan Division, and are coming out of contracts that carried cap hits of $3 million per season.
Ryan Lindgren, the hard-nosed defenseman for the New York Rangers, is one year away from unrestricted free agency while Martin Necas, a top-six forward for the Carolina Hurricanes, is two years away. Both will be due for significant raises, and while it has been rumored for months that Necas would like a chance to play for a new team, a trade has not yet materialized for the 25-year-old, who was drafted 12 overall by Carolina in 2017. His 97 career goals in 362 games rank him fifth in his draft class, while his 243 points rank him eighth.
As new Carolina GM Eric Tulsky navigates the waters with Necas and 24-year-old Jack Drury, who also filed following his first full NHL season, former Hurricanes GM Don Waddell has a full plate in his new position in Columbus, with three arbitration filings.
The Blue Jackets will be looking to come to terms with two-time 20-goal scorer Kirill Marchenko, 23 as well as a pair of prospects, defenseman Jake Christiansen and goalie Jet Greaves.
Speaking of goalies, the name that’s most conspicuously absent from this year’s list of filings is Jeremy Swayman. A year ago, the Boston Bruins netminder was one of just three players to go through an arbitration hearing after failing to come to terms with his team beforehand.
After walking away with a one-year deal at a cap hit of $3.475 million, Swayman told Boston.com, “There’s no ill will on the process, because I understand that. I’m not the first player to go through it. I’m not the last. But I definitely don’t wish it upon any of my friends and teammates moving forward and I don’t want to do it ever again as well.”
After playing 44 games in 2023-24 and amassing a record of 25-10-8 with a .916 save percentage, the Bruins effectively made Swayman their undisputed No. 1 netminder when they traded Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators on June 24. It’s expected that the sides will announce a long-term contract extension soon.
The list of arbitration filings also includes two players who were traded on Day 2 of last week’s draft. Left wing Beck Malenstyn was moved from the Washington Capitals to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a second-round draft pick on June 29, while defenseman J.J. Moser was dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning as part of the return in the Mikhail Sergachev blockbuster deal.
The NHL’s salary cap ceiling has jumped from $83.5 million to $88 million for the 2024-25 season, an increase of more than 5 percent. That has given teams more flexibility when getting deals done, which may have contributed to the relatively small number of arbitration filings for 2024.
The deadline for teams to file from their side was July 6 at 5 p.m. ET. As of 7 p.m. ET, no club-elected filings have been announced.
In 2023, 22 players filed for arbitration, and there were two team-elected filings.
Here are the totals from the five years before that, going back to before the pandemic pause, per CapFriendly:
- 2022: 24 player filings, 2 team-elected filings
- 2021: 16 player filings, 3 team-elected filings
- 2020: 26 player filings, 0 team-elected filings
- 2019: 40 player filings, 1 team-elected filing
- 2018: 44 player filings, 0 team-elected filings
To be eligible to file for arbitration, a player must be a restricted free agent and have accrued the required amount of professional experience, which varies depending on the age at which a player signs his first contract. For 18-to-20-year-olds, four years of experience is required before arbitration eligibility begins; the threshold drops for players who sign their first contracts at older ages.
Arbitration awards can be one or two years. If the arbitrator awards a salary of less than $4,538,958, the award is binding. If the arbitration award is greater than that number, the team has an option to walk away. If it’s a one-year contract, the team can immediately decline, making the player an unrestricted free agent. If it’s a two-year contract, they must accept the first year of the deal, but can walk away after that.
There is a strong incentive for both sides to come to terms before the arbitration hearing begins. That’s what happens in most cases — having a fixed arbitration date on the calendar creates a deadline for both sides to reach an agreement.
In 2024, arbitration hearings will be scheduled between July 20 and Aug. 4.
