With the news that Filip Gustavsson and Brandon Duhaime have filed for salary arbitration came a lot of fans feeling nervous about their future with the Minnesota Wild. Those feelings are well founded after Kevin Fiala was traded just a year after filing for arbitration himself, but fortunately for Wild fans, the circumstances surrounding Fiala were very different compared to Gustavsson and Duhaime, and this is actually a positive step towards seeing them stick around for hopefully many seasons to come.
A lot of fans become understandably upset when free agents, especially restricted free agents (RFA), don’t sign a new contract immediately after the season is done. But what most people fail to understand is the complexity involved in a lot of these contracts that end up being worth more money than most of us will ever see. Of course, the dollar figure is a primary point of contention, but other items like term, signing bonuses, salary distribution, and no-trade clauses all have to be discussed and agreed upon.
Electing to go to salary arbitration is a way of ensuring that there is a final date for a deal to happen well in advance of training camp, and the contract is usually signed before the actual hearing is ever held. A lot of people need an end-point to help them make decisions, and an arbitration hearing is just that, a final date to have a deal done. As far as fans should be concerned, all it means is that Gustavsson and Duhaime will be part of the Wild next season.
Duhaime Needs to Step Up
Duhaime is an excellent player; he has remained in the lineup for a reason. The 26-year-old brings speed, a tough and gritty work ethic, solid penalty killing, and has shown flashes of finishing ability. He is coming off of a two-year deal worth a total of $1.5 million ($750,000 cap hit) and is obviously valued by the Wild, but in those two seasons, he only produced 27 points in 131 games.
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A single-year deal in the low $1.2 million range is deserved but also could be a final shot for the 2016 fourth-rounder to show he can play a larger role on the team. That deal provides the Wild with the opportunity to extend him part-way through the season if he has shown he is capable of more or trade him at the trade deadline if they feel he is not part of their long-term plans. Either way, it could be an important year for Duhaime’s career in the NHL.
Gustavsson Needs a Repeat Performance
Gustavsson basically came out of nowhere to become statistically one of the best goaltenders in the NHL last season. The 25-year-old tripped out of the gate, looking like an absolute mistake before hopping up and sprinting his way to the top of the leaderboards. With 22 wins, a .931 save percentage, and a 2.10 goals-against average, he was a force in net, but the real question here is can he do it again?
While he could get either a one or two-year deal, I see no reason to go for the longer term as that would walk him right to being an unrestricted free agent. A one-year deal around the $3.2 million range gives him a chance to show that he is capable of being a starter in the NHL, while also retaining his restricted free-agent status for next season. If he does well, the Wild will be in a better position to offer him a larger contract as Marc-Andre Fleury’s $3.5 million cap hit will likely be replaced by Jesper Wallstedt’s entry-level deal.
Opening Night Roster is Coming Together
With those two RFAs closing in on the finish line and Pat Maroon coming over in a recent trade, the Wild will have their roster basically set. There are, however, a couple of question marks remaining. The pair of Marco Rossi and Brock Faber have basically been gifted a spot on the roster, but the possibility for a surprise out of training camp remains open. The final piece of the puzzle is the final RFA, Calen Addison. His contract will likely have to wait until after the rest have been finalized so that there is a better picture of how much cap space is left, which is truly a sign of how low his current stock with the organization has fallen.
