July 21, 2010

Clark vs. Perron

When I saw the story about MacArthur my first question was: who? I try to keep on top of all major NHL contributors and that one I had never heard of. So the obvious next question was: why on earth is a no name NHL contributor get $2.4 million from an arbitrator? Then came a story shortly after Perron signed for $2.15M, which is a name I certainly do know.

MacArthur (25):
G: 16
A: 19
Salary: $2.5M

Perron (22):
G: 20 (+25%)
A: 27 (+40%)
Salary: $2.15M

First off Atlanta did the right thing to abandon a player that is worth about $1.5M. MacArthur shows no signs of improvement. His PP stats are terrible. David Backes is getting paid $2.5 for an extra 12 assists compared to MacArthur. Callahan is making $2.3 for similar numbers. Fehr (#18 overall) is making $2.1. Disappointing Bernier is getting $2M. Stafford (much more potential) is making $1.9. Steen $1.7. Ladd $1.6M etc.

Presumably Atlanta wanted to sign him this year. It's not like they really needed his services at the deadline. That's what makes this arbitration award so bad: Atlanta traded a 3rd & 4th rounder for nothing because the arbitrators were generous.

Of course the Thrashers could have shot themselves in the foot by not providing good alternatives to what MacArthur's agent provides. There are plenty of players in this category (no shortage of supply).

4 comments:

Bettman's Nightmare said...

Whoever MacArthur's agent is is going to have a few more clientele after this heist.

Scotty said...

Hey Chris,

I think the blog's absolutely awesome. I'm trying to track down the instances of diving and associated calls relative to total penalties called last year. The entries from '06 and '07 are exactly what I was hoping to find for the more recent seasons. Any ideas where I can find this information? It would be much appreciated.

Unknown said...

Not sure if this was ever updated, but I did hear that the reason MacArthur's Atlanta arbitration award was so high was because Atlanta WANTED to walk away immediatley. With that said, they never asked to have any say in the matter and asked that the arbitrator rule in favour of the player as quickly as possible. Hence, the large arbitration award (based on the numbers provided soley by the players agent).

JavaGeek said...

Thank-you Jeremy, that makes a lot of sense!

He signed with Toronto for $1.1M, which make a lot of sense. I still think that the award was absurd, even if Atlanta didn't counter. Although, in hind-sight it looks like Toronto got a great deal (their best player).