As Detroit Hockey Now’s Kevin Allen notes, today at 5 PM marks the deadline for NHLPA members filing to take their teams to salary arbitration, and two Red Wings players have arbitration rights:
Detroit Red Wings restricted free agents Joe Veleno and Jonatan Berggren have until today at 5 p.m. to decide whether to opt for arbitration to determine their next contract.
Often, opting for free agency brings the two sides together on a new contract. Only occasionally do players actually go through the arbitration process.
A source knowledgable about comparables and the arbitration process projected that Veleno (12 goals in 2023-24) would be in the $2 million range. AFP Analytics projects Veleno with a two-year deal at $1.98 million per season. AFP forecasts Berggren on a one-year deal worth $874,000. Young defenseman Albert Johansson, likely to make the Red Wings roster this season, recently signed for $775,000, but does not have the NHL experience that Berggren has.
Every dollar for these two contracts matters for the Red Wings who want to lock No. 1 defenseman Moritz Seider and 30-year Lucas Raymond into longer-term deals. Those two deals could cost $17 million or more, leaving Detroit with just over $3 million for Veleno and Berggren.
Arbitration decisions are based heavily on statistics and comparables. Berggren has 17 goals and 34 points in 76 career games. If a team “walks away” — in other words they reject it — the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.
The NHLPA will issue a press release later today about everyone who has filled for arbitration. Once an arbitration date is set for each case, the two sides usually start becoming serious about negotiating a new deal. Once an arbitration is finished, the arbitration will render a decision in 48 hours.
