Several Star Players Put Their Teams in a Difficult Position

It's never a fun thing when players and teams go up against each other with a third party arbitrator, but 22 restricted free agents in the NHL have greatly increased their chances of doing so.

The NHLPA, the union representing the league's players, has announced that 22 restricted free agents have filed for salary arbitration. Not all RFAs have arbitration rights. It needs to be negotiated into a contract. What it means is the players aren't satisfied with the qualifying offer made by their respective teams and want to have a third-party adjudicator decide what they should make on their next deal. There are certainly some high profile names on the list.

Perhaps the biggest name on the list is Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov. He made $2 million last year, and that was his minimum qualifying offer for 2023-24. Teams can offer more if they like, but it's a safe bet Toronto offered the $2 million, and that Samsonov decided he should get more. The Maple Leafs are already almost $9 million over next season's cap ceiling of $83.5 million.

Picked up at the deadline for for a package of five draft picks, Tanner Jeannot is in the final year of his entry-level contract, which makes his qualifying offer low at just under $900,000. If that's what the Tampa Bay Lightning offered him, Jeannot feels he's worth more.

The Boston Bruins are in a tight spot between the pipes. Jeremy Swayman is up for renewal, and is looking for more than the $925,000 cap hit he was on the books for the last three seasons. Boston also has Linus Ullmark making $5 million per for the next two seasons, and then he needs a new deal. It's vey unlikely the Bruins can keep both long-term.

It's important to remember that filing for arbitration doesn't guarantee it happens. Teams and players can negotiate right up until the day of the hearing if they choose to do so. The deadline for the second club-elected salary arbitration notification is July 6 at 5 p.m. ET. Salary arbitration hearings will be held from July 20 to Aug. 4.

Morgan Barron (Winnipeg Jets), Will Borgen (Seattle Kraken), Noah Cates (Philadelphia Flyers), Ross Colton (Colorado Avalanche), Brandon Duhaime (Minnesota Wild), Vince Dunn (Seattle Kraken), Cale Fleury (Seattle Kraken), Trent Frederic (Boston Bruins), Filip Gustavsson (Minnesota Wild), Brett Howden (Vegas Golden Knights), Tanner Jeannot (Tampa Bay Lightning), Philipp Kurashev (Chicago Blackhawks), Jack McBain (Arizona Coyotes), Ryan McLeod (Edmonton Oilers), Ian Mitchell (Boston Bruins), Drew O'Connor (Pittsburgh Penguins), Ilya Samsonov (Toronto Maple Leafs), Brandon Scanlin (New York Rangers), Jeremy Swayman (Boston Bruins), Troy Terry (Anaheim Ducks), Alexei Toropchenko (St. Louis Blues), Gabriel Vilardi (Winnipeg Jets)

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