SB Nation Atlanta - Thrashers Lose One Restricted Free Agent; What Of The Others?https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46601/atlanta-fave.png2010-07-29T14:12:06-04:00http://atlanta.sbnation.com/rss/stream/13489922010-07-29T14:12:06-04:002010-07-29T14:12:06-04:00Thrashers Sign Forward Andrew Ladd
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<p>The Atlanta Thrashers avoided arbitration again today by <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2010/07/29/sp-ladd.html?ref=rss" target="new">signing restricted free agent Andrew Ladd to a one year, $2.35 million contract</a>. He tallied 17 goals and 21 assists on the Blackhawks last season. It’s very much possible that we will see the former 1st rounder on Atlanta’s checking line, and he could fill in on the second line with Dustin Byfuglien and Rich Peverley. He began the season in the top six last year until Marian Hossa returned from injury, so he has experience in that role.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/2010/7/29/1594770/thrashers-sign-forward-andrew-laddLaura Astorian2010-07-28T21:41:30-04:002010-07-28T21:41:30-04:00Thrashers Sign Forward Ben Eager
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<p>Restricted free agent Ben Eager avoided arbitration today by <a href="http://capgeek.com/players/display.php?id=258" target="new">signing a one year, $965,000 one-way contract with the Atlanta Thrashers</a>. In 60 games last season with the Chicago Blackhawks, Eager scored seven goals and nine assists while racking up 120 penalty minutes.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/2010/7/28/1593592/thrashers-sign-forward-ben-eagerLaura Astorian2010-07-23T18:30:24-04:002010-07-23T18:30:24-04:00Thrashers Lock Up RFA Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec With A Bargain Deal
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<p><a href="http://bluelandblog2.com/2010/07/22/pavelec-officially-re-signs/" target="new">The Thrashers signed <span class="caps">RFA</span> goalie Ondrej Pavelec to a two-year, $2.4 million contract.</a> That’s not $2.4 million a season, that’s $1 million this this season, and $1.3 million the next. The cap hit is a paltry $1.15 million dollars. If you needed further proof of the slow market for goalies this off-season, add this to the pile. To put this in perspective, his cap hit not only went down by around $300,000, former Atlanta Thrashers goaltender Johan Hedberg made $1.09 million to be a back up. The Thrashers complete goaltender tandem pricetag for two years? $6.1 million dollars. That’s around as much as Evgeny Nabokov was making for his last season (cap information via <a href="http://www.capgeek.com" target="new">capgeek.com</a>).</p>
<p>I<a href="http://www.birdwatchersanonymous.com/2010/7/3/1550551/who-is-this-masked-man-what-chris" target="new"> have said my piece both about Chris Mason</a> and <a href="http://thrashingtheblues.com/2010-articles/july/ondrej-pavelec-decides-to-keep-on-developing-as-a-thrasher.html" target="new">Ondrej Pavelec, and have high opinions of both</a>, even if my thoughts on Pavelec are tempered with restraint. The team might not have a Superman-level goaltender tandem, but between Mason’s workhorse nature and Pavelec’s growing abilities, if they both have a good year the Thrashers should be solidly in playoff contention.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/2010/7/23/1585036/thrashers-lock-up-ondrej-pavelecLaura Astorian2010-07-23T17:59:25-04:002010-07-23T17:59:25-04:00Thrashers Lose One Restricted Free Agent; What Of The Others?
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<p><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/teams/ATL" class="sbn-auto-link">Thrashers</a> forward <span>Clarke MacArthur</span> had an arbitration hearing on Wednesday, which was a first for a Thrashers player. The team decided to double up that history making moment by <a target="_blank" href="http://bluelandblog2.com/2010/07/21/macarthur-now-a-ufa/">declining the arbitrator's salary award of $2.4 million, and by cutting MacArthur free</a>.</p>
<p>For those of you who follow other sports, $2.4 million sounds reasonable. In hockey, that would be about a third of Ilya Kovalchuk's contract while he was with the Thrashers. Last season, MacArthur (with both the Thrashers and the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/teams/BUF" class="sbn-auto-link">Buffalo Sabres</a>) scored 16 goals and 19 assists. Reasonable totals for a third-liner, but is that kind of talent worth $2.4 million dollars? More importantly, is that worth taking up a roster spot that a prospect potentially could win at training camp? Is the coddling of an average player for another season more important than giving a kid who has a long-term future with the organization a slot in the lineup? Dudley weighed the pros and cons and assumed that allowing one of the kids a chance was more worth it. He made a solid choice.</p>
<p>The problem with the MacArthur deal is that it gives an artificially high standard for other RFAs who have decided to test the court of opinion. The arbitrator awarded MacArthur a raise of $1 million for an average career year. Where does that put teams who are already up against the cap that have players who are testing the waters? The <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/teams/CHI" class="sbn-auto-link">Chicago Blackhawks</a> might have a problem with <span>Antti Niemi</span> and the amount of raise he gets, and if a run-of-the-mill forward gets a million dollars, what would a Stanley Cup-winning goalie get? The Blackhawks just traded forward <span>Marty Reasoner</span> to make a little bit more room, so it's obvious that they're having problems still. If they can't afford to re-sign Niemi because an arbitrator inflates his contract, that leaves them in a decidedly awful pickle.</p>
<p>This whole situation is not necessarily a reflection of what will happen when (if) <span>Andrew Ladd</span> and Ben Eager wind up in a hearing. Those are two players that the Thrashers traded for in the offseason specifically for <i>this</i> season. <a target="_blank" href="http://capgeek.com/rosters.php?team=7">The Thrashers have the cap space</a>. God knows, they have the cap space. Whatever the decision of the arbitrator is, if that decision needs to be made, chances are very good that the team agrees.</p>
https://atlanta.sbnation.com/2010/7/23/2318293/thrashers-lose-one-restricted-free-agent-what-of-the-othersLaura Astorian