Hutton is the bar for Canucks or arbitrator to decide Stecher’s worth
Salary arbitration is like a blind date for NHL general managers.
They’re never sure about the person or the plan when an independent arbiter determines the worth of a relationship between their player and the team. It’s why a majority of the 44 cases filed by the July 5 deadline are expected to be settled before hearings are held between July 20 and Aug. 4. It eliminates the unknown.
Last year, of the 30 players who filed, only one case went to the arbitrator.
Las Vegas defenceman Nate Schmidt was awarded a two-year, US$4.45-million extension following his 17-point season with Washington at just $812,500.
It’s why the Canucks are expected to control as much as they can and reach contract-extension terms with restricted free agent Troy Stecher. They set the bar long ago.
When Ben Hutton was rewarded with a two-year, $5.6-million extension after a superb 2015-16 season — second in rookie blue-liner assists (24) and third in points (25) — it wasn’t that the struggling defenceman slipped to 19 and six points respectively the last two campaigns. Or that the 25-year-old lost his way, lost the confidence of coach Travis Green and will still pocket $2.8 million next season as a third-pairing defender — unless he’s moved.
It’s what an arbiter will use as a baseline to determine Stecher’s worth because he had 24 points (3-21) in his rookie 2016-17 season. His overall performance, including previous seasons, length of service, overall contribution, special qualities or public appeal and the salary of a comparable player are all admissible.
“I don’t know what an arbiter would think, but we’ve had discussions (with Stecher’s agent) about finding common ground and we have a number where we want to be at,” Canucks GM Jim Benning said Wednesday. “He’s a competitive kid and shows up every night.
“He gives us that aggressiveness to get the puck out of our end and transport it. He’s a valuable guy to us and we want to figure something out.”
Stecher had just 11 points (1-10) in 68 games last season. Hutton had six (0-6) in 61 games and was a healthy scratch on seven occasions in a 15-game stretch. Stecher outplayed Hutton and was not only a consistent top-four presence, he also played in the top pairing when needed.
The 24-year-old Richmond native was third in ice time among club blue-liners (17:03) while Hutton was sixth (15:52). Neither had much power-play time. Hutton logged 58:30 and 0:58 per game, while Stecher had just 16:05 and 0:14 per outing. In the 2016-17 season, Stecher led in power-play time (192:51, 2:43 per game) and had eight points (1-7), while Hutton was second (146:06) and third per game (2:03) for 11 points (2-9).
Intangibles will come into play to determine where Stecher goes from an expiring entry-level deal that had a $925,000 cap hit because a crowded back end won’t mean anything to an arbiter. If Quinn Hughes signs a contract and Olli Juolevi eventually joins the team after microdisectomy back surgery in mid-June, the Canucks will have 10 defencemen signed.
And that’s Benning’s dilemma. “We’re trying to figure what’s best for Quinn’s development and those conversations will continue to happen — there’s no timeline on it,” said Benning. “If that (signing ) is a direction we go in, we don’t necessarily need to move somebody. We can see who has a good camp and who has made strides. We can make that decision after camp.”
The Canucks are comfortable with Stecher and Hughes in their lineup, a reflection of today ’s game. Remember the angst over the possibility of Stecher and Jordan Subban on the same back end?
“They (Stecher, Hughes) have different skill sets, but they can play on the same defence,” added Benning. “Quinn has the ability to run a power play and while they can both transport the puck, Stecher is more competitive physically in the battles.
“Quinn is aggressive in wanting to get the puck to carry it and make plays.”