The GMs of Calgary and New Jersey are breathing a sigh of relief right now. With the Devils resigning Jesper Bratt and the Flames resigning Andrew Mangiapane and Oliver Kylington, both teams have avoided the dreaded contract arbitration hearing.
This announcement really shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as the players and teams were reportedly already close to a deal prior to the arbitration dates. All three of these players are coming off career years in goals, assists, and points, while their respective teams had more than enough cap space to resign them. It only makes sense that Mangiapane and Kylington with the Flames and Bratt with the Devils sought to avoid the destructive nature of an arbitrator’s opinion.
I mean, what player really wants to have to prove their worth to some guy/girl that they have never met before as their own team tries to discredit them? I know I wouldn’t.
Arbitration should only be used for players and teams when they have irreconcilably differences, but said player is still under an RFA classification. Players that actually want to stay on their current teams should do what Bratt, Mangiapane, and Kylington have all done: negotiate before the arbitrator does it for you.
Plus, like I said, Bratt, Kylington, and Mangiapane all had career years with their, respective, teams. Jesper Bratt was one of the New Jersey Devils best forwards last season, producing 26 goals and 47 assists to have a career high 73 points. Oh, and he did all that in just 76 games and on a team that finished 47 points outside the playoffs. His 1-year, 5.1M contract was well deserved.
As for Mangiapane, he had across the board career highs as well, with 35 goals, 20 assists for 55 points. A 5.8M/3-year deal is a bit more than I would have offered him, as this was his first season scoring above 50 points, but I understand Calgary overpaying to keep the 26-year-old. They definitely didn’t want another Matthew Tkachuk situation.
And Kylington also had a career high in points with 31 from the blue-line. What makes his 2-year, 5M (with just a 2.5M cap hit) so great was that he was one of the key pieces in the outstanding 2021/22 Flames defense. Last season, the Flames’ defense finished 3rd overall in GA/game, 5th in SA/game, and had the 6th best penalty kill. Yeah, very impressive.
With these two teams looking to make it to the playoffs next season, keeping such important guys was extremely important for that goal. We’ll see if these players can follow up their career years and earn their contract raises.
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