Salary arbitration is a rare occurrence in hockey. The process is limited to restricted free agents, and even then, there are restrictions about which RFAs can utilize the tool to resolve contract disputes. Depending on the age at which a player signed their first NHL contract, they must have a certain number of years of professional experience before being able to elect for it (full table via PuckPedia).
Only 11 players filed for arbitration last season. None of those cases required a hearing. Nonetheless, countless more names are actually eligible to file for arbitration. That eligibility factor, in and of itself, can influence how teams handle earlier rounds of negotiations. Teams never want to be locked into an award they can’t opt out of (which is the case below the ~$5MM mark; this year’s number is yet to be decided), and the undesirable hearing process can fracture long-term relationships between team and player.
Most commonly, it will be the player electing for arbitration. Teams can also do so if the player is eligible, but there are added restrictions. They can only make two elections per year, and the player in question can still sign an offer sheet before July 5, even if the team has already filed for arbitration. A player can also only be subject to one team election in their entire career, and a salary of $2.43MM or greater in the previous season locks in the award at no less than 85% of their preceding salary. That restriction does not exist for player-elected arbitration.
Even in cases where arbitration is elected, the vast majority of them will result in a settlement before a hearing is reached. This can even happen after both sides submit their salary filings to the arbitrator, right up until the hearing begins.
There has been a consistent downward trend in the number of arbitration filings since 2022. It’s hard to imagine that number bottoming out more than last year’s, but it’s something to consider.
Here’s each team’s list of players they’ll have to be on the lookout for this summer for a potential filing:
Avalanche (6)
Blackhawks (2)
Blue Jackets (5)
Blues (6)
Bruins (4)
Canadiens (7)
- F Kirby Dach
- D Arber Xhekaj
- F Joe Veleno
- F Luke Tuch
- F Jared Davidson
- F Sean Farrell
- D William Trudeau
Canucks (4)
Capitals (5)
Devils (7)
- F Arseny Gritsyuk
- F Paul Cotter
- F Dylan Wendt
- F Xavier Parent
- D Calen Addison
- G Jakub Málek
- G Nico Daws
Ducks (6)
Flames (5)
- F John Beecher
- F Rory Kerins
- F Carter King
- F Sam Morton
- G Owen Say
Flyers (7)
- F Trevor Zegras
- D Jamie Drysdale
- D Emil Andrae
- G Samuel Ersson
- F Philip Tomasino
- F Jacob Gaucher
- D Hunter McDonald
Golden Knights (3)
Hurricanes (5)
Islanders (10)
- F Max Shabanov
- F Marc Gatcomb
- D Adam Boqvist
- F Joey Larson
- F Cam Thiesing
- F Alex Jefferies
- F Daylan Kuefler
- F Liam Foudy
- D Marshall Warren
- G Henrik Tikkanen
Jets (5)
Kings (2)
Kraken (4)
Lightning (1)
Mammoth (3)
- F Barrett Hayton
- F Michal Kunc could still be qualified, already signed in Czechia
- D Maksymilian Szuber
Maple Leafs (8)
- F Matias Maccelli
- F Nicholas Robertson
- F Jacob Quillan
- F Ryan Tverberg
- D William Villeneuve
- D Henry Thrun
- D John Prokop
- G Vyacheslav Peksa
Oilers (3)
Panthers (8)
- F Mackie Samoskevich
- D Donovan Sebrango
- F Ben Steeves
- F Wilmer Skoog
- D Mikulas Hovorka
- D Tobias Bjornfot
- D Michael Benning
- G Cooper Black
Penguins (4)
Predators (5)
Rangers (6)
Red Wings (7)
- F Carter Mazur
- F Alexandre Doucet
- F Jakub Rychlovsky
- F Michael Milne
- F Wojciech Stachowiak
- D William Wallinder
- G Carter Gylander
Sabres (3)
Senators (5)
Sharks (5)
Stars (10)
- F Jason Robertson
- F Mavrik Bourque
- F Arttu Hyry
- F Harrison Scott
- F Kyle McDonald
- F Antonio Stranges
- D Luke Krys
- D Vladislav Kolyachonok
- D Jeremie Poirier
- G Benjamin Kraws
Wild (5)
The RFA market is expected to be intriguing this offseason, as the likelihood of offer sheets being issued may be higher than usual due to the limited options in the UFA market. There are various high-caliber players that are included on this list, and their current teams could face challenges in retaining them, particularly those with tight salary cap constraints and multiple free agents to manage.