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Colby Armstrong Opts For Arbitration |
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Thrashers forward Colby Armstrong has elected to file for salary arbitration. He joins a list of other RFAs that include the Rangers’ Nikolai Zherdev, Carolina’s Tuomo Ruutu and Detroit’s Jiri Hudler.
Last season, Armstrong played in all 82 games for Atlanta and scored 22 goals, (5th highest on the team)…40 overall points, (6th highest on the team)…and was a +5, (5th highest on the team). His 3 power play goals ranked sixth highest for the Thrashers, (one behind defenseman Ron Hainsey), and his two game-winning goals was good enough for fifth-best on the squad behind Kovalchuk’s six, Rich Peverley’s five, (who was a Thrasher for only half the season), Bryan Little’s four and Slava Kozlov’s three. Armstrong failed to net a shorthanded goal last season.
He is coming off of a contract that paid him $1.2 million last season.
To place Army’s numbers and pay into some perspective…
Todd White is currently under a contract that pays $2.375 per season. Last year White also scored 22 goals but had 33 more points than Armstrong while logging almost three additional minutes of average ice time. He also had 12 power play goals as opposed to Armstrong’s 3.
Marty Reasoner, the third line center, logged about as much ATOI as Armstrong and accounted for 14 goals and 30 overall points to go with his +11. Last month Reasoner signed a 2-year contract that will pay $1.2 million this season and $1.1 next season.
Rich Peverley, who was claimed off of waivers last January, played in 66 total games last year between Nashville and Atlanta. He scored 15 goals and 44 points in those games and finished the season with a +13 rating. Peverley has a year left on his contract that will pay less than $500,000 and will become a UFA next summer.
Before filing for arbitration, my guess was that Armstrong would have been in line for something in the neighborhood of a three-year deal worth about $2 – 2.25 million per season.
We’ll see what the arbiter has to say.
The hearings are set to take place in Toronto between July 20 and August 4.
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