Montreal Canadiens development camp is quietly underway over at Brossard, and
these guys have you well covered for it.
As you undoubtedly know by now, P.K. Subban and Lars Eller have each filed for arbitration. As Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada reported, doing so ensures that neither can sign an offer sheet. If things go as far as hearings for both of them, the club can elect for one or two-year settlements.
We might actually get there with Eller, as he presents an interesting case as a player who's shown flashes of brilliance mixed in with lapses in confidence and long cold spells. His 2014 playoffs will be the strongest card he holds, but the rest of it is spotty at best. The hope is that it doesn't get there.
Arbitration is a sticky process. Each side is presenting a case against each other, not just presenting the case for why they're right. Feelings get hurt. Relationships become fractured.
Don't expect Subban and the Canadiens to skate down this path. Yes, their negotiation is contentious by nature. Marc Bergevin won big last time around. He held the cards, and he played them. Since then, Subban's won a Norris and was one of the best players in the 2014 playoffs, and a couple of years from unrestricted free agency, he's got the hammer cocked. A short-term deal serves no one's interests. Subban will request the max, which could be as much as $10M per over an eight-year term, and Bergevin's sole mandate will be to ensure they can come to terms on something a little bit more friendly for the team.
An arbitration settlement not only makes it entirely likely that Subban jumps ship as an unrestricted free agent down the line, it guarantees that Subban gets paid a huge number over one or two years. The cap will go up, the ask will get higher, and this thing will spiral to a place no one wants to see it go to.
Here's the good news: Dates for arbitration go from July 20th to August 4th. Twenty players--league-wide--filed. You have to be hopeful Subban and Eller get settled in the very near future.
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If the Canadiens make the kind of commitment most expect them to, turning Subban into Montreal's richest player by a significant amount, does that not speak to their trust that he'd make a fine captain of the team? Seems pretty obvious that they've identified him as a key leader. Would they bridge that decision with Markov and Plekanec as worthy candidates, making him an assistant for the time being?
The captaincy will be spoken about just as much as Subban's negotiation until both dossiers are settled, and a thought occurred to me: If Brendan Gallagher had just two more years of experience under his belt, would he not be a consensus pick for the role? Hard to make a player who's still on his entry-level contract a captain in the NHL, but were he a 5-year vet, he'd be the young guy no one has an issue naming.
The Habs have some solid leaders in place in their young players. Price, Subban and Gallagher have the goods. They have to be hoping that Max Pacioretty, David Desharnais, Eller, Alex Galchenyuk take on more too. They have some solid vets to support all of that in Markov, Plekanec, Mike Weaver, newcomer Manny Malholtra, Brandon Prust, Dale Weise and Travis Moen. It's pretty important considering what they lost in Brian Gionta and Josh Gorges.
And let's not forget Gerard Gallant. He was Michel Therrien's good cop. A number of players confided in him, trusted him, took comfort in the positive reinforcement he offered. Replacing him is probably Bergevin and Therrien's biggest task of the summer, especially with Bergevin rewarding Therrien with that long-term contract.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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