The Washington Capitals and goaltender Braden Holtby are heading to arbitration. Holtby's hearing will be on July 23rd as sides are still disagreeing on both term and salary.
Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said at the Caps Fan Fest this past weekend that the team made an very reasonable offer to Holtby a few weeks ago:
“We made an aggressive offer with Holtby, hoping to get it done sooner than later,” MacLellan said. “I like what we’ve offered. We’ve offered a term deal with a good salary. I think total dollars is pretty significant. Unfortunately, I guess you play it out. If you’ve got to go to arb, you’ve got to go to arb. It’s just part of the process.”
GMBM is said to have offered Holtby a 5 year deal at just above $5M, while Holtby is looking for a 6 year deal at $6M.
While both sides are not off by much, it does make a big difference towards the salary cap if Holtby gets what he wants. The Caps have $11M to spend on Holtby and fellow RFA Marcus Johansson, who is said to be looking for $4M.
Holtby's worth is definitely at its highest right now. He is coming off a career year with a league leading 73 games played with 41 wins. His 9 shut outs were good for second in the league, and he finished 4th in Vezina Trophy voting. Simply put, he was a machine last year and the Caps need to re-sign him stat.
However, at only 24, Holtby still hasn't proved that he can continue those numbers and become a steady franchise goaltender. There is no doubting his skill and talent level and his desire to win, but one great year doesn't mean you automatically throw a guy a Pekka Rinne or Tuuka Rask-like contract.
Both sides are hoping to avoid the hearing altogether and chances are it can be resolved and we can get on our merry way.
“It could go either way," MacLellan said. “Last year a lot of them got settled. There’s a pressure point that forces parties to negotiate and hopefully the conversations pick up as you get closer to that and the parties becomes more realistic.”
Another important reason for getting Holtby signed is that Caps want to look for a depth center, especially if Nicklas Backstrom isn't ready at the beginning of the season from his off-season hip surgery (he is currently re-habbing in Sweden).
So what is Holtby's worth? Should he make big-time bucks yet, or should he take the Capitals offer and prove that he can improve on an already great start to his full-time NHL career?
The offers from both sides are very similar and we could be looking at a $5.75M deal for about 6 years, which could end up being a bargain if Holtby turns out to be a playoff performer that can get the Caps over the hump.
Share your thoughts.
More to come...
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