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Ference Leads Oil Kids On Survival Trek |
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Edmonton Oilers Rookie Orientation Camp is underway and is taking place in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains in Jasper, in the Alberta wilderness.
While NHL teams are hosting development camps for their organizational prospects, the Oilers have given permission to their captain Andrew Ference to make a lasting impression of the kids.
Ference is joining forces with U.S. Army Ranger Lucas Carr, and will lead the Oilers’ top prospects on a survival trek in the Rocky Mountains on Sunday night. I give Ference a lot of respect for investing his time and passion in rookie development camp. While other NHL captains are sunning themselves at the cottage with the family or playing 36 holes of golf a day, Ference is leading by example.
Thanks, Oilers TV
Ference won the 2014 King Clancy Trophy which is "awarded to the NHL player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community" .
The kids are alright.
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Eighteen year old uber rookie power forward Leon Draisaitl is enjoying the rigors of his fisrt ever NHL development camp. The German forward says that he is determined to play in the NHL this season. He knows that he has to earn his roster spot and that he isn’t going to be handed a free pass to the Oilers’ starting lineup.
Draisaitl says that two things will get him into the NHL: His speed and brut strength.
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Just ahead of the Saturday July 5pm filing deadline, Montreal Canadiens star rear guard extraordinaire P.K. Subban was among the twenty NHLers to have fled for arbitration.
The arbitration process calls for the club and the player to submit a salary figure to the arbitrator. In the end, the arbitrator decides which salary figure the player will be paid. Teams reserve the right to skate away from an arbitrator's ruling, however, in that case, the player immediately would become an unrestricted free agent.
Subban a special RFA in that he was the engine that pulled Montreal to the Eastern Conference Finals where they would eventually lose to the NY Rangers. Subban singlehandedly wreaked havoc upon the big, bad, Boston Bruins in the second round of the 2014 Stanley Cup playoff series.
All told, Subban scored five goals and added nine assists in 17 playoff games in the playoffs. He was also Montreal's best D-man.
In 82 games last season, the 25-year-old scored 10 goals and added 43 assists.
Subban is no stranger to the RFA process. You'll recall that he sat out for the first four games of the 2012-13 lockout shortened season while his agent and the Canadiens front office arm wrestled over a new contract.
In January 2013, Subban signed a two year bridge deal worth $5.75 million. The Canadiens justified their position by telling the then 23 year old to go out and develop his overall game and to become a more consistent player overall. The Habs' brass knew that Subban was a terror in the o-zone, however, they wanted to see more out of Subban on the other side of the puck.
Subban accepted the bridge contract and set out to prove once and for all to his GM Marc Bergevin and his head coach Mike Therrien that he was indeed a difference-making, transcendent NHL star.
At the conclusion of the 2012-13 season, Subban was awarded the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman.
Subban has more than held up his end of the bargain. Now its time for Bergevin to follow suit.
Its believed that Subban is seeking a max-out term deal in the 7-8 year range for between $7.5-$8 million per season.
Bergevin should just hand Subban a blank cashier's check right now and tell him to fill-in the dollar amount that he wishes to be paid in total.
The Canadiens and Subban's agent can avoid the arbitration hearing altogether by agreeing to a new, mutually agreeable contract in advance of the actual schedule hearing. Over the years, many players and teams work out the contract before the arb hearing date and time. I suspect that Subban and the Habs will do the same thing.
CBC's Elliotte Friedman points out that one of the positives for the Canadiens of the Subban electing for arbitration is that the player is now eligible to receive an offer sheet.
I doubt that Subban's case makes it to the arbitration hearing, which would occur between July 20 and August 4. The Habs and Subban's agent have plenty of time to negotiate the new contract.
Subban will become UFA-eligible in the two summers from now in 2016.
Bergevin would be wise to craft a deal longer than two years long because he can avoid a future arbitration hearing with the player. Locking up Subban at age 25 just as he is about to enter the prime production years of his career makes perfect sense to me.
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