The NHLPA has announced 23 players - including three Calgary Flames - have filed for arbitration in advance of Monday's deadline.
The trio of Flames that elected to do so are forwards Josh Jooris, Paul Byron and Lance Bouma.
None of this is much of a surprise but the most notable player, for me anyway, that filed for arbitration is Bouma.
After scoring just five times and recording 15 points in 78 games as a rookie Bouma found twine 16 times and tallied 34 points in 78 games this past season.
Bouma is surely looking to cash in after his 16-goal campaign, however, the Flames should be weary of paying him handsomely. Bouma is not a good possession player and there's plenty of reason to believe his goal totals last year were inflated by unsustainable shooting percentages.
As a rookie Bouma shot 6.1%. Last year he shot 15.4%. Given he never even scored 16 goals while playing junior hockey it's unrealistic to expect that again.
Filing for arbitration doesn't mean a player and his team are worlds apart in negotiations. It means nothing is imminent and the player is using his rights in order to try and push the two sides closer to an agreement.
Rarely do players who file for arbitration end up heading there. If and when they do things can get heated and it doesn't always end well. That's why it's usually best for everyone involved to get a deal done ahead of time, which is likely why these three players filed for arbitration.
There's nothing wrong with pushing the envelope to try and get something you want. I think that's what we're seeing here.
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