Here’s Chris Kreider’s Arbitration Salary Request
Chris Kreider is scheduled for an arbitration hearing on Friday. Hopefully the two sides don’t get there, but since there isn’t a deal yet both parties need to submit their salary demands.
Salary Arbitration numbers New York Rangers/ Chris Kreider. Club offer $3.2M / Player asking $4.75M #NHL #NYR
— Aaron Ward (@NHL_AaronWard) July 20, 2016
Few notes:
1) Understand that Kreider is valuing himself on a one-year RFA deal (which makes him a UFA next year) Kreider’s demand probably seems really reasonable. Kreider would (most likely) not take a $4.75-million long-term deal. If he would, and the Rangers haven’t signed him yet, then we have much bigger problems.
2) Teams always super low-ball their offer in arbitration because a judge usually comes down in the middle. So don’t look at the Rangers offer as insulting or panic.
Now, with all that said, the two sides really shouldn’t be that far apart on a long term deal. If Kreider is looking for $4.75 in arbitration, I’d have to assume he’d be willing to lock down long term for $5-$5.25-million per since the Rangers would be buying out a few of his UFA years.
There, I did the negotiating for you. Sign him to a six-year deal and let’s all move on with our lives.
