Boy Is It Slow...

You things are slow around the NHL when this story is worthy of a headline. No offense to Brooks "and Dunn" Laich but does a marginal 3rd/4th line center on a last place team loaded at that position really deserve this kind of attention?

Further adding to the silly season are people attempting to divine his reasons for electing arbitration in the first place. I agree that the kid isn't going to break the bank by winning a huge raise but he could earn himself a small raise and, maybe most importantly, know that he is going to have a contract well before training camp starts.

Believe it or not, there are some players who like to wrap these things up quickly rather than let it continue to drag on through the summer. Historically, George McPhee usually does not deal with the RFA's who for one reason or another did not go to arbitration until late August. That's because RFA's aren't going anywhere. If a guy is willing to accept his qualifying offer, then the negotiations are that much easier and over sooner.

So folks, I know it's summer, I know it's hot, I know you're suffering from hockey withdrawal but please don't try to read anything more into Laich and Milan Jurcina electing arbitration than there really is. Neither player is going to win a huge award or has any real leverage against the team; odds are these guys are just looking to get their contracts wrapped up sooner rather than later.