Comments on: Arbitration Ain't About Summer Love

By: Doug

Doug — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:23:24 +0000

I think all of the above remarks are reasonably well analyzed. There is a bit more emotion and hysteria on the Capitals web blog. Morrisonn’s indeed a very serviceable player, but nowhere near worth $3M a year in salary. Now, if he plays his head and heart out next year, and has an unpredicted breakout year, then we may be talking $3M a year. As it stands, let’s hope a few of our younger draft choices are looking good in Hershey and can make the jump. I’m very optimistic about Carlson — he could end up being that mean spirited D-Man you’ve all been frothing at the mouth for!!! (well at least some of you).

By: OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki)

OrderedChaos (Mike Rucki) — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:49:49 +0000

Anyone else see the parallels to Brendan Witt? Morrisonn isn’t whining like Witt about wanting out (at least not yet), but they’re both solid stay-at-home types with inflated senses of self-worth. Morrisonn, unlike Witt, is on a high-payroll team on the upswing; one would hope that carries some weight when it comes to his future contract decisions, but we shall see.
A one-year deal like this carries equal risk for Morrisonn as it does for the Caps though — if he gets hurt, or has a sub-par season, good luck getting more than $1-ish million next year.
That aside, I hope he plays his @ss off for the Caps this season and earns those paychecks. Perhaps a full-season audition for next year’s contract will see Morrisonn embrace and deserve the #2 spot.

By: JR

JR — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:42:11 +0000

Unless this guy becomes a mega-stud this season he’s getting traded before his next contract (or we’re taking his compensation as an RFA). In this day and age this is exactly the type of player that you have to let go. You cannot afford to overpay here and you can imagine what he’ll want $/per if the Caps, sorry, WHEN the Caps have a successful season.

By: TJ

TJ — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:27:59 +0000

If Mo wants to try to dispute that hes not one dimensional he can go ahead and try.
But that is a fact and that is his role. I like Mo, but he is replaceable.

By: pucksandbooks

pucksandbooks — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:25:26 +0000

J.P., fifth-best sounds a bit harsh to me, but I also think that it’s eminently reasonable to forecast Mo’s standing in the top pairing being short-lived. Green and Alzner seem to be the top pairing of the durable future, however, there is a role that chemistry plays in pairings. I also don’t think that Mo gets the credit he deserves for shepherding Green last season, who for all intents and purposes was a rookie. If Mo’s in the Caps’ second pairing in the years ahead (imagine him paired with a well developed Carlson), the Caps ought to be in good stead in the postseason.
TG, that adversarial arguments are made in arbitration indeed isn’t news, but when you’re trying to make a marriage, or at least a year-long co-habitation, you generally don’t constructively criticize with “You look really fat naked.”

By: MulletMan

MulletMan — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:06:02 +0000

I don’t think he will be getting any 2 mil offers per season next year. I could see maybe 1.4 or 1.5 but he’s definately overpaid now.

By: chanuck

chanuck — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:37:54 +0000

I was thinking that the price for Morrisonn was a bit high and since it is only a one year I don’t expect him back the following year. Imagine what he is going to want next time.

By: TG

TG — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:31:30 +0000

I can’t believe that it’s a surprise to anyone that it’s a contentious process. The team will do whatever it can to keep the salary low, the player/agent will do whatever he can to raise the salary. Otherwise, they would have come to some type of agreement prior to arbitration. Does the team really think he’s a one-dimensional player on par with Jurcina? Probably not. Does Morrisonn really believe he’s on par with Tallinder and Volchenkov? Probably not. But you do what you can to make your case and hope the arbitrator agrees with you.
And I gotta say, the arbitrator splitting essentially right down the middle is a bit of poetic justice, don’t you think?

By: J.P.

J.P. — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:23:02 +0000

For my money, Mo is closer to the $1.1m player that the team claimed he is than the $2.8m player he thinks he is. There’s a reasonably good chance, in my opinion, that he’ll be the fifth-best D on the team by season’s end (behind Green, Poti, Schultz and Alzner).
Don’t get me wrong – he’s a nice player. But I think he’s a little over-rated by the fan base due to looking at him relative to the other defense-first blueliners that have been here during his tenure, and I’d have probably given him $1.4m.

By: Forklift

Forklift — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:57:36 +0000

You would think that teams wouldn’t particularly want to go through this process either, because once a team describes a player in terms like “one dimensional”, good luck trying to trade said player.