First of all, the Winnipeg Jets filing for arbitration in the case of Michael Frolik does not mean they cannot sign him to a deal before the hearing; it just means that a hearing will be scheduled for the two sides. It also does not mean that he is protected from an offer sheet; there is just a limited frame in which he can sign one. So what does this mean for the Jets? It is limiting in a few ways if negotiations go to arbitration. It means that he can only sign a one year contract extension and then he would be an unrestricted free agent.
All is not lost though. Negotiations are ongoing and hopefully a fair resolution is reached. Remember that Frolik's agent is Allen Walsh, the agent who took Cheveldayoff to the woodshed with Ondrej Pavelec's contract.
Below is some more information about these recent developments:
O’Reilly and Frolik can talk to teams re: offer sheets starting June 26 and can sign offer sheets between July 1/noon and July 5/5 p.m. (ET)
— CapGeek (@capgeek) June 15, 2014
O’Reilly and Frolik can opt for a one- or two-year arbitration award. The award cannot be less than 85 percent of player’s 2013-14 salary.
— CapGeek (@capgeek) June 15, 2014
So for O’Reilly, that’s a minimum of $5.525M and for Frolik that’s a minimum of $1.615M.
— CapGeek (@capgeek) June 15, 2014
Correction on Frolik: He does not have O’Reilly’s option of a two-year award because he is a year away from Group 3 free agency.
— CapGeek (@capgeek) June 15, 2014
Not a big concern with #NHLJets filing since both the team and Michael Frolik are committed to coming to terms on a long-term deal
— Ken Wiebe (@WiebeSunSports) June 15, 2014
Note: GroupIII free agency just means he has had 7 accrued seasons.
All information via CapGeek.
