2013 HOCKEY ARBITRATION COMPETITION OF CANADA

Carl Gunnarsson v. The

Submission on Behalf of The Toronto Maple Leafs

Midpoint: $3.15 million

Submission by Team 27

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I. INTRODUCTION

In accordance to Article 12 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement ("CBA") between the ("NHL") and the National Hockey League Players Association

("NHLPA"), Carl Gunnarsson ("the Player" or "Carl") of the Toronto Maple Leafs has elected to pursue salary arbitration to determine his compensation for the 2013-2014 season.

According to the CBA, the following evidence is to be considered in determining a player's salary arbitration compensation: overall performance including NHL official stats of player in previous seasons; the number of games played by the player, his injuries or illnesses during the preceding seasons; the length of the service of that player to the Club; the overall contribution of the player to the Club; any special qualities of leadership or public appeal; the overall performance of players alleged to be comparable to the Player whose salary is in dispute; and the compensation of players alleged to be comparable to the Player whose salary is in dispute.1

Toronto has considered such evidence and takes the position that Carl should be compensated less than the $3.15 million midpoint salary. The Toronto Maple Leafs respectively believe that a reasonably salary for Carl is close to $2.3 million.

II. OVERALL PERFORMANCE OF PLAYER

A) An Introduction to Carl Gunnarsson and Career Performance

Carl is a 6'2", 205 lbs Swedish born defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The

Maple Leafs respectively see Carl as a top four defenseman on their depth chart.2 While Carl

1 Collective Bargaining Agreement Between NHL and NHLPA, 2012, Article 12.9 (g) (ii). * All statistics on Carl Gunnarsson throughout this paper are from nhl.com, unless otherwise posted. 2 http://forecaster.thehockeynews.com/hockeynews/hockey/depthchart.php?Tor

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does not contribute offensively at a high rate, the Leafs organization expects Carl to play a two- way role while logging big minutes for the Club.3

Carl was drafted by the Maple Leafs in the 7th round of the 2007 draft. He was still playing in Sweden when he was drafted, and he remained there for two more seasons before signing an entry-level contract with Toronto in 2009. In the 2009-10 season, his first full season as a Maple Leaf, Carl played in 43 games, accumulating 15 points while playing over 21 minutes a game with a plus eight plus/minus..* He also spent time with Toronto's AHL affiliate, The

Toronto Marlies, where he played in 12 games.

In 2010-11 Carl found a permanent spot on the Leafs blue line. He played in 68 games, amassing 20 points, his highest career total to date, while playing over 18 minutes a game. Even though Carls ice time dropped from the 2009-10 season, his production increased while his plus/minus decreased considerably (See Figure: 1). However, backed by two quality years as a young defenseman, Carl re-signed with the Maple Leafs for $1.325 million. Figure:1 Season Team GP G A P PIMS TOI +/- Hits/Game 2010-11 TOR 68 4 16 20 14 18:14 -2 0.93 2011-12 TOR 76 4 15 19 20 21:42 -9 1.17

Carl again played over 21 minutes in the 2011-12 season, while playing in 76 of 82 games. Although there was an increase in games played, Carl failed to surpass his point production from the year before as well as seeing his plus/minus suffer. While it is reasonable to understand a defenseman in a role like Carls will not produce at a high level offensively, it is important for Carl to play a solid defensive game. For a two way defenseman like Carl, it is

3 http://forecaster.thehockeynews.com/hockeynews/hockey/player.php?5218 * Based on playing in 10 or more NHL regular season games.

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important for his plus/minus to be one of his strongest, most consistent statistics (See Figure:1), and throughout his career, this statistic has been lacking.

B) Platform Year: 2012-13

Figure: 2

Season Team GP G A P PIMS TOI +/- Hits/Game 2011-12 TOR 76 4 15 19 20 21:42 -9 1.17 2012-13 TOR 37 1 14 15 14 21:16 +5 2.11

Carl Gunnarssons platform year was during the limited 48 games 2012-13 season due to the NHL lockout. Carl played in 37 games and accumulated 15 points with a plus 5 plus/minus.

This is an increase in points per game as well as plus/minus. He also saw similar ice time with just over 21 minutes played per game. Carl increased his hits per game total to over 2 hits per game (See Figure: 2), playing in more of a shut-down defensive role for the Leafs. While there was a solid increase in his plus/minus, his inconsistency in that statistic throughout his career should be taken into consideration.

C) Injuries

Carl Gunnarsson has suffered a variety of injuries over his short career, which have resulted in missing a considerable amount of games. His first injury came in 2009, where he missed 22 games with a hyperextended elbow. Having a player on the roster miss that many games in a season is difficult for a team to handle. It means calling up a player from the minors, and having other players play more minutes than they usually would. In 2011, Carl missed one game due to a hand injury, three games due to an ankle injury and then missed the end of the regular season due to a separated shoulder. For a defenseman playing a shut down role and the

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physical play that come along with that, reoccurring shoulder injuries can become problematic, and should also be taken into consideration by the Maple Leafs. In his platform year, Carl also missed 11 games throughout the closing months of the season due to a reoccurring hip injury.

Again, injuries that affect a player over a elongated period of time become problematic for the club. It is clear that Carl is prone to injuries, and the Toronto Maple Leafs should consider this issue greatly.

D) Playoff Performance

Carl has played in the playoffs once during his career. His only playoff berth occurred in his platform year where the Maple Leafs lost to the in seven games. Carl managed one assist in 7 games but was a dismal minus 7. He also played over 22 minutes per game. Again, Carls plus/minus was inconsistent to the where it was during the season. In the playoffs, defense becomes increasingly important, and the Maple Leafs should take into consideration the poor defensive play of Carl, who is expected to be a consistent defender.

III. COMPARABLE PLAYERS

A) Jeff Petry

Jeff Petry is a 6'3", 195 lbs shutdown defenseman for the . He was drafted in 2006 and played his first full season with the Oilers in 2011-12. Jeff played for

University of before making the jump right to the NHL where he played in 73 games during his first professional season with the Oilers. Jeff is a comparable player to Carl as they are both shutdown defenseman that have similar hits per game as well as time on ice.

In his platform year, Jeff scored 2 goals while tallying up 25 points in 73 games, good enough for 0.34 points per game. In addition, Jeff has proven he can take up the crucial minutes that so many teams look for. Similar to Carl who had an average time on ice of 21:42, Jeff had 21:45.

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He not only plays slightly more minutes than Carl, but Jeff has averaged more hits per game. In their respective platform years Carl only averaged 2.1 hits per game while Jeff had 2.33. In addition, Carl has constantly had to battle injuries over his short career thus far whereas Jeff has only missed 2 games with a facial injury. With both Carl and Jeff playing a defensive shutdown role well with similar hits per game, Jeff can be seen as more valuable since in 2011-12 he scored 25 points compared to Carl’s 19 in three less games (See Figure: 4). It makes it hard to compare their platform years since 2012-13 season was shortened from the lockout hence why the year prior (2011-12) might show a more accurate portray of the players ability.

Figure: 4 (Jeff Petry Statistics, Platform Year: 2011-12)

2011-12 Compensation GP G A P PIMS +/- PPG Hits/Game Carl $1,325,000 76 4 15 19 19 -9 0.25 1.50 Gunnarson Jeff Petry $850,000 73 2 23 25 26 -7 0.34 1.72

In the 2011 offseason Jeff Petry re-signed with the Oilers to a two-year contract worth

$1,750,000 million annually.4 Given that Jeff has a greater points and hits per game average, as well as significantly more minutes, the Edmonton Oilers respectively view Jeff as a more complete NHL player. Jeff has only missed three regular season games in his three seasons with the Oilers while still averaging over a hit and a half per game and playing solid defense while taking up those valuable minutes. Carl only has in every year of his career missed a considerable amount of games in his short career. With the amount of minutes that the Leafs are expecting

Carl to play, it becomes a burden on the team to divide the minutes up amongst the other players.

This could have a negative effect as many other guys could wear out due to the increase minutes.

With Petry being a more reliable defenseman who can play a considerable amount of minutes

4 http://capgeek.com/player/1659

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while averaging a higher point/hit per game average, the Oilers should take this into

consideration and find a slightly lower compensation for Carl then that of Jeff Petry.

B) Nick Leddy

Nick Leddy is a 6'0", 191 lbs defenseman who recently won the with the

Chicago Blackhawks in 2013. Nick is a comparable player to Carl Gunnarsson because of the

inconsistency evident in their games. Both players also had similar minutes and points

per game during their platform years.

Nick has played only 3 seasons in the NHL and has already been extremely successful by

winning the Stanley Cup in his platform year. In addition, he has found great success by putting

up impressive numbers being a 4th/5th defenseman. For example, in 2011-12 (his platform year),

Nick played all 82 games accumulating 37 points, for a point per game average of 0.45. Then in

2011-12, Nick also played in all 48 games accumulating 18 points, for a point per game average

of 0.38. Although his points per game appear to be fairly steady, his plus/minus is another story.

From the 2011-12 season to his 2012-2013 season, his plus/minus went from -12 to +15.

This statistic directly mirrors Carl’s plus/minus as his went from -9 (2011-12) to +5 (2012-13). It

is shocking how Carl is averaging almost 4 minutes per game more then Nick and has a 10-point

lower plus/minus. Furthermore, Nick appears to be much more disciplined as he has almost half

the penalty minutes as Carl (see Figure 6).

Figure: 6

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Figure 6:

Season (11-12) GP G A PTS PP PT PIM Plus/Minu Time on G S S s Ice 76 4 15 19 0.25 19 19 Gunnarsson -9 21:42 Leddy (Platform 82 3 34 37 0.45 37 10 -12 22:04 Year) Season (12-13) GP G A PTS PP PT PIM Plus/Minu Time on G S S s Ice Gunnarsson 37 1 14 15 0.41 15 15 +5 21:16 (Platform Year) Leddy 48 6 12 18 0.38 18 10 +15 17:25

We can see from Figure: 6 that Carl and Nick had inconsistent seasons in 2011-12 to

2012-13. While both players played well in their platform years, it must not be overlooked that they both were coming off poor years the year before. It also must be noted that Carl missed 6 games due multiple injuries including his hand, ankle, and shoulder. On the other hand, Nick has completely played the past two seasons with no injuries. With Nicks ability to make a significant contribution offensively/defensively from the 4th/5th position, it could logically assumed that his impact in Carls 2nd slot would be tremendous. With both individuals’ roles being focused on defensive, Nick has a marginally better giveaway-takeaway ratio. During the 2012-13 season

Nick had an impressive 18 giveaways to 12 takeaways compared to Carls 32 giveaways to 11 takeaways. It is important for the Leafs to note that Carl had almost double the amount of giveaways in 11 less games.

Furthermore, with Nicks playoff experience including a successful Stanley cup run at such a young age should not be overlooked. The Toronto Maple Leafs must take into consideration the inconsistency of both players (mainly the plus/minus) and games missed due to injury when making a decision. Furthermore, it is crucial to note the drastic difference in the giveaway- takeaway ratio when evaluating a new contract. In the end, the Leafs have to decide if Carl is

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truly worth the $400,000 more then Nick since both individuals have similar statistics with a discrepancy in minutes played.

IV. CONCLUSION

Carl Gunnarsson is a strong defensive-defenseman who is excellent for taking up minutes on the ice as well as averaging a solid hit per game average. He had a very strong platform

(solid hits per game as well as time on ice) and this should be taken into consideration.

However, he has struggled with injuries throughout his career which can be seen through his multiple injuries over the years. This should be a major concern since he is still young (26) and is already showing a sign of age. Furthermore, with his role being more defensive than offensive, his giveaways are much too high in comparison to Nick who is at a much lower price.

In comparison to Nick Leddy and Jeff Petry, the Toronto Maple Leafs respectively see greater contribution to a team compared to Carl, which means compensation should be lower than that of Carls $3,150,000 million salary. Jeff earns a salary of $1,750,000 who has a better point per game average in his platform year as well as a higher overall higher hits per game than

Carl. Nick earns $2.7 million and has proven playoff experience with a much better takeaway- giveaway ratio as well as less penalty minutes and more points in a 4th-5th position making it hard to justify Carls salary. The Maple Leafs therefore respectively believe Carl deserves compensation close to the $2,300,000 million annually.

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