2012 Hockey Arbitration Competition of Canada Kyle Quincey Vs. The
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2012 Hockey Arbitration Competition of Canada Kyle Quincey vs. The Detroit Red Wings Submission on Behalf of The Detroit Red Wings Midpoint: $3.775 Million Submission by: Team Number 1 Table of Contents: I. Introduction and Request for Hearing Decision 1 II. Quality of the Players Contributions During Past Season 1 III. Length and Consistency of Career Contributions 2 IV. Existence of Physical or Mental Defects 3 V. Comparative Player Salaries 4 VI. Recent Performance of the Club 8 VII. Public Relations Concerns 9 VIII. Past Compensation 10 IX. Conclusion 10 I. Introduction and Request for Hearing Decision This brief analyzes the contributions of defenseman Kyle Quincey for the purposes of an arbitration hearing governed by the National Hockey League Collective Bargaining Agreement. Criteria for analysis include: quality of contribution to the club during the past season, career contributions, recent club performance, existence of physical or mental defects, comparable hockey salaries, public relations concerns and past compensation. Based on these criteria, Kyle Quincey is not entitled to a salary equal to the $3.775 million midpoint and the Detroit Red Wings respectfully submit an offer of $3.25 million. II. Quality of the Player’s Contributions During Past Season On February 21st 2012, at the NHL Trade deadline, the Detroit Red Wings mortgaged their future in the hopes of acquiring a top tier defenseman for a playoff run. In a three-team trade involving Colorado and Tampa Bay, Detroit acquired Kyle Quincey, trading away a 2012 first round draft pick and prospect Sebastian Piche to do so.1 At the time of the trade, Quincey had been enjoying a successful season with the Colorado Avalanche, tallying 5 goals and 18 assists in 54 games, good for .43 points per game.2 That being said, Quincey was listed as a healthy scratch for the Avalanche in 4 games, as per coach Joe Sacco’s decision.3 2011 – 2012 Statistical Breakdown Per Team Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM PPG Shots PtsPG Colorado 54 5 18 23 -1 60 3 131 .43 Detroit 18 2 1 3 0 29 1 37 .17 In the ensuing 18 games of the regular season with the Detroit Red Wings, Quincey failed to live up to expectations, totaling only 3 points in 18 games, and his PPG fell by over 250%, to 1 ESPN: http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/7599166/detroit-red-wings-land-kyle-quincey-colorado-avalanche-three- team-trade 2 The Hockey News, Player News: http://forecaster.thehockeynews.com/hockeynews/hockey/statistics.cgi?pts-det- all 3 Ibid. 1 .17 points per game.4 In his time with the Red Wings, Kyle Quincey had a plus/minus of 0, ranking fourth last on the team. On the year, Quincey's plus/minus was -2. 5 Despite the fact that Quincey did not live up to expectations during the regular season, the Red Wings finished 5th in the West, and qualified for the postseason.6 However, they were upset in five games by the Nashville Predators. Of particular note is the fact that Quincey's ice time fell by over five minutes per game from his regular seasons average of 21:51 to 16:29 in the series. This was a clear sign of the Red Wings lack of confidence in the defenseman. Equally disappointing was Quincey's -2 plus-minus during the Nashville series. III. Length and Consistency of Career Contributions While Kyle Quincey has enjoyed some success at the NHL level, his career has been marked by inconsistent play from year to year. Kyle Quincey was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft (132) overall, but did not have significant NHL experience until the latter portion of the 2006-2007 season, playing in 6 games, and registering one point.7 Due to injuries to the defensive unit at the time, Quincey was granted the opportunity to play in 13 playoff games, but did not record a single point.8 The Red Wings would go on to win the Stanley Cup that year, but Quincey was not listed as a winner, as he failed to play in the required number of regular season games to qualify.9 After breaking his hand in the opening weeks of the 2007 season, Quincey spent the vast majority of his 2007-2008 campaign in the AHL, playing for the Grand Rapids Gryphons. He played six games with the Red Wings, recording zero points, and a -3 plus/minus rating. The 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 6 NHL Final Standings 2011-2012: http://www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm#?navid=nav-stn-main 7 Supra note 2. 8 Ibid. 9 Kyle Quincey downplays not getting Stanley Cup ring from Red Wings http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2009/10/kyle_quincey_downplays_not_get.html 2 following season, Quincey failed to make the Red Wings NHL roster, and he was claimed off waivers by the LA Kings, where he enjoyed his most successful year in the NHL to date, scoring 38 points in 72 games.10 Quincey was traded to the Colorado Avalanche the following year.11 In 2009 - 2010 Quincey record 29 points, in a season where Colorado made the playoffs, losing in the first round. In 2010-2011, Quincey struggled to start the season, recording only 1 point and a -5 rating in 21 games, before injuries ended his season. Kyle Quincey Career NHL Statistics (Regular Season) Year Team GP G A Pts +/- PIM Shots PtsPG 2011-12 Detroit 18 2 1 3 0 29 37 0.17 2011-12 Colorado 54 5 18 23 -1 60 131 0.43 2010- 11 Colorado 21 0 1 1 -5 18 39 0.05 2009-10 Colorado 79 6 23 29 9 76 139 .37 2008-09 Los 72 4 34 38 -5 63 150 .53 Angeles 2007-08 Detroit 6 0 0 0 -3 4 5 0.00 2006-07 Detroit 6 1 0 1 0 0 7 0.17 2005-06 Detroit 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0/00 As the table suggests, the player at hand has struggled with inconsistent play from year to year and team to team, making him a significant gamble for the Red Wings organization. For this reason, the player at hand does not warrant a midpoint salary of 3.775 million. IV. Existence of Physical or Mental Defects Compounding his inconsistent play is the fact that Kyle Quincey has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career. In what was expected to be his first full year with the Detroit Red Wings in the 2007 – 2008 season, Quincey broke his hand and was sidelined indefinitely before returning to play in the AHL.12 During the 2009 – 2010 season, he suffered a concussion, 10 Supra note 2. 11 TSN: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=283667 12 Supra note 2. 3 missing 8 games, before missing the rest of the season (53 games) with a career threatening shoulder dislocation. 13 Quincey’s injury concerns, combined with his inconsistent play, justify a decrease in his value below the $3.775 midpoint. V. Comparative Player Salaries Kyle Quincey’s value in today’s NHL is best determined by comparison to players of a similar style, description and with comparable career numbers. These comparisons demonstrate that Kyle Quincey’s value is below the $3.775 million midpoint. The panel should decide in favour of the Detroit Red Wings. a. Mark Fayne ($1.3 million in 2012) Comparing Kyle Quincey to Mark Fayne who was also arbitration eligible in 2012 demonstrates that Kyle Quincey has been overvalued at a midpoint of $3.775 million per year. Fayne agreed to a two-year contract valued at $2.6 million, averaging $1.3 million per year.14 Though Quincey has more NHL experience, Fayne’s performance in the first two years of his NHL career project him as a defenceman on the same trajectory as Quincey in terms of overall statistical contributions to his team. Quincey has established himself as a mid 20-point scorer while Fayne’s career high in points is 17, set this past season.15 Quincey averaged almost 22 minutes in ice time per game, with just over 4 minutes of that time coming on the power play and penalty kill. Fayne averaged over 20 minutes per game with approximately 3 minutes of that time occurring on the power play and penalty kill. The players compare favourably in blocked shots and plus-minus. 13 Supra note 2. 14 Capgeek.com: http://www.capgeek.com/players/display.php?id=1861 15 NHL.com: http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8471816#&navid=nhl-search 4 Fayne has yet to miss significant time due to injury and appeared in all 82 games for the Devils in 2011-2012, his platform season. Quincey lost 61 games to injury in 2010-2011 and has never played a full 82 game season. Fayne was as a key contributor to the Devils 2012 Stanley Cup Finals appearance, helping the Devils advance past the Panthers, Flyers and Conference-champion Rangers on their way to a 6 game defeat to the Los Angeles Kings in the finals. His ice time kept pace with his regular season average and he logged significant time on the penalty kill. He appeared in all 24 of the Devils playoff games, finishing with 3 points and a plus 5 rating. Conversely, Quincey has appeared in a total of 24 playoff games in his entire career spanning 3 appearances. He has recorded a total of 2 points with a 0 plus-minus rating in those appearances.