~ BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF MATS ZUCCARELLO ~

IN THE MATTER OF SALARY ARBITRATION BETWEEN:

MATS ZUCCARELLO

AND

THE

WINDSOR – TEAM 1

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION...... 3

II. ABOUT MATS ZUCCARELLO...... 3

III. COMPARABLE PLAYERS...... 5

A. Mathieu Perreault...... 5

B. Trevor Lewis…...... 7

IV. CONCLUSION...... 9

3

I. INTRODUCTION

This is a brief in support of Mats Zuccarello’s position in his salary arbitration with the

New York Rangers. Arbitration is appropriate pursuant to Article 12.1 of the Collective

Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The following evaluation of Mr. Zuccarello will be conducted by way of comparison with Mathieu Perreault and Trevor Lewis. After reviewing Mr. Zuccarello’s professional career statistics, his platform , and his overall contribution, he respectfully submits that the arbitrator award a one-year Standard Player Contract (SPC) valued at

$1,400,000.

II. ABOUT MATS ZUCCARELLO

Mats Zuccarello is a 5’7, 175lbs versatile forward with the New York Rangers. As an under-the-radar player, Zuccarello was not drafted by an NHL club and began his professional career playing with MODO of the Swedish Elite League (SEL). In May 2010, the New York

Rangers signed Mr. Zuccarello to a two-year entry-level contract.1

Mr. Zuccarello’s NHL career is in many ways an extension of his professional career in the SEL. While playing with MODO, Mr. Zuccarello played in 90 career games scoring 35 goals and adding 69 assists for 104 points. The players of the SEL formally recognized Mr.

Zuccarello’s offensive contributions when, in 2010, they awarded him the Guldjalmen (Golden

Helmet) as the league’s most valuable player.2 Starting the 2010-2011 season in the Rangers system with the Connecticut Whale of the (AHL), Mr. Zuccarello transitioned well into the North American league. In 73 career games with the Whale, Mr.

Zuccarello scored 25 goals and added 40 assists for 65 points. Making the jump to the NHL, Mr.

1 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mats_Zuccarello-Aasen 2 Ibid. 4

Zuccarello has shown similar potential. Playing in 67 career games over 3 seasons, he has scored

11 goals and added 23 assists for 34 points and has been a force on the team’s power play unit.3

Additionally, Mr. Zuccarello has represented team Norway, including most recently at the 2010 Olympics and subsequently at the World Championships later that year. In his four

Olympic games playing against the world’s top players, he scored 1 and added 2 assists in the round robin.4 At the 2010 World Championships he recorded 3 goals and tallied 1 assist for 4 points over a 6 game tournament.5

In his platform season, Mr. Zuccarello signed with the New York Rangers for the final 15 games of the regular season. He contributed 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points for an average of

.53 points per game.6 While never a perfect estimate, pro-rating this number over the course of an 82 game season gives him approximately 43 points. These statistics show a very respectable offensive output for a second line forward who effectively plays both left and right wings.

Under former Coach John Tortorella’s defense-first system, Mr. Zuccarello demonstrated that he can play a two-way game, finishing as an impressive +10 over the course of his 15 game platform season. His performance in the shootout has been another highlight, especially during his 42 game 2010-2011 season where he ranked 9th in the league in the shootout with 5 goals on

9 attempts.7

Mr. Zuccarello’s efforts in the platform season helped his club clinch the 6th seed in the

Eastern Conference. In 12 playoff games during the 2012-2013 postseason, Mr. Zuccarello

3 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8475692#&navid=nhl-search 4 http://www.iihf.com/channels10/olympics-2010/statistics.html 5 http://www.iihf.com/channels10/iihf-world-championship-wc10/statistics.html 6 Supra note 3 7 Supra note 3; http://www.nhl.com/ice/shootoutstats.htm?season=20102011&team=&viewName=shootoutsSkaters

5 contributed 1 goal and 6 assists. This offensive production ranked 2nd overall on his team.8 It is noteworthy that his points per game in the playoffs – .58 points per game – was higher than his regular season production.

While Mr. Zuccarello has taken an uncharacteristic path to the NHL, a one-year,

$1,400,000 SPC provides a low-risk, high reward situation for the New York Rangers providing a playmaker who can log top six minutes.

III. COMPARABLE PLAYERS

Based on Mr. Zuccarello’s non-traditional route to the NHL, it is difficult to find players who are statistically similar given his strong production and small NHL experience.

Additionally, few players enter the league with a similarly diversified and established professional hockey career. Mr. Zuccarello’s performance is comparable to Mathieu

Perreault and Trevor Lewis. These comparisons effectively demonstrate why a one-year extension valued at $1,400,000 is fair compensation for Mr. Zuccarello.

A. Mathieu Perreault

Mr. Perreault is a 5’10, 185lbs forward playing with the organization. The Capitals drafted the 25-year-old in the 6th round with the 177th overall selection in 2006. Mr. Perreault is a speedy, undersized forward who has been a respectable offensive contributor over his four seasons with the Capitals organization. In 159 games, Mr.

Perreault has netted 33 goals and added 37 assists for a total of 70 career points. His .44 career points per game coupled with his average ice time, consistently hovering around 11:50 per game, demonstrate that he has settled into a role as a bottom six forward.9

8 Supra note 3; http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?season=20122013&gameType=3&team=NYR&position= S&country =&status=&viewName=summary 9 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473618#&navid=nhl-search; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathieu_Perreault 6

Table 3: Career Regular Season Statistical Comparison for Mr. Perreault10 Player GP G A P P/GP +/- PPG PPA PPP Mats Zuccarello 67 11 23 34 .51 13 1 11 12 Mathieu Perreault 159 33 37 70 .44 17 6 3 9

At the AHL level, Mr. Perreault found his role as a playmaker, contributing 97 assists over 137 games with the . However, his AHL production failed to translate into similar success at the NHL level. Unlike Zuccarello, Mr. Perreault’s playmaking and scoring abilities, especially on the power play, have dropped off since entering the NHL. Mr. Perreault has netted just 6 power play goals and registered only 3 career power play assists in 159 games.

Conversely, Mr. Zuccarello has provided a playmaking spark to his club’s power play registering

1 goal and 11 career assists in just 64 career games.11

In his 2011-2012 platform season, Mr. Perreault put up career numbers scoring 16 goals and adding 14 assists for 30 points in 64 games with the Capitals.12 While these statistics show scoring potential, it is evident that his potent playmaking abilities in the AHL did not adapt to the

NHL. Mr. Perreault again, did not find his scoring touch on the power play and only contributed

2 goals, and tallied no assists over the course of the season.13 He spent most of the year battling for time on the third and forth line averaging 12:02 in ice time.14 Mr. Zuccarello however, has been a mainstay on the second line since joining his NHL club and averaged 16:25 minutes in ice time in his platform season.15

10 Supra note 3; http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473618#&navid=nhl-search; http://www.hockey- reference.com/players/z/zuccama01.html 11 Supra note 3; http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473618#&navid=nhl-search 12 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473618#&navid=nhl-search 13 http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/p/perrema01.html 14 Supra note 12 15 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8475692&view=splits&season=20122013&gameType=2#&navid=nhl- keymatch 7

Mr. Perreault should be commended on his two-way game, which improved from -1 in

2010-2011 to a +9 in 64 games in his platform season. Likewise, Mr. Zuccarello showed exceptional progress in this area. In just 15 games played in his platform season, he was a +10.16

Mr. Perreault’s successful platform season did not continue into the playoffs, as he only dressed for 4 of 12 games during the playoffs and did not register a .17 Conversely, Mr.

Zuccarello was a key contributor for his club’s playoff run after his platform season. Ranking

2nd in points on his club with 7 in 12 games, he raised his intensity to postseason levels and should be awarded for his ability to produce in the postseason.18

Mr. Perreault’s point production is less consistent that Mr. Zuccarello’s. During the span of 21 games between October 27, 2011 and January 11, 2012, Mr. Perreault was held without a goal and added only 2 assists. This span included one 9 game pointless drought and one 7 game pointless drought. The longest pointless streak of Mr. Zuccarello’s career is 3 games.19

On July 5th, 2012, Mr. Perreault and the Washington Capitals agreed to terms on a two- year SPC with an average annual value of $1,050,000.20 Mr. Zuccarello’s career consistency and power play production, his platform season point production as a top six forward, as well as his seamless transition into the NHL merit a slightly higher SPC valued at $1,400,000 over one-year.

B. Trevor Lewis

Mr. Lewis is a 26 year old, 6’1, 192lbs forward playing with the organization. The Kings drafted him in 2006 with the 17th overall selection.21 A comparison of these two players reveals that Mr. Zuccarello’s offensive upside and potential, coupled with his

16 Supra note 3; Supra note 12 17 Supra note 12 18 http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?season=20122013&gameType=3&team=NYR&position= S&country =&status=&viewName=summary 19 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8475692&season=20122013&view=log; http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473618&season=20112012&view=log 20 www.capgeek.com/player/1203 21 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Lewis 8 consistency and ability to produce in key situations justify a one-year contract extension valued at $1,400,000.

After being drafted in the first round in 2006, Mr. Lewis has, thus far, been unable to recreate the scoring success that he had during his junior career. Averaging a career 12:56 in ice- time, over 203 career games, the speedy forward has scored 12 goals and added 25 assists for 37 points.22 This translates into a figure of .18 career points per game. Conversely, Mr. Zuccarello has transitioned well into the NHL and has a .51 career points per game at the NHL level. Much like Mr. Lewis, Mr. Zuccarello is still in the process of showing his full NHL potential but has made strides thus far. In 67 career games, Mr. Zuccarello has netted 3 game-winning goals for his club while averaging 14:04 in ice time and earned a consistent spot on the power play.23

Beginning his career as a third line fringe player, Mr. Zuccarello has elevated his game in a short period of time and shown great potential earning a role on the team’s second line.

Mr. Lewis had the best year of his professional career in his 2012-2013 platform season.

Playing in all 48 games, he tallied 5 goals and 14 assists for 19 points and finished as a +5.

Having been a point producer in his pre-NHL career, Mr. Lewis has transitioned into a two-way forward and was rewarded in 2013 with career highs in average ice-time with 15:12 and a role on the team’s kill.24 Conversely, Mr. Zuccarello has maintained his point production from his pre-NHL career and averages ice time of 16:25 while also earning a spot on his team’s power play.25 Where Mr. Lewis spent several seasons and 203 games finding his niche with the Los

Angeles Kings, Mr. Zuccarello has made a substantial impact in only 67 games with the New

York Rangers.

22 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473453#&navid=nhl-search; http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/l/ lewistr01.html 23 Supra note 3. 24 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473453&view=splits&season=20122013&gameType=2 25 Supra note 15. 9

A key issue in Mr. Lewis’s game is consistency. In the final stretch of the season he scored just 4 points in 21 games for 0.19 in this span.26 Combining Mr. Zuccarello’s regular season and playoffs provide a similar sample size, in which Mr. Zuccarello posted .56 points per game over 27 games.

As an overall player, Mr. Lewis’ ability to play an effective shutdown game has been recognized with an invitation to team USA’s Olympic selection camp.27 Similarly, Mr.

Zuccarello has already benefitted from international experience with team Norway.

On July 23, 2013, the Los Angeles Kings and Mr. Lewis agreed to terms on a one-year contract extension valued at $1,350,000.28 Mr. Zuccarello’s rise through his club’s depth chart to his club’s second line, his successful transition to the NHL as a point producing playmaker, and his overall consistency compared to Mr. Lewis, merit an SPC valued at $1,400,000 over one- year.

IV. CONCLUSION

Based on an evaluation of Mr. Zuccarello’s professional career statistics, his platform season, and his overall contribution, he respectfully submits that arbitrator award him a one-year

SPC in the amount of $1,400,000. His professional career statistics from his pre-NHL career into the NHL have stayed substantially similar, unlike Mr. Perreault and Mr. Lewis. In his short platform season, he demonstrated the ability to consistently score at a higher rate than both Mr.

Perreault and Mr. Lewis. Finally, Mr. Zuccarello’s playmaking ability as top six forward and on the power play demonstrate his overall contribution as a player whose experience from outside the NHL has effectively transitioned into a successful showing thus far in the NHL. For these

26 http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8473453&view=log&season=20122013 27 http://www.teamusa.org/Road-to-Sochi-2014/Features/2013/July/22/Mens-National-Ice-Hockey-Team- Orientation-Camp-Roster-Set 28 http://www.capgeek.com/player/1024 10 reasons, Mr. Zuccarello can be fairly awarded a figure above the presented comparables with a one-year SPC worth $1,400,000.