2013 HOCKEY ARBITRATION COMPETITION OF CANADA Toronto Maple Leafs v Carl Gunnarsson Brief Submitted on Behalf of the Toronto Maple Leafs Team 31 Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………1 Overall Performance of the Player……………………………………………………………...1 Number of Games Played and Injury History…………………………………………………2 Length of Service in the NHL and with the Club……………………………………………...3 Overall Contribution to the Club……………………………………………………………….3 Special Qualities of Leadership or Public Appeal……………………………………………..4 Comparable Players……………………………………………………………………………..4 A) Anton Stralman………………………………………………………………………………5 B) Ryan Wilson…………………………………………………………………………………..6 Valuation & Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………7 Introduction This brief is in regards to the past performance of Mr. Carl Gunnarsson (the “Player”) of the Toronto Maple Leafs (the “Club”) for the matter of salary arbitration pursuant to Article 12.1(a) of the 2013 Collective Bargaining Agreement (the “CBA”) between the National Hockey League (the “NHL”) and the National Hockey League’s Players Association (the “NHLPA”). The CBA states seven categories of evidence that are admissible in salary arbitration cases in section 12.9(g)(ii): the overall performance of the player in previous seasons; the number of games played in previous seasons and any injuries or illnesses; the length of service of the player in the NHL and/or with the Club; the overall contribution of the player to the Club’s competitive success or failure; any special qualities of leadership or public appeal; the overall performance of any player(s) alleged to be comparable to the Player and the compensation of any players alleged to be comparable. As we will show in this brief, Mr. Gunnarsson, due to the above factors, should be compensated with a salary of $2,500,000. All statistics used in this brief are obtained from www.nhl.com, unless otherwise noted. Overall Performance of the Player Table 1: Carl Gunnarsson Career Statistics Season GP G A P PPG +/- PIM TOI/G 2009-10 43 3 12 15 0.35 8 10 21:26 2010-11 68 4 16 20 0.29 -2 14 18:14 2011-12 76 4 15 19 0.25 -9 20 21:42 2012-13 37 1 14 15 0.41 5 14 21:16 Career Totals 224 12 57 69 0.31 2 58 20:32 Mr. Gunnarsson is considered an offensive defenceman and reached career highs in goals, assists and points in the 2010-11 season with four goals, 16 assists and 20 points in 68 games. His career high in points per game (“PPG”) came in the most recent, lockout-shortened 1 2012-13 season, where he had 1 goal, 14 assists and 15 points in 37 games, for a PPG average of 0.41. His platform season was very similar in terms of production to his rookie season in 2009- 10, where he only played 43 games. In both of these shortened seasons, he posted 15 points. Finally, Mr. Gunnarsson’s time on ice has stayed relatively similar throughout his career around the 21 minute mark, with the exception of his first full season in 2010-11, where he only played 18:14 minutes per game. Mr. Gunnarsson’s statistics have been fairly consistent over his short career, as both his full seasons in 2010-11 and 2011-12 had similar point totals of 20 and 19, respectively. Furthermore, his PPG averages during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons were 0.29 and 0.25, respectively, while both of his shortened 2009-10 and 2012-13 seasons, either due to injury or lockout, had PPGs of 0.35 and 0.41, respectively. The puzzling part is that his career high PPG seasons, which were his two shortest seasons, came at complete opposite ends of his career: one was his rookie season, while the other was his most recent. Number of Games Played and Injury History Mr. Gunnarsson has played 224 games over his four seasons, averaging 56 games a season, with a career high of 76 games in 2011-12. In 2009-10, Mr. Gunnarsson missed 22 games with a hyperextended elbow after being recalled to the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs from the AHL Toronto Marlies. This resulted in him playing only 43 games, tallying 15 points, for a 0.35 PPG, which was his highest until this past season.1 In the 2010-11, Mr. Gunnarsson played only 68 games, despite no injuries being sustained. He was a healthy scratch 13 times. The following year, Mr. Gunnarsson missed a total 1 http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?id=5218 2 of 6 games due to various, small injuries, yet still played a career high 76 games. He also posted a career low in PPG of 0.25.2 Finally, in his platform season, Mr. Gunnarsson missed 11 games due to a hip injury sustained in February 2013. As this was a lockout shortened season of 48 games, Mr. Gunnarsson played in 37 games, a career low, while posting a career high PPG of 0.41.3 Length of Service in the NHL and with the Club Mr. Gunnarsson has spent 4 seasons in the NHL and all with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has been a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs since the organization drafted by him 194th overall in the seventh round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Overall Contribution to the Club In Mr. Gunnarsson’s rookie season in 2009-10, the Toronto Maple Leafs finished last in both the Northeast Division and the Eastern Conference, and second last in the NHL with 74 points. Mr. Gunnarsson finished 15th in team scoring and 5th in team scoring among defencemen. Mr. Gunnarsson also had the fifth highest time on ice per game (“TOI/G”) among defencemen. In the following 2010-11 season, the Maple Leafs fared better, finishing with 85 points and tenth in the conference, two spots and eight points shy of a playoff berth. Mr. Gunnarsson finished 12th in team scoring and 4th in team scoring among defencemen. He also had the sixth highest TOI/G among defencemen. In 2011-12, the Maple Leafs fell to thirteenth in the conference with 80 points. Mr. Gunnarsson finished 14th in team scoring and sixth in team scoring among defencemen. He also had the second highest TOI/G among defencemen. 2 Ibid 3 Ibid 3 Finally, in his platform 2012-13 season, the Maple Leafs qualified for the playoffs with 57 points, finishing fifth in the conference. Mr. Gunnarsson finished 12th in team scoring and 3rd in team scoring among defencemen. He also was third in TOI/G among defencemen. While the actual time on ice has stayed fairly consistent for Mr. Gunnarsson, there is no doubt his role has expanded during his time with the Club. However, when Mr. Gunnarsson was provided top-pairing minutes for the first time in 2011-12, the club fell by 5 points and 3 spots in the standings. His last season, playing second-pairing minutes, was the Clubs best season during his tenure. However, in the playoffs, Mr. Gunnarsson saw his role shrink to fourth in time on ice out of the five defencemen who played 6 or more games. Furthermore, he recorded only 1 assist in seven games, a marked step back from his regular season play. Special Qualities of Leadership or Public Appeal Mr. Gunnarsson has represented his native country, Sweden, in three IIHF World Championships in 2009, 2010, and 2011, collecting two bronze medals and a silver medal, respectively. While this would help his public appeal in Sweden, it does not help much for his public appeal in Toronto.4 He has not shown any special qualities of leadership or public appeal that should be considered during this arbitration. Comparable Players Given Mr. Gunnarsson’s overall performance, age, length of NHL service and contribution to the Toronto Maple Leafs, there are 2 notable comparable players. Mr. Gunnarsson’s worth is assessed with respect to each of these players below. 4 http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8474125&view=bio 4 A) Anton Stralman Mr. Anton Stralman signed a 2 year contract worth $3,400,000 with the New York Rangers in 2012, with an average annual value of $1,700,000.5 Like Mr. Gunnarsson, Mr. Stralman was 26 years of age during the offseason in which he signed his contract. However, Mr. Stralman had 5 seasons of NHL experience, compared to Mr. Gunnarsson’s 4 seasons. In 265 prior NHL games, Mr. Stralman recorded 13 goals, 79 assists, and 92 points. Mr. Stralman’s 0.35 PPG was higher than Mr. Gunnarsson’s 0.31 PPG. Mr. Stralman recorded his career high single season points total of 34 in the 2009-2010 season, which is considerably higher than Mr. Gunnarsson’s career high single season points total of 20 in the 2010-2011 season. Mr. Stralman scored 0.34 PPG during his platform year, while Mr. Gunnarsson scored 0.40 PPG during his platform year. Table 2: Career Statistics Player GP G A P PPG +/- PIM TOI/G Carl Gunnarsson 224 12 57 69 0.31 2 58 20.32 Anton Stralman 265 13 79 92 0.35 -31 133 17.36 Table 3: Platform Year Statistics Player GP G A P PPG +/- PIM TOI/G Carl Gunnarsson 37 1 14 15 0.40 5 58 21.17 Anton Stralman 53 2 16 18 0.35 9 20 16.92 Despite being slightly younger than Mr. Gunnarsson when signing his contract, not only did Mr. Stralman have 1 more season of NHL experience, but most statistical categories, including PPG and career high single season points total, also strongly indicate that Mr.