Rangers, Chris Kreider $750K apart 2 days ahead of salary arbitration hearing
The New York Rangers are scheduled to hit salary arbitration three times over the next two weeks with forwards Chris Krieder, Mats Zuccarello and Derick Brassard. That's the bad news, particularly for a club with just under $12 million in available salary cap space and only 10 forwards currently signed to one-way contracts.
The good news? In the case of Kreider, a prized 23-year-old power forward whose arbitration hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, July 23 - the club and the player aren't too far apart.
From Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman:
Kreider (NYR) requests $2.8M. Rangers have offered a two-year deal at $1.9, then $2.2.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 21, 2014
These numbers are exchanged as part of the mandatory exchange of "briefs" by the two sides no less than 48 hours ahead of a scheduled salary arbitration hearing. Because Kreider filed for player-elected salary arbitration, the Rangers have the option of selecting either a one- or two-year term for the potential award, and have reportedly decided to lock up Kreider for two-years.
The Rangers are basically looking at signing Kreider to a two-year deal with an average annual value of $2.05, while Kreider's camp is seeking a $2.8 million deal. That's only a $750,000 difference, which isn't massive, and likely won't prove too difficult to overcome in settlement talks over the next two days.