Buzz/Note: Zherdev Decision Day Looms
Today is the arbitration hearing for winger Nikolai Zherdev and the Rangers In Toronto.
The arbitrator will have 48 hours to decide on Zherdev’s salary for the 2009-10 season.
According to Larry Brooks in the NY Post, Zherdev declined the Rangers qualifying offer worth $3.25 million and has submitted a bid of $4.5 million.
It is unknown whether the Blueshirts, who will be represented at the hearing by assistant GM Cam Hope, have submitted a bid lower than the QO.
In any event, once the arbitrator’s decision is announced — arbitrators are permitted to award any salary in the range between the bids and most often come close to splitting the difference — the Rangers will then have another 48 hours in which to decide whether to accept the contract or walk away from it, thus making Zherdev an unrestricted free agent.
More from Brooks:
“From both the statistical viewpoint and CYA analysis, GM Glen Sather would be justified keeping Zherdev, even if he’s awarded $4M. But there is no subjective eyes-on analysis under which Zherdev is worth that investment. His inconsistency was matched only by his indifference.
He barely competed for the puck, rarely went to the front, and hardly ever seemed hungry enough to score that he’d give up his body to drive to the net.
Invisible down the stretch run in which he recorded only two assists in the season’s final seven games while going minus-three, Zherdev disintegrated in the playoffs, going pointless and minus-three in the seven-game defeat to the Caps.
The Rangers debated seriously whether to qualify Zherdev at $3.25M. There has been no debate about the wisdom of accepting him back for more than that — expect the salary to be between $3.85-4.15M — even given the team’s apparent acute goal-scoring deficiency.”
…It seems there that Brooks wants to be on the other side of the table from Zherdev, and yelling at him with what is above.
…Brooks hits the inconsistencies on the head but doesn’t seem to mention any of Zherdev’s good qualities, when he displays them. He did lead the team in points last season and has a great wrist shot, when he can hit the net.
…Zherdev seems to need the right situation to succeed, and it doesn’t seem like that situation will be in New York.
