What is Clarke MacArthur Really Worth?
by Zachary Zielonka on Jul 6, 2009 8:18 PM EDT
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The General has elected to head to arbitration with the Buffalo Sabres. When a player heads to arbitration, they need to be able to compare themselves to a group of players that they feel they compare to performance wise. Where exactly does MacArthur fit into then?
Clarke MacArthur has career stats of 28 goals and 53 points in 127 games. Last season, he had 17 goals and 31 points. Close to him on the scoring list for left wingers is Dallas' Fabian Brunnstrom. Brunnstrom is the same age as MacArthur and scored 17 goals and 12 points in 55 games this season, his first. Brunnstrom is set to make $875,000 next year with a cap hit of $2,225,000.
Other comparables include Matt Cooke scored 13 goals and 18 assists last season and has a career average of 9 goals/season and 22 points/season. He is set to make $1,200,000 before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Ville Peltonen had 12 goals and 19 assists last season and is a unrestricted free agent this season, he made $1,200,000 last season.
This information all sets the stage for where an arbitrator can set the deal for MacArthur. Looking at the surrounding players, a deal that settles around $1-1.2 million per year should be agreeable for both parties.
The next question is whether the Sabres can afford that kind of contract. With roughly $47 million tied up into 15 players, MacArthur's million dollar contract should be small enough to fit into the lineup. The Sabres have eight forwards under contract at the moment and still have to offer Drew Stafford as well. Both Stafford and MacArthur should see the same type of contract with the only change coming in the length of the contract.
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Stafford, in theory, should make at least 50% more than MacArthur. If McArthur gets 1.2 million a season, Stafford should get at least 1.8 million a season. Stafford will probably get 2-3 million a year.
It's just a game.
I’m not sure that Stafford should get double but I think around $2 million is were that contract will be.
D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere
Man, we’re in trouble. If we sign MacArthur and Stafford for a combined $3 million a year, then I guess that puts us at the $50 million limit. We would still have Kaleta and Sekera to sign after that. Ouch.
It's just a game.
They are at the limit but there are possible trades to think about. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Stafford or MacArthur get traded to save salary.
D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere
by David Oleksy on Jul 7, 2009 3:26 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Stafford or MacArthur get traded to save salary.
Wow. That would be an eye opener for sure if Stafford were traded. I’m on the fence with him myself. Is he inconsistent because he’s still young, or is it because he doesn’t get it? Too many times over the last few years he’s made plays that dropped my jaw in amazement, or made me slam my fist into something for disgust.
I wouldn’t object into seeing MaCarthur get traded. You might get comething for him, but not much. I just don’t see him projecting into a top two line guy, and I don’t see his skating making up for his lack of size and grit.
think a little bit
Trades to save salary make sense. But probably not Stafford and especially not MacArthur.
As you said, we have $47 million committed to 15 players. How would trading Drew or Clarke save enough money to fill the roster and stay under budget? The answer is it wouldn’t. If they want to keep their budget they need to keep low cost players, not trade them away.
It’s not about saving money off the current cap but bringing in cheaper players to fill those roles. If we assume that Stafford and MacArthur will make at least $3 million between the two of them than Gerbe and Kennedy would be cheaper replacements. Gerbe is set to make $850,000 and Kennedy $635,000 with a total of $1,485,000. The Sabres save over $1.5 million and they fill two roster positions.
Kaleta and Mancari are restricted and will come at a cheap price…two more roster spots are filled. All of a sudden the roster is complete and they are around the $50 million salary that we always talk about.
D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere
I don’t believe that any of the above contracts were decided by arbitration but I could be wrong.
D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere
If that’s the case, I’d expect arbitration to give these Mac more money then the contracts referenced. That could help drive the Stafford price up too, if he doesn’t sign by then.
No, none of the contracts were decided by arbitration but when Ville Peltonen signs it could determine the market in this case. Much like how Pominville’s contract was mirrored off of David Booth’s signing last season.
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by Zachary Zielonka on Jul 7, 2009 7:42 AM EDT up reply actions
If I had to make a choice
I think at this point I would rather see Mac stay and Staff go. Stafford has played on the top line for two years running and the numbers just haven’t been there. Mac gets blasted for playing soft, but he plays harder than Stafford and Stafford is much larger. There’s nothing more irritating to me when I watch the Sabres over the last two seasons then big men playing soft. Which is why I practically did a jig when Kotalik was traded and why I would not be sad to see Stafford go. When God gives you size, USE IT!
"Potential just means you haven’t done sh## yet"
Stafford and MacArthur will combine for at least 3.5, depending on how much we like Stafford. Around 1.2 seems right for Clarke.
Those comparisons seem a little off. Peltonen is 35. Brunnstrom made the rookie max with loads of bonuses as a coveted Euro. Cooke is a very different player from Clarke, but their value kind of balances out. Easiest comparison actually looks like Dan Paille. Nearly identical situations from last year. It would even be the same team, though that doesn’t matter so much in arbitration.
I guess for some you could go off potential. The Brunnstrom deal was loaded but the potential is there for him to be something special. Can the player argue that the same type of potential is there, of course. Is it truly there, probably not.
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by Zachary Zielonka on Jul 8, 2009 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions
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