The NHLPA announced on Saturday that 11 players across the league had filed for salary arbitration.
The Anaheim Ducks had two players on their current roster who were eligible: goaltender Lukas Dostal and defenseman Drew Helleson. Both filed ahead of Saturday’s 2 pm PST deadline. Arbitration hearings will be scheduled between July 20 and Aug. 4.
After Tearing ACL, Tomáš Suchanek Is Happy to Be Back
Opinion: Pat Verbeek's Inability to Leverage, Cause for Concern
This was expected from Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek based on where they are in the negotiating process with Dostal.
“We’re starting to work on that stuff a little harder now,” Verbeek said on July 1. “We’re kind of wanting to get through free agency. Lukas has arbitration rights. So, I’m sure at some point, he may file just to protect himself. We’re going to work to negotiate a deal long before that.”
Filing for arbitration eliminates Dostal and Helleson from eligibility to receive an offer sheet from an opposing club.
Arbitrators can award only one or two-year contracts. The party (player or team) that did not file for arbitration will select the term. Teams can negotiate with players in the meantime.
Dostal (25) was destined to share the net with John Gibson in an equal tandem for the 2024-25 season, but Gibson was forced to miss games on several occasions with various injuries, rendering Dostal the de facto starter.
Dostal started 49 games and appeared in 54 during his sophomore NHL season. He finished with a 23-23-7 record, a .903 SV%, and saved 10.28 goals above expected.
Dostal earned and solidified his role for the foreseeable future as the lone starter in the Ducks' crease, effectively rendering Gibson expendable and seemingly giving the green light to Verbeek to initiate a Gibson trade after years of his name in the rumor mill.
Dostal is two years from UFA status. AFP Analytics’ short-term contract projection for Dostal is a one-year contract with an AAV of $3,972,800. His long-term contract projection is four years with an AAV of $5,219,075.
Helleson (24) started his 2024-25 campaign in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls, got recalled in Nov, and never looked back.
He finished his rookie season with 13 points (4-9=13) in 56 games, playing quality defensive minutes, and showing poise beyond his experience.
AFP Analytics projects his next deal to be a one-year contract with an AAV of $874,125.
During Verbeek’s time as Ducks general manager, which started in Feb. 2022, two players had previously filed for arbitration: Isac Lundestrom in 2022 and Troy Terry in 2023.
Verbeek signed Lundestrom two days before his arbitration hearing, and he took Terry down to the day of his hearing (reports suggest even as they were about to enter the hearing room) before inking him to a seven-year, long-term contract worth $7 million AAV.
Mason McTavish is the remaining impact RFA on the NHL roster in Anaheim. He isn’t eligible for arbitration and is under team control until the summer of 2030.
Chatting With the Ducks’ 2025 Draft Class
Mikael Granlund's Impact on the Ducks Roster
Anaheim Ducks, San Diego Gulls Sign Four Players
Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images