With arbitration scheduled for Friday morning, Erik Haula and the Minnesota Wild are $425,000 apart entering arbitration. The Wild are reported to be offering $775,000, while Haula’s camp is requesting $1.2 million, according to the Star Tribune’s Michael Russo.
The Wild have just $2.9 million in cap space remaining, according to General Fanager. That $425,000 figures out to be about 14.7% of the Wild’s remaining cap space.
Most cases get settled before the arbitration cases actually happen. For Haula that might make sense. The arbitrator will come in with a number in between the two and if the number is a good deal for the Wild they can opt for two years instead of one. If Haula takes a one-year offer from the Wild, he can essentially bet on himself and look to have a raise in his next contract.
Last season Haula played 72 games, scoring seven goals and seven assists, a step back offensively from his rookie season where he posted six goals and nine assists in 46 games, followed by a solid playoff run where he was a go-to player defensively and one of the only players to show up offensively in the team’s second round match-up against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Where Haula did thrive last season was the penalty kill. He became a key killer for the team, despite appearing to be in coach Mike Yeo’s doghouse regularly, contending with limited ice time and healthy scratches.
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