Penguins

Aston-Reese Files For Salary Arbitration; Talks Continuing

Published

3 years ago

August 1, 2021

Pittsburgh Penguins winger Zach Aston-Reese is one of 17 NHL players who have filed for salary arbitration after the team earlier extended the restricted free agent a qualifying offer.

He is the only Penguins player who has filed for arbitration. He does not have a hearing date at this point. Salary arbitration hearings will be held Aug. 11-26.

However, players who file for arbitration often reach agreement on a new contract before those hearings, and in fact a source with knowledge of Aston-Reese’s situation indicated that talks are progressing.

In a similar situation two years ago, Aston-Reese and the Penguins avoided an arbitration hearing — barely — when he signed a two-year, $2 million contract.

Given factors such as his production, a flat salary cap and the Penguins’ cap situation, a reasonable estimate might be that Aston-Reese’s value is in the $2 million cap hit range or perhaps a little more.

Aston-Reese, 26, who has had some injury trouble over the years, had a career-high nine goals, 15 points in 45 games during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season. He had a goal and an assist in six playoff games. His value is heightened by his defensive play.

Here are the other 16 players who have filed for arbitration, per the NHL Players Association:

Ross Colton (Tampa Bay Lightning)

Andrew Copp (Winnipeg Jets)

Jason Dickinson (Vancouver Canucks)

Vince Dunn (Seattle Kraken)

Adam Erne (Detroit Red Wings)

Dante Fabbro (Nashville Predators)

Dennis Gilbert (Colorado Avalanche)

Adin Hill (San Jose Sharks)

Michael McNiven (Montreal Canadiens)

Victor Mete (Ottawa Senators)

Adam Pelech (New York Islanders)