Pavel Zacha and Mason Appleton salary arbitration date looms as more RFAs sign
Anthony Scultore
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Pavel Zacha, Mason Appleton, and Jake Walman are the last three restricted free agents with a pending salary arbitration hearing. All three are scheduled to an August 11 date.
On Saturday, the Vegas Golden Knights avoided an arbitration hearing with forward Keegan Kolesar with a 3-year deal worth $4.2 million ($1.4M AAV)
Kolesar, 25, set a career high in goals (7), assists (17), points (24), hits (246) and games played (77). Kolesar’s 246 hits led the team and ranked 10th in the NHL. For his career spanning 122 career games, he has 37 points. He was a third-round draft pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2015 and acquired by Vegas in 2017 for a second round pick.
Pavel Zacha leads remaining RFA’s with arbitration dates
On July 13, the Boston Bruins acquired Zacha from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Erik Haula. The restricted free agent wrapped up a deal for $2.25 million per season and is in line for an increase.
Zacha, 25, recorded 36 points in 70 games last season with the Devils.
The Winnipeg Jet are hoping to avoid salary arbitration with center, Mason Appleton. He’s coming off a 21 point year in 68 contests. The 26 year-old was selected by Winnipeg in the 6th round of the 2015 draft. He earned $900,000 on his last deal.
Defenseman Jake Walman and the Detroit Red Wings are also looking to come to terms. The 26 year-old registered 10 points in 51 games in 2021-22.
Update: Jets and Mason Appleton agree to a three-year deal
Other NHL signings
Predators sign Yakov Trenin
Nashville center Yakov Trenin won his arbitration case and secured a new two-year, $3.4 million contract with the Predators.
He will be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent when his contract expires after the 2023-24 season.
Trenin, 25, set career highs across the board in 2021-22 with 17 goals and seven assists and 80 games. The second-round draft pick by the Predators in 2015 completed his first full NHL campaign. Trenin has 41 points (24 goals, 17 assists) in 146 games over the past three seasons.
Oilers sign Tyler Benson
The Edmonton Oilers re-signed forward Tyler Benson to a one-year, two-way contract on Saturday worth $750,000 at the NHL level.
Benson, 24, tallied one goal and one assist in 29 games with the Oilers in 2021-22. He added 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 18 games with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.
Drafted in the second round by Edmonton in 2016, Benson made his NHL debut in February 2020 and has collected three points (one goal, two assists) in 36 games.
–Field Level Media contributed to this article.