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Subban, Habs can’t agree to terms before arbitration hearing

PK Subban,

PK Subban

AP

In the end, the Montreal Canadiens and restricted free agent P.K. Subban weren’t able to avoid potentially the unpleasant process of arguing his worth to an arbitrator. There was no last minute deal prior to the 9:00 a.m. ET hearing and it consequently went ahead as scheduled, per the Canadian Press.

Subban, who completed a two-year, $5.75 million contract, reportedly requested an $8.5 million salary for the 2014-15 campaign to the arbitrator while the Canadiens countered with $5.25 million. The arbitrator is not bound to pick one of those numbers and can instead choose any figure in between them.

A decision on the 25-year-old defenseman’s salary will come within the next 48 hours, but Subban and Montreal can still avoid that if they agree to terms before the ruling is announced. The 2013 Norris Trophy winner has expressed an interest in being a “lifer” with the Canadiens.

Obviously, going through with arbitration isn’t an ideal scenario for Montreal, especially given that Subban is a cornerstone of their franchise. This also isn’t the first time the two sides have had difficulty seeing eye-to-eye when it comes to his compensation. Subban missed the start of the 2013 campaign because he couldn’t agree to terms on a new contract with Montreal.

Related:

Agent: Subban hasn’t told me to make him NHL’s highest-paid D

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