Paul Byron avoided salary arbitration with the Calgary Flames on Sunday. Now he aims to get healthy by the time training camp rolls around.
The 26-year-old told the Calgary Sun’s Wes Gilbertson that he will be getting pins out of his wrist during the first week of September. That may cut it close as far as healing up by training camp, but he’s hoping that the situation works out.
Not surprisingly, he said what many players have before him: avoiding arbitration was a big relief.
More from Byron: “I don't think any player wants to go to arbitration. You don't want to ruin the relationship between you and the team.”
— Wes Gilbertson (@WesGilbertson) July 26, 2015
Byron played in 57 regular season games with the Flames in 2014-15, scoring six goals and 19 points, the second-best run of his NHL career (he scored 21 points in 2013-14). He’s fared quite well for a sixth-round pick, as he was selected 179th overall by the Buffalo Sabres back in 2007.
The Flames’ immediate list of concerns may now boil down to Michael Ferland, although the team has some serious work to do regarding players who are entering the last year of their contracts, as Mark Giordano and Johnny Gaudreau rank among the many who need new deals after 2015-16.