Peter Holland’s submitted salary request for arbitration is reportedly more than double what the Toronto Maple Leafs proposed.
With that in mind, Monday’s pending hearing serves as a challenging deadline.
Holland’s asking for $2.1 million in 2016-17 while Toronto is offering $900K, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
This comes a day after the Maple Leafs placed Holland on waivers, advancing the argument that he’d be worthy of a two-way deal. He cleared waivers today.
#Leafs Peter Holland has cleared waivers.
— Tim Wharnsby (@TimWharnsby) July 23, 2016
Granted, the Globe & Mail’s James Mirtle wonders if Holland would clear waivers under normal circumstances:
If Holland clears waivers, could be as much about not wanting to take on his arb case at last minute as anything. Doubt he clears last year.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) July 23, 2016
Holland is a solid player, generating 27 points in 65 games with Toronto last season. He’s a nice enough piece, but with the Maple Leafs in rebuild mode, they’re not exactly anxious to pay supporting cast members more than necessary.
With such a context in mind, it should be intriguing to see how much either side will budge.
At the moment, the Maple Leafs seem to hold the advantage.