Brunnstrom, Stars Avoid Arbitration
by Brandon Bibb on Jul 23, 2010 9:07 AM CDT
in News
43 comments
According to the Stars official Twitter account...
Stars and Fabian Brunnstrom agree to terms prior to arbitration hearing this morning: $675,000 one-way contract. One-year deal.
BTW, Bunny made $875,000 in each of the last two years.
Yeah, I'm just going to go ahead and say that either Bunny or his agent came to their senses and didn't want to risk uncontrolled laughter from the arbiter when they were going to make the case that Brunnstrom deserved a raise.
Anyway, it's nice to know that Joe Nieuwendyk has an additional $200,000 in budget space to work with, but he's now obligated to keep him with the big club, and they've jammed up the roster with left wings. With James Neal's eventual (cross your fingers) signing, the Stars would have 14 forwards under contract next year. If Jere Lehtinen should decide he wants to come back, that makes 15.
This leaves the door open for potential trades to rid themselves of the excess, but also covers them in the event that James Neal's negotiations drag on into October and Lehtinen decides NOT to come back.
Release from the Stars after the jump...
Frisco, Tex. – The Dallas Stars announced today that the club and left wing Fabian Brunnstrom have agreed to terms on a one-year, one-way, contract for $675,000. The agreement was made prior to a scheduled arbitration hearing this morning in Toronto.
“We’re pleased that we were able to come to an agreement with Fabian,” said Stars General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk. “We are looking forward to having him come to training camp in September and battle for a spot on our roster.”
Brunnstrom, 25, appeared in 44 games last season with the Stars, scoring two goals and nine assists with 10 penalty minutes. The 6-2, 212-pound left wing was signed as a free agent by Dallas on May 8, 2008. Brunnstrom played in 55 games in his rookie year of 2008-09, scoring 17 goals and 12 assists with eight penalty minutes.
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This is kind of dissappointing
Brunsntrom wins. What he really wanted was a one way deal and that’s what he got. 875k….650k…It’s all better than 65k in the AHL.
I wonder if they can get a 6th round pick in 2024 for him or something.
pretty low salary might make the swedish meatball nice trade bait
Proud fan of the #1 college hockey team in the nation - Miami University Redhawks - The Brotherhood. RIP Brendan Burke.
Actually I can live with this...
Trade bait as we said.. but even if he’s a healthy scratch it’s not like it’s costing the team as much as it did last year to make him a healthy scratch.
Good to see Fabian’s agent woke up just in time.
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You can get a big steaming pile of crap
For no charge at all.
Just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean it’s attractive trade bait.
I wanted to see him sent down.
I wanted them to say “You go now to the AHL where you belong” and he was going to have to tuck his lackluster tail between his legs and do what he was told, shamefully.
Too bad.
Come on Fabian…play with some cajones, dude. You have the tools. You just need to MAN UP.
I think that's why this is a win for the stars, though...
Maybe he’ll realize he’s a moron who got lucky to have a one way contract at all, and he’ll start trying to prove himself. If he improves in the slightest, it’ll work well for the stars, in that he can either help the team, or be attractive trade bait as a reasonable player at a cheap price. Of course, it being a “win” hinges on the fact that he DOES improve.
But after last season, he can’t possibly get any worse, can he?
Can he?!
No way.
2 lbs of NC bbq does not even come close to equaling a pound of Texas bbq. That’s not even a close to fair trade.
One of the last Joe Nieuwendyk supporters in Dallas....
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by Brandon Worley on Jul 23, 2010 9:49 AM CDT up reply actions
No doubt.
Look, I’ve been all over. I’ve had St. Louis, Memphis, New York, NC, SC, hell….even Colorado bbq.
Nothing compares to the mesquite smoked flavor you find in Texas. I will say that NC is very close behind. Not a big fan of Memphis bbq, and New York’s (Dinosaur BBQ and Brooks BBQ) is surprisingly incredible.
One of the last Joe Nieuwendyk supporters in Dallas....
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by Brandon Worley on Jul 23, 2010 10:09 AM CDT up reply actions
Memphis BBQ isn't bad
if you know where to go… I prefer dry rubs, so It’s a little difficult to find in this town…
mmm, love me some dry Memphis Ribs
but then I also love a good home made, not too sweet KC sauce for the next batch. Kind of funny in TX where brisket with no sauce is common that it is hard to find dry ribs. Course the ones I do up are way better than any you can buy around DFW
Also kind of funny we would rather talk about Q than bunny … actually no it isn’t, it makes sense.
I feel strongly that we should not discuss brunnstrom
with BBQ b/c he simply is not worthy to be in the same conversation as BBQ. And no one smokes brisket better than a Texan.
Proud fan of the #1 college hockey team in the nation - Miami University Redhawks - The Brotherhood. RIP Brendan Burke.
I now have this mental image...
…of Bunny being shipped off somewhere in first class with half a smoked cow in his lap.
by Sugaa on Jul 23, 2010 10:08 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Well, it's not terrible.
Maybe he can earn his keep doing Ribeiro’s hair or something.
by Sugaa on Jul 23, 2010 10:00 AM CDT via mobile reply actions
This tells a lot about the player.
Let me see if I understand this; he’ll take $151,875 less this year knowing he’ll likely play less than half the games instead of taking more on a two-way contract and EARNING his spot with the big boys.
Sounds like a guy with no motivation.
Sounds like a guy with a very large ego.
Sounds like a guy who . . . . well . . . .
Sounds like Fabian Brunnstrom.
Someone explain to me why this guy is even still here!
Make him part of a trade for Kaberle
Toronto was the other team after Fabian a couple of years ago, right? They desperately need some depth at forward. Send Ribiero or Morrow along with him.
One problem: I don't want Kaberle on my team.
He’s a defenseman who can’t play defense, and his offensive skills have been diminishing over the years. There’s a reason they want him out of Toronto. Just ask the guys at PPP.
by Pat Iversen on Jul 23, 2010 11:52 AM CDT up reply actions
Kaberle
The biggest reason we want him gone is he has value and we have the highest paid d-core in the NHL… his offensive skills are still there, but he’s soft, doesn’t play the hard-nosed game Burke wants, and frankly we need forwards badly.
Oh you can keep Brunnstrom though. We wanted him years ago before we found out he was…. overhyped? Yes, let’s go with that. No thanks on Ribiero or Morrow either, although I’m sure if Kaberle DID hypothetically end up in Dalls, one of those two would be coming back. Ugh.
Tick Tock, Tomas. Tick Tock.
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by nhlcheapshot on Jul 23, 2010 12:12 PM CDT up reply actions
If we had Kaberle, at least we could SAY we have a number-one defenseman…
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by Brad_Richards_Rocks on Jul 23, 2010 4:05 PM CDT up reply actions
I am really surprised
to see so many Stars fans turn on Brunnstrom so easily. This is a guy who came overseas and scored 17 goals in only 55 games as a rookie, learning a new system on a new sheet of ice. He’s forced to learn another brand new system in year 2 and it doesn’t work out for him, he gets passed up by Benn (one of the best young players we’ve had in a decade) and isn’t able to recover as he gets pushed down the lineup.
This is a guy who wants to be good. I’ve heard no one from the organization mention anything about lack of effort. This is a guy with a ton of skill and big offensive upside. Yet we find it so easy just to want to dump the guy and ridicule him because he had a bad second season.
He'd just be better somewhere else
I don’t think he fits with the scheme that we’re trying to put on the ice. I think he’ll do fine in the NHL, I just think he may be one of those players that has to go elsewhere to make it happen. I have nothing against the guy (I can’t say ‘kid’ cause he’s like my age even though he’s relatively young in the NHL) – I just don’t think he fits here anymore.
He needs top-6 minutes and consistent power play minutes to grow.
Not going to find it here. Benn took that away from him. That’s why I believe Toronto would be perfect.
I agree, I think Fabian can be good.
He needs a top 6 skill line where they aren’t counting on him doing a lot of checking. He has skill and could be successful in the right place. But with Benn, Neal and Ericssen he isn’t getting that kind of time here.
I am really surprised
to see so many Stars fans turn on Brunnstrom so easily. This is a guy who came overseas and scored 17 goals in only 55 games as a rookie, learning a new system on a new sheet of ice. He’s forced to learn another brand new system in year 2 and it doesn’t work out for him, he gets passed up by Benn (one of the best young players we’ve had in a decade) and isn’t able to recover as he gets pushed down the lineup.
This is a guy who wants to be good. I’ve heard no one from the organization mention anything about lack of effort. This is a guy with a ton of skill and big offensive upside. Yet we find it so easy just to want to dump the guy and ridicule him because he had a bad second season.
To me
This contract doesn’t guarantee anything for Fabian. Like Joe said, he’s still going to be fighting for a roster spot in camp. If he doesn’t make it, and if Neal is signed by then, I wouldn’t be surprised if they dropped him on waivers. And he’ll likely get picked up.
I don’t dislike Fabian, I just think he didn’t do enough to earn a spot when he had a chance.
by Pat Iversen on Jul 23, 2010 1:07 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
If the Stars trade Brunnstrom
it will be the smartest thing Nieuwendyk will have ever done as GM of the Stars.
A Neal-less training camp can be good for him.
Wouldn’t surprise me if Crawford puts Fabio on the second line if Neal is still unsigned. Like its been said, the guy is talented and if he plays with some muscle, not Barch, I bet he will put up some solid numbers.
I am still "FRISKY FOR NISKY"
Unlike everyone here, I believe in fabian
I think this contract can be a kick in the butt for him to get going. He obviously have promise if you remember his rookie year. This low contract will say hey- you’re on the team but you’re fighting for a spot, and the one year deal makes it a kind of try out for him to be able to stay with the team. So if he takes the hint and works hard to improve he’ll end up being a very good player.
Also, I blame Crawford for his terrible numbers. Crow for some reason was OBSESSED with Krys Barch, Barch got so much more playing time than he should have which meant Brunnstrom’s got cut and fabian was eve a scratch a lot of the time. If Crow wasn’t so obsessed with that plug Barch and let Brunnstrom flourish then he’d have done a lot better.
But whatever, I guess you can’t fix an awful coach
Crow was just using Barch
to try to get the rest of the guys going. He knew you could put Barch out on the ice and he’d pick a fight with SOMEONE. There were so many nights we looked F-L-A-T out on the ice I think he was trying anything to get our guys jumpstarted. Ott wasn’t doing it anymore, the refs said they were keeping an eye on him and I think he wanted to avoid getting another suspension. I think it was situational usage, not necessarily obsession, with Barch.
I kind of buy it
There’s one thing to use him situationally which i think he did for some of the year, but at some points he just left me wondering why the hell Barch was out there. There would be games where it would be like 3-2, 4-3, and the Stars needed a goal to get back into it and who would I see on the ice? Petersen, Barch, and someone else like Sutherby or something. Entirely the wrong group to put out. And from the beginning of the year Fabian was on a checking line if he would ever get any ice time. There’s one thing to work hard and there’s another thing to be a grinder, Brunnstrom isn’t a grinder. For him to flourish and play like he can he needs to be on a line that could score. When Crow was testing Benn at center I think Brunnstrom would have been a perfect fit to go with Modano or Lehts. If he had been used like that I think he would have had a 25-30 point season.
Ahw.
I really wanted to see how that hearing would go. Oh well.
Here’s to hoping Bunny has a good season, eh?
Here's to all us girls who love hockey...and the men who play it.
by Brad_Richards_Rocks on Jul 23, 2010 3:43 PM CDT reply actions
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