So if you haven't heard, Blake Wheeler is ready to go to arbitration hearings with the Bruins this Tuesday, July 27th if they can't reach an agreement.  This is not terrible news as it stands today as long as arbitrator doesn't smoke crack and suck at his job.

Obviously that sounds funny because you would think a guy who gets paid to fairly evaluate what another person should be paid would at least be competent at his job.  But sometimes, that's not the case.  Clarke MacArthur, who should not even be considered in Blake Wheeler's category, was awarded 2.4 mil and the Thrashers said, "Fuck you, no thanks."  The reason they said no thanks is because they probably suspected Clarke MacArthur of giving the arbitrator a ZJ under the table while he was deliberating.

Even though they have similar numbers, Blake Wheeler is considered a better player because he is faster, younger, stronger, pretty much just better.  A lot of Wheeler's arbitration argument will be based on potential, which scares me because it's easy to see that Wheeler has a bright future.

So if the arbitrator suddenly gets a Wheeler chubby, we're screwed.  If he doesn't, he will most likely realize that Wheeler still has a ways to go to reach his potential. 

That is why arbitration sucks; because it's almost completely out of your hands.  You can make the best case possible, but the decision still lies in the hands of a third party that doesn't know as much as you do about the player or your organization.

Bottom line, Clarke MacArthur is not worth 2.4 million dollars a year, just like Blake Wheeler is not worth 2.8 million dollars a year, which is what he made last year.  With that said, let's take a look at their production in order to see what Wheeler is worth.

Blake Wheeler
2008
GP - 81 / G - 21 / A - 24 / Pts - 45 / ATOI - 13:40
2009
GP - 82 / G - 18 / A - 20 / Pts - 38 / ATOI - 15:47
Clarke MacArthur
2008
GP - 71 / G - 17 / A - 14 / Pts - 31 / ATOI - 13:50
2009
GP - 81 / G - 16 / A - 19 / Pts - 35 / ATOI - 14:42

It doesn't take a genius to see that Wheeler should make more than MacArthur, which sucks.  Considering Wheeler's cap hit last year of 2.8 and the asshole arbitrator's awarding of 2.4 mil to MacArthur, I can see Wheeler getting a slight salary bump.

Wheeler's Estimated Cap Hit
5.9 million over 2 years (2.95 million a year)

UPDATE: Mason Raymond just agreed to a 2-year deal with the Canucks worth 5.1 million (2.55 mil cap hit).  He, too, is a comparable player to Wheeler, so this could definitely affect what happens tomorrow in the arbitration room.

Wheeler's Estimated Cap Hit
2.65 million over 1 year