Good morning, Stars fans! Happy Sunday! I know it’s a little late, but I wanted to spread the posts out a little bit.

Yes, it’s true. Antoine Roussel and Cameron Gaunce decided to file for arbitration yesterday evening just before the deadline occurred. Don’t know what that is? Here’s a quick summary:

Arbitration is a process that players, mainly restricted free agents who have served four or more years in the NHL or signed their first contract after age 20, can use when they are looking to gain the upper hand in a salary dispute. This means that any player who declares by the date of July 5th will have a meeting schedule in late July to early August between themselves, their current team, and a neutral party. The two sides will come up with their idea of a salary for the upcoming season(s) and the neutral party present will make the final decision on the set salary. If the team representatives decide to pass on the hearing, said player will be able to declare themselves an unrestricted free agent and gain the right to freely negotiate with new teams.

So that’s the basics. BUT, this arbitration BY NO TERMS means that Roussel and Gaunce are planning to pack their bags and move on out of Big D. If anything, it means that they are more likely to stay. Very little of the time will you see an arbitration meeting actually commence, especially if Jim Nill is dealing the contracts. Basically every time, all the players that file for arbitration agree on a new salary and contract before the scheduled meeting date and forget all about the silly idea coming up in the first place.

Roussel and Gaunce are merely stressing and expressing their rights. And when you have rights, don’t you think you’re gonna use them? I mean look at us Texans with the second amendment! It’s literally a natural law here in the Lone Star State. But they’re more than likely still looking for a contract to stay with Dallas (who doesn’t want to play for Dallas right now, I mean come on!), so no need to worry all you people who enjoy Roussel’s on-ice antics and shenanigans! He’s just looking to strike a deal quickly with the organization. They merely just want to express their liberties, I mean even P.K. Subban is doing it! So no need to worry, a deal should be struck rather quickly here.

Now you’re probably asking this: But Josh, why aren’t Cody Eakin and Brenden Dillon expressing their rights? Do they not like having freedoms and liberties? Are they secretly communists?

Well, maybe not that last part, unless you still don’t trust Mother Russia (like my friend Nick from Connecticut, don’t worry, besides poverty it’s all giddy over there).

But the main reason they’re skipping their possibility of arbitration is probably because every player gets one chance. It’s like your first dollar bill when you were a kid, you use it once and then you never have a first dollar bill again, so use it wisely. Their agents have probably strayed them away from the idea, just in case they might need to use it down the road. So, Nill can take his time when considering their cases, but he can’t take too long!

So, there’s the scoop on arbitration, and I hope it turned out to be a relief! Don’t worry, your favorite Frenchy isn’t trying to get out of Dallas! Or Gaunce, if anyone even cares about his name.. But mark my words, as long as he re-signs with the Stars, he’s gonna be managing the blue line at the AAC come next year!

As always, keep your head on the ground and your feet in the clouds (wait, that came out wrong). Enjoy your Sunday, nonetheless!

Comment below on how you feel about this wacky arbitration situation and GO STARS!