The fact that NHL players can’t access arbitration out of their entry-level contracts is a problem.



Teams – and GMs – don’t like arb, as it’s known in the hockey world, because they believe it’s inflationary. And they’re right. Agents, on behalf of their players, pick the highest somewhat plausible comparables, and teams do the complete opposite, tearing down their own players in a bid to bring down their deals.



I’ve read some of the briefs from those cases, and it can be a truly nasty process.



But it gets deals done. Often when nothing else will.



If you look at the list of late-signing players under this CBA – helpfully provided here by Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston on the weekend – almost all of them were coming off their ELC. They had minimal recourse if they didn’t feel the offer on the table was fair, other than not signing a deal.



That is where William Nylander is...