McMichael Takes Arbitration Route in St. Louis Contract Dispute

Connor McMichael and the Blues have reached an impasse on a new deal, forcing the forward to file for arbitration and letting a neutral third party decide his fate. This is the kind of standoff that rarely ends cleanly - either the player gets more than the team wanted to pay, or he walks away feeling undervalued heading into the season. St. Louis has to weigh the cost of keeping McMichael against the message it sends to the rest of the locker room about how the organization values its talent.