UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Islanders forward Arron Asham avoided
salary arbitration on Monday and agreed to a one-year deal with New
York.
Asham, scheduled for a salary arbitration hearing this week,
will earn $950,000 next season -- a $323,000 raise over last season.
The contract was worked out by new Islanders general manager
Garth Snow, the former backup goalie who went from the locker room
to the front office last week. He retired as a player to replace
Neil Smith, fired just over a month after taking the job.
New York was looking to avoid arbitration with Asham after
losing a case to forward Mike York, whose salary rose $800,000 to
$2.85 million. York and Asham were the only Islanders to file for
arbitration.
Asham elected to go that route after turning down the Islanders'
qualifying offer of $689,700.
"Being an Islander means a lot to me and I did not want to be
anywhere else but Long Island," he said in a statement. "I love
the additions we made to the lineup and I'm really looking forward
to the opportunity to play for (coach) Ted Nolan."
The 28-year-old Asham had nine goals and 15 assists in 63 games
last season, his third with the Islanders and seventh in the NHL.
The rugged forward, who began his career with the Montreal
Canadiens, missed the final 18 games of the season due to a
sprained ankle.
In 341 NHL games, Asham has 47 goals with 55 assists and 390
penalty minutes.
"With Arron back and the signing of Brendan Witt and Chris
Simon, we have added a lot of grit, tenacity and character to our
lineup," said Snow, Asham's teammate for three seasons. "Like
Witt and Simon, Arron brings a lot to the table. He is a talented
player that can contribute in many ways."