Tomas Fleischmann's Arbitration Hearing Will Happen Tomorrow

The Capitals were unable to reach a contract agreement with Tomas Fleischmann, so as Tarik El-Bashir confirms, they will go to arbitration with the free agent forward tomorrow.

GM George McPhee said Caps are likely headed to arbitration with Tomas Fleischmann tomorrow. Says Don Fishman is already in T.O.

The only reason this is still "likely," is that the club theoretically still has an opportunity to sign him before the scheduled arbitration. But in reality, that has virtually no chance of happening.

Our Caps blog Japers Rink is doing a series where they argue both sides of the debate. Here's their best guess on the team's argument.

Tomas Fleischmann is a highly skilled, versatile player capable of playing all three forward positions and in any game situation.  He contributes to his team's success by scoring goals, acting as a playmaker, succeeding at even strength, on the powerplay, and in shorthanded situations, and by giving his coaching staff the option to move other players in to roles they are most comfortable with.  In doing so, Flesichmann also contributes by allowing his teammates to be put in a position where they will be most successful - an important addition that does not show up on the stat sheet.

We believe Fleischmann is a clear-cut, well-rounded, top-six forward in the NHL and that a 2010-11 salary of $3,150,000 would be fair to both player and team.