from Ken Campbell of The Hockey News,

This time last year, Athanasiou was in almost precisely the same position he found himself this summer, with one notable difference. In 2017, Athanasiou was coming off a 19-goal season and was a restricted free agent. But he did not have arbitration rights. An ugly, ugly negotiation ensued between the two sides that resulted in Athanasiou missing training camp and the first 10 games of the season before signing a one-year deal worth $1.4 million that left both sides bitter and upset with each other.

Contrast that to this summer when, by all indications, the Red Wings were prepared to take another tough stance on negotiations with Athanasiou. The difference this time was that Athanasiou had arbitration rights, a right he would have almost certainly elected to pursue when the deadline hit at 5 p.m. on Thursday. The same player and team that went to war last summer managed to somehow find a way to make it work five days into his tenure as a restricted free agent.

There is no way this deal gets done amicably without the threat of arbitration....

They still have to sign Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha to deals, but neither side has the option of going to arbitration because the players are too young. The Red Wings essentially view Larkin as about a $6 million-per-year player and Mantha somewhere in the $3-million range. If the two sides were faced with the possibility of going through arbitration, those deals probably would have been done by now. As it is, the Red Wings face the uncertainty of locking horns this summer with two of their top three scorers.

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