from Ken Campbell of The Hockey News,

The Montreal Canadiens and star defenseman P.K. Subban will live in contractual harmony for at least one more season, probably two. That was guaranteed when Subban filed for salary arbitration before the Saturday deadline.

And while the league has long been opposed to the arbitration process, this is not necessarily a bad thing for either Subban or the Canadiens on a couple of fronts. First, it is certain Subban will not be embroiled in a contract dispute with the Canadiens and will be in training camp the day it opens in September. Second, it protects the Canadiens from having another team submit an offer sheet on Subban. And finally, if it goes all the way to arbitration, it ensures that Subban will be neither overpaid nor underpaid.

With Subban having filed, the Canadiens have the option of selecting a one- or two-year award. It’s difficult to fathom they would not take the two-year deal, one that would take Subban to his first crack at unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2016. It would also give the Canadiens two years to work on getting Subban under a long-term deal and offer him an extension as early as next summer.

And if they want to avoid the often confrontational arbitration process altogether, the two sides have from now until the ruling comes down later this summer to hammer out a contract, either a two-year deal that takes him to unrestricted free agency or a long-term deal that will keep him in Montreal for up to another eight years.

continued