An excerpt from Globesports.com (James Mirtle):

NHL salary arbitration hearings have been few and far between this summer, and there’s a reason. When cases go to a hearing, they can often get ugly, as players, agents and teams fight for dollars under the salary cap.

Washington Capitals defenceman Shaone Morrisonn is the only player who’s been through the process this off-season. He was awarded a one-year, $1.975-million (all currency U.S.) contract last Saturday after a hearing last Thursday in Toronto.

According to arbitration documents obtained by The Globe and Mail, the Capitals offered several less than flattering assessments of Morrisonn, a stay-at-home defenceman who was fourth on the team in ice time last season. Calling him “one-dimensional,” Washington argued that Morrisonn received substantial playing time in 2005-06 and 2006-07 on a weak team as a result of being “at the right place at the right time.”

Morrisonn’s agent, Mark Stowe, said negotiations before the hearing were extremely contentious.