NHL salary arbitration tracker: Flyers' Jamie Drysdale settles

NHL salary arbitration hearings don't start until next week and more than half of the players have already reached a settlement.Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale was the ninth player out of 15 to settle, agreeing to a four-year contract averaging $6.5 million a year on Friday, July 17.He was scheduled for a hearing on Monday, July 20. Teammate Trevor Zegras agreed to a four-year deal with a $9.125 million average on Wednesday.Also settling early (details below) are St. Louis Blues forward Connor Michael, Montreal Canadiens forward Kirby Dach, Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti, Buffalo Sabres forward Payton Krebs, New York Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Nick Robertson and Ottawa Senators prospect Xavier Bourgault.Settling early is typical during the salary arbitration hearing season, which runs from July 20 to Aug. 1 in Toronto. Both sides try to work out deals before the hearings.This year, 15 restricted free agents filed to have an independent arbitrator determine their next contract. Both sides file salary requests and the arbitrator can award either number but often does something between.The most interesting case is Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson, who made $7.75 million in his last deal and is due a big raise after a 96-point season. The record arbitration award was $7.5 million to future Hall of Famer Shea Weber in 2011. Robertson is the brother of Nick Robertson.Here are the salary arbitration dates, settlements and results, per puckpedia.com:1 / 28NHL players who changed teams in the offseasonForward Brady Tkachuk was traded to the Florida Panthers, where he will join brother Matthews. (James Guillory, Imagn Images)Monday, July 20Jamie Drysdale, Philadelphia (settled, four years, $6.5 million average)Cole Perfetti, Winnipeg (settled, five years, $6 million average)Wednesday, July 22Trevor Zegras, Philadelphia (settled, four years, $9.125 million average)Thursday, July 23Jet Greaves, ColumbusSaturday, July 25Xavier Bourgault, Ottawa (settled, one year, $850,000)Jason Robertson, DallasConnor McMichael, St. Louis (settled, six years, $6.75 million average)Monday, July 27Cole Sillinger, ColumbusTuesday, July 28Nick Robertson, Pittsburgh (settled, two years $3.5 million average)Wednesday, July 29Braden Schneider, N.Y. Rangers (settled, one year, $5.5 million)Ronan Seeley, CarolinaThursday, July 30Alex Jefferies, N.Y. IslandersKirby Dach, Montreal (settled, one year, $3.6 million)Saturday, Aug.. 1Akira Schmid, FloridaPeyton Krebs, Buffalo (settled, four years x $4.5 million average)Flyers' Jamie Drysdale settles before arbitration hearingHe gets a four-year, $26 million deal, up from a $2.3 million average. He had a career-best eight goals last season, and his 32 points matched a career high. Drysdale scored two power play goals in the playoffs.Canadiens' Kirby Dach settles before arbitration hearingHe gets a one-year, $3.6 million deal, a slight bump from his previous $3,362,500 average. The key is he gets a one-way deal that pays him the same if he goes to the minors. He had been offered a deal that pay him less in the minors.Blues' Connor McMichael settles before arbitration hearingHe gets a six-year, $40.5 million contract, a big increase from his previous $2.1 million average. He's joining the Blues this season after coming over in the Jordan Kyrou trade. He had 46 points last season with the Capitals.Flyers' Trevor Zegras settles before arbitration hearingHe gets a four-year, $36.5 million contract, up from a $5.75 million average in his last contract. He becomes the Flyers' top-paid player after scoring a career-best 67 points following his trade from the Ducks.Jets' Cole Perfetti settles before arbitration hearingHe gets a five-year, $30 million contract, up from a $3.25 million average in his last contract. He dropped from 50 points to 32 as he dealt with injuries but he also averaged a career-best 15:37 per game.Penguins' Nick Robertson settles before arbitration hearingRobertson came over from Toronto in a July 1 trade. His two-year $6.5 million contract is a raise from the $1.85 million he made in his final Maple Leafs contract. He has a career-high 16 goals and 32 points last season.Rangers' Braden Schneider settles before arbitration hearingThe defenseman gets one year at $5.5 million, up from a $2.2 million average in his last two-year contract. Schneider averaged about three more minutes a game last season.Sabres' Peyton Krebs settles before arbitration hearingThe forward averages $4.5 million in his new contract, a bump from his previous $1.45 million cap hit. Krebs had his first 82-game season and set career bests in goals (12), assists (27) and points (39).This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NHL salary arbitration tracker: Flyers' Jamie Drysdale settles