Team, Karpa Headed for Salary Arbitration Hearing

The Mighty Ducks and defenseman David Karpa are scheduled to go to arbitration Friday in Toronto, Karpa’s agent, Paul Cohen, said Wednesday.

The sides have discussed a range of deals, covering one, two or three years. But they have not been able to agree on money.

“We’re not a million apart and we’re not $10,000 to $20,000 apart,” Cohen said. “This is just a little bump in the road. We’ve covered a lot of ground, but we couldn’t get over the final hurdle.”

Last season, Karpa held out for three weeks during training camp before signing a one-year deal worth $450,000 plus incentives. Now the sides are believed to be about $200,000 apart, according to a source.

Karpa, 26, has been one of the Ducks’ top defensemen since being acquired from the Quebec Nordiques in March, 1995. He scored only two goals in 69 games last season, but his defensive skills are more valued.

“He is certainly not Paul Kariya, but what David does no one else on the team does,” Cohen said. “He’s proven what he’s worth.”

Twice in the last week the Ducks have been on the verge of arbitration before working out deals with goalie Guy Hebert and defenseman Dmitri Mironov.

Duck General Manager Jack Ferreira said he did not anticipate a deal being worked out before the arbitration in Karpa’s case.