It's hardly newsworthy to state the fact that the Flames and Denis Gauthier are going to arbitration, at least on the surface.

The surly defender opted for arbitration back on July 15th, with a date set for August 1st to have his case heard.

Quite often the hearing can be avoided with the arbitration date acting as a cattle prod to get both sides to the table and work things out - as was the case with Aki Berg in Toronto among others this week.

It's when the actual arbitration case occurs that the problems may and have started.

QR77 reported last night that the two sides are roughly $400 thousand dollars apart in negotiations, and that both sides don't see a deal being consummated before the arbitration date set for Thursday.

Where the sides sit on either side of the $400 thousand chasm is anyone's guess, but with a player that will likely end up in the $1.2 million range, the difference represents close to 30% of his salary.

If the Flames have come in at his qualifying offer of $742,500, look for Gauthier to come away the victor as a number over $1.1 million would certainly make sense.

Conversely, if the Flames have offered $1.2 million, Gauthier's camp is way over stating the player's position in the market place, and they will likely find that out once the arbitration results come down.

Quite likely the two sides are sitting on either side of a $1.2 million fulcrum, leaving the arbitrator to simply split the difference.

Which brings us to the arbitration process itself.

The hearing guarantees Gauthier's presence at camp and that he will start the season in a Calgary uniform - that's the good news.

What the process doesn't guarantee is the state of mind of both parties coming out of a stare down that has tended to strain relations around the league in the past.

In order to "win" in an arbitration case, a team must prove a player isn't as valuable as said player is stating. A general manager has to literally turn on one of his most valuable assets.

It's been stated that Button's tactics will be a little less "bull in a China shop" than his Vancouver counterpart Brian Burke who made headlines by using words like "alley", "kick" and "groin" to describe the upcoming arbitration case with centerman Brendan Morrison.

With Gauthier it will likely come down to a much more pleasant experience with the stated facts showing a hard working, low scoring defender, that means about as much to his team as any fourth defenceman could.

However, if Gauthier's camp is coming in much too high or if the Flames in an attempt to hold their budget feel the need to stick it to the player, things can get ugly.

Doug Risebrough, when he was the GM of the Calgary Flames, essentially signed the death warrant for Joe Niewendyk's career in Calgary, questioning the captain's character and stomach for playing in traffic.

Niewendyk was coming off of two knee surgeries, and was playing a more "careful" game, but to suggest a team's captain lacks character was clearly going to far to win an arbitration case.

Niewendyk was eventually dealt to the Dallas Stars in the deal that landed Jarome Iginla for the Flames. At a glance the deal appears to have worked out great for both teams, but between the 1995 trade and now the Flames have missed the playoffs six times. Losing veteran talent like Niewendyk had everything to do with that.

Recently the New Jersey Devils paved the path that took Bobby Holik across the river to the Rangers by attacking him at the arbitration hearing. You just can't hack into a player, and then expect him to throw his life down for the cause a few weeks later.

A very popular story with media types is the infamous Long Island case that had Mike Milbury literally bring then Islander goaltender Tommy Salo to tears.

Last summer the Flames went to arbitration with Fred Brathwaite, with Brathwaite coming out the clear winner.

He was traded a year later, with the contract possibly being a factor in his departure.

The sad thing?

It doesn't or at least shouldn't have to be this way.

Why not alter the format of arbitration hearings and have both sides present their case in private meetings with the arbitrator? Would purpose does it serve for Brendan Morrison to hear Brian Burke calling him a career contract headache with the muscle development of a junior high school girl?

Similarly, why does Denis Gauthier have to be in the room when Button utters a case along the lines of "he's a great guy, and a valuable asset to our team, but he has hands of stone and he's clearly made of porcelain"?

To avoid these problems the NHL should have the arbitrator sit down with both sides separately, and privately.

Then when Bobby H0lik has his contract come in a million dollars below where he felt it should he can blame the arbitrator having not heard Lou Lamoriello tell everyone that he's "just a second line center".

A winning hockey team needs an "all for one, one for all" mantra, with its players caring deeply about the crest they don on their chests.

Every player plays a role and has a sense of pride in their contribution level to the big picture, which in pro sports is winning.

Better to have each of these players feeling secure with their organizations than looking to get dealt because of hard feelings from an arbitration case.

Otherwise a team will face huge challenges when the puck is dropped in October.