TSN is reporting that the Senators and Wade Redden have come to terms on a new two-year contract worth $13 million. An official announcement is expected soon.
Three thoughts:
1) That's a lot of paper. If Redden is worth $6.5 mil, what will Chara get on the open market, as that seems to be where he's headed? While I believe Redden is a superior defenceman and more important to the success of the Sens, I seem to be in the minority on this as the general consensus throughout the NHL appears to be that Chara is the better of the two. So if that's the case, surely he's looking at $7 million.
2) Did Redden give them a discount of any sort? At $6.5 mil, I'd say no. It's funny because I thought, given how the team supported him during the difficult time when his mother was dying, he would. Not that he should have, so don't get it twisted, just that he would. Was it him saying "if all dollars are equal, I'll come back"?
3) Why only a two-year deal? Was that Redden's preference or the team's? Is that good or bad? I would've thought you'd want to lock him up for more years than that, as in four or five, so you don't have this to deal with for a while, but maybe a shorter contract is better. I'm still mulling over this one.
Either way, I'm just glad Wade Redden isn't going anywhere.
As a fan, he's one of those guys I look at as our own, and though Redden wasn't born here nor was he raised, I see him as an Ottawa guy. We've seen him develop from the clumsy and often frustrating rearguard to a premiere blueliner and it's been a joy to watch.
This is in contrast to Chara, who I view as a sort of outsider. He didn't start his career here in Ottawa, and while he certainly came into his own a Senator, he's still not a Sen through and through the way guys like Redden, Chris Phillips, Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher, and Chris Neil are. That's not his fault, as he didn't ask to be drafted by such a joke of an organization, but that's simply how I feel.
Perhaps my REDDEN>CHARA sentiment just comes down to that.
I do think it's about what they bring as players, but maybe subconsciously, I just didn't want to lose one of our guys.
Three thoughts:
1) That's a lot of paper. If Redden is worth $6.5 mil, what will Chara get on the open market, as that seems to be where he's headed? While I believe Redden is a superior defenceman and more important to the success of the Sens, I seem to be in the minority on this as the general consensus throughout the NHL appears to be that Chara is the better of the two. So if that's the case, surely he's looking at $7 million.
2) Did Redden give them a discount of any sort? At $6.5 mil, I'd say no. It's funny because I thought, given how the team supported him during the difficult time when his mother was dying, he would. Not that he should have, so don't get it twisted, just that he would. Was it him saying "if all dollars are equal, I'll come back"?
3) Why only a two-year deal? Was that Redden's preference or the team's? Is that good or bad? I would've thought you'd want to lock him up for more years than that, as in four or five, so you don't have this to deal with for a while, but maybe a shorter contract is better. I'm still mulling over this one.
Either way, I'm just glad Wade Redden isn't going anywhere.
As a fan, he's one of those guys I look at as our own, and though Redden wasn't born here nor was he raised, I see him as an Ottawa guy. We've seen him develop from the clumsy and often frustrating rearguard to a premiere blueliner and it's been a joy to watch.
This is in contrast to Chara, who I view as a sort of outsider. He didn't start his career here in Ottawa, and while he certainly came into his own a Senator, he's still not a Sen through and through the way guys like Redden, Chris Phillips, Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher, and Chris Neil are. That's not his fault, as he didn't ask to be drafted by such a joke of an organization, but that's simply how I feel.
Perhaps my REDDEN>CHARA sentiment just comes down to that.
I do think it's about what they bring as players, but maybe subconsciously, I just didn't want to lose one of our guys.
