Red Wings re-sign Brad Stuart
MLive wrote:
Red Wings sign Stuart for four years, $3.75 million per
by Ansar Khan
Tuesday July 01, 2008, 12:05 PM
The Wings have signed defenseman Brad Stuart to a four-year deal worth $3.75 million a season. It's a slight raise from his $3.5 million salary last season. The deal also included a limited no-trade clause in the last two years of the contract.
Signing Stuart, 28, was the Wings' top priority heading into the free agency period, which began at noon today. He was the perfect partner for Niklas Kronwall on the second pairing, an ideal No. 4 defenseman who played a safe, stay-at-home game and provided a physical presence.
He showed his commitment to staying with a winning organization by taking less money than he could have received on the open market. The Wings ended up playing him a little more than they would have liked -- they were hoping to sign him for around the same $3 million salary that Kronwall makes. But it's a good deal for the Wings.
I'm happy now! The Wings have the best top 4 defense in the NHL and it isn't even close. But, they have 10 defensemen now (once Chelios re-signs), so who's going to go? Holland said that he will keep 8, so Ericsson wil probably go to Grand Rapids and he'll trade another. My guess is that it will be either Lebda or Quincey.
