The San Jose Sharks were in there pitching, as were the Calgary Flames, but in the end, the New York Rangers won the bidding war for ex-Ottawa Senators defenceman Wade Redden, signing him to a six-year contract, worth $39-million (all currency U.S.).
That matches the $6.5-million that Redden earned from the Senators last year and means he didn't need to take a pay cut, even after enduring a sub-par 38-point season, one of the poorest of his NHL career.
However, Redden thought he could bounce back in New York, telling TSN: "I'm coming off a year I can definitely build on to say the least and I'm looking forward to going to a new team and having a fresh start. I'll be ready to roll come September."
The Rangers also re-signed Michal Rozsival, one of their own free agents, to a four-year, $20-million contract, thus bolstering a comparatively weak defence corps. The Rangers were also said to be in the bidding for one of the three premier forwards Jaromir Jagr, Marian Hossa and Mats Sundin and were hoping to land one, which would effectively cap them out for the upcoming season.
The Senators, meanwhile, will be in the market to replace Redden with a free-agent defenceman at some point later in the week.







