Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Another Player Run Out Of Town ... Senators Lose Redden To New York


I use the word "lose" because I believe the Senators lost one of their core players today, and one that gave his heart and soul to this franchise over the years.

Despite the jubilation that is sure to come from some of the more boneheaded fans who choose to believe rumour and innuendo and brush away over ten years of achievement with an anonymous message board comment, the loss of Wade Redden should be considered a sad day for this franchise.

The Senators have made the playoffs every year since Redden began playing and he was the first player in Senators history to buy his own box (Wade's World) and donate the seats to charity on a permanent basis.

.How soon the fans forget great moments like Redden pointing to his family in the stands after a 2006 Senators playoff victory and the tragic death of his mother, Pat.

.Going to New York, he'll be leaving behind his best friend in Chris Phillips but more importantly, he'll be leaving a fanbase who practically booed him out of town for refusing to waive his no-trade clause (twice!) because he wanted to win in Ottawa.

Hopefully there are still a few fans in Bytown with enough class to cheer Redden the next time he comes to town in Rangers colours.

.He deserves a better send off than the raspberry he got from the rumour mongers posing as hockey fans who are more obsessed with players personal lives dissected on message boards and blogs than they are with the game itself.
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Jason Spezza... you're the next pinata. Good luck.
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My advice: Don't be seen anywhere in Ottawa having fun or you're just asking for trouble.

1 comment:

Ben said...

I paid attention to the play on the ice, and that was precisely the problem for Redden this past season.

Charitable causes aside, for these past two seasons, Redden did not earn his very inflated paycheque - I'm surprised that NY would pay him as much.