Defenseman Brad Stuart won’t be returning to the West Coast
after all.
The Detroit Red Wings re-signed Stuart to a four year
contract worth $3.75 million per season.
It was reported the Wings want to re-sign him for less than
$3.5 million, which was rumored to be his asking price, leading to speculation
he would hit the open market today.
Evidently nudging the price up by $250K per season was enough to seal the deal.
It’s a good signing for both clubs, as Stuart regained his
form playing for the Wings after they acquired him from the Kings at the trade
deadline and was a key factor in their Stanley Cup run this spring.
Much-traveled defenseman Brad Stuart is on the move again.
After bouncing since last season from Boston to Calgary to the LA Kings, today the Kings shipped Stuart to the Detroit Red Wings for second and fourth round picks.
Stuart was once considered a promising young defenseman with all the tools to be a star in the NHL during his years with the San Jose Sharks, but he’s never been the same since the Sharks dealt him to the Boston Bruins in the Joe Thornton trade in the 2005-06 season.
Signed by the Kings this summer as a free agent by GM Dean Lombardi, who drafted Stuart when he was GM of the Sharks, he had 21 points in 63 games but was a minus player defensively. He’d struggled in the first half of the season but seemed to show improvement in recent weeks.
The Wings have been racked by injuries in recent weeks and mired in a lengthy slump. Stuart had been one of the players they were believed interested in heading into the deadline.
It remains to be seen how Stuart will adjust but playing on a deeper club like the Wings despite their recent struggles could take some pressure off his shoulders and help him regain some confidence. If so he could become a good depth addition for the Wings down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Brad Stuart is heading back to California and a reunion with Dean Lombardi.
The LA Kings announced today the signing of defenseman Brad Stuart to a one-year, $3.5 million contract.
This signing wasn't unexpected, since Lombardi as general manager of the San Jose Sharks drafted Stuart third overall in the 1998 entry draft and he played for the Sharks from 1999 until November 30th, 2005, when he was dealt along with Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau to Boston for Joe Thornton by Lombardi's successor Doug Wilson.
Stuart was projected as a cornerstone defenseman with the Sharks but his short tenure with the Bruins and later the Calgary Flames was uneventful at best and hurt his market value, which explains the short tenure and relatively low salary.
Still, it would be a mistake to write him off. He may not have the temperment to handle the pressure and responsibility of being a team's number one d-man but he does have the skills to be a number two or three man with the right team.
Lombardi is betting that his rebuilding Kings are that team.
The Bruins Saturday night shipped Stuart, along with forward Wayne Primeau and a conditional draft pick to the Calgary Flames in exchange for defenseman Andrew Ference and forward Chuck Kobesaw.
The Bruins were expected to deal Stuart to a Western Conference team but many believed that team to be the Flames rivals, the Edmonton Oilers.
By acquiring these two, the Flames have bolstered their defensive depth in what can be seen as a serious move for another run at the Stanley Cup.
Stuart joins an already impressive Flames blueline corps, and his two-way play should help take some of the load off Dion Phaneuf and Roman Hamrlik. Primeau is an experienced checking line forward whose grit should be invaluable down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Both Stuart and Primeau are unrestricted free agents this summer and weren’t in the Bruins future plans. One or both could end up as merely playoff rentals for the Flames this season, depending on their performance in the upcoming post-season.
Like Stuart, Hamrlik is an unrestricted free agent this summer, so it’s possible GM Darryl Sutter was thinking beyond this spring’s playoffs with this move. If Hamrlik opts to move on, Sutter could replace him with Stuart.
In return, the Bruins are receiving two good, young and affordable players, who could still blossom into stars in their own right. Kobesaw has good speed and shows a promising scoring touch whilst Ference plays a very good physical style.
Their combined salaries are worth less than Stuart’s was for this season and both are signed for next season, giving Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli the cap space to either make more additions at the trade deadline, or to go shopping for more depth in this summer’s free agent market.
As for the Oilers, their search for a puckmoving defenseman, or any player who can bolster their sagging playoff hopes, goes on.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
