***I apologize for reporting ridiculously late on this news. It has been a hectic two weeks and I will do my best to expedite the breaking news and in giving my opinions.
Now, back to the important stuff...
Brendan Witt has officially been extended by the New York Islanders. The terms of the contract seem to be a two-year extension, valued at $3 Million per season. This extension will be kicking in after this season, where Brendan will receive $2,766,667.
While Garth Snow has repeatedly stated that the Islanders are entering into a youth movement, this is another saavy move by Snow. Not only has he locked up probably our best all-around defenseman, he also did it for relatively inexpensive. If Witt were to hit the UFA market, he could easily command $4 Million and above. I do not know if he took a slight discount in order to keep his family on Long Island for the next three years, or if he truly felt that this was his value, but I truly feel that Witt and Snow have reached an extremely reasonable deal. Witt is tremendous player, tremendous community guy, and a tremendous team-mate, and we should be very happy that he has decided to stick around with the Islanders. This may be an indication that he is buying into the youth movement and he knows that he could be a cornerstone for the youth movement that will be upon us in the next few seasons. His leadership will be a calming influence to the kids, as will his play on the ice. I am very excited to have a player of Witt's caliber and persona wearing an Islanders jersey, without ripping apart our salary cap.
As B.D. Galloff said on his HockeyBuzz blog last night, this will finally end the "Witt is in his last year of his contract, so let's trade him" status. Let's hope the "Witt is locked up, lets trade him" talks do not begin. He is very important, and although he could fetch a first rounder in my opinion, I would much rather keep Brendan Witt.
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