Methot out of the hunt
Feb 16, 2015 12:49:47 GMT -5
Post by franko on Feb 16, 2015 12:49:47 GMT -5
signs for 4 years
Both sides made sacrifices and swallowed some pride, but in the end Ottawa Senators defenceman Marc Methot and the organization found their happy place.
It came in the form of the four-year, $19.6 million contract extension the 29-year-old signed Monday, keeping Erik Karlsson’s defence partner from testing unrestricted free agency in the summer and removing all the tension of the looming March 2 trade deadline.
“For me, it’s a privilege to be able to play in Ottawa and play in front of my family and friends,” said Methot, who could likely have earned a bigger payday on the open market if he chose not to re-sign here.
The signing also ended an oftentimes acrimonious negotiation, going all the way back to last summer, and a frustrating fall and early winter when Methot was dealing with a mysterious back/hip injury which kept him out of the Senators lineup. The deal was consummated Sunday between Senators general manager Bryan Murray and Mike Liut. Liut took over the file following the retirement of Larry Kelly, Methot’s original agent.
“There was doubt, sometimes, that’s for sure, I would be lying if I said otherwise,” said Methot. “At the same time, for me, I wasn’t playing. I spent the first half of the season watching the guys play and certainly when discussing your future and contract stuff, that gets put aside until you get healthy.
“Finally, when I got back healthy, we got back to the (bargaining) table and my agent starting working again and working with the team and we figured it out.”
Methot acknowledges dealing with some nerves in the past few weeks, knowing that Murray was entertaining trade offers in the event a deal couldn’t be reached. As an Ottawa boy, Methot wasn’t far from the friends and family regularly asking him about the everyday reports.
“As (the trade deadline) was approaching, the idea of that happening was becoming more real,” he said. “Everything is magnified that much more when you’re from the town you’re playing for and all that attention can get to you a little sometimes. It can be a distraction, but the most important thing for me was not letting it creep into the team and affecting the play. I’m sure, obviously, we would like to be in a better position, but I don’t think I let it affect that.”
Both sides made sacrifices and swallowed some pride, but in the end Ottawa Senators defenceman Marc Methot and the organization found their happy place.
It came in the form of the four-year, $19.6 million contract extension the 29-year-old signed Monday, keeping Erik Karlsson’s defence partner from testing unrestricted free agency in the summer and removing all the tension of the looming March 2 trade deadline.
“For me, it’s a privilege to be able to play in Ottawa and play in front of my family and friends,” said Methot, who could likely have earned a bigger payday on the open market if he chose not to re-sign here.
The signing also ended an oftentimes acrimonious negotiation, going all the way back to last summer, and a frustrating fall and early winter when Methot was dealing with a mysterious back/hip injury which kept him out of the Senators lineup. The deal was consummated Sunday between Senators general manager Bryan Murray and Mike Liut. Liut took over the file following the retirement of Larry Kelly, Methot’s original agent.
“There was doubt, sometimes, that’s for sure, I would be lying if I said otherwise,” said Methot. “At the same time, for me, I wasn’t playing. I spent the first half of the season watching the guys play and certainly when discussing your future and contract stuff, that gets put aside until you get healthy.
“Finally, when I got back healthy, we got back to the (bargaining) table and my agent starting working again and working with the team and we figured it out.”
Methot acknowledges dealing with some nerves in the past few weeks, knowing that Murray was entertaining trade offers in the event a deal couldn’t be reached. As an Ottawa boy, Methot wasn’t far from the friends and family regularly asking him about the everyday reports.
“As (the trade deadline) was approaching, the idea of that happening was becoming more real,” he said. “Everything is magnified that much more when you’re from the town you’re playing for and all that attention can get to you a little sometimes. It can be a distraction, but the most important thing for me was not letting it creep into the team and affecting the play. I’m sure, obviously, we would like to be in a better position, but I don’t think I let it affect that.”
