With a new season upon us, we collectively recover from summer BBQ hangovers and World Cup mania to look at what has become of our roster over the past few months. There are several players who played big roles only last season and who now find themselves without a CCHL team to play for. Here are a few of the notable examples:
Wade Redden: Most recently with the Honved in Budapest, Redden was very recently considered a top 4 defenceman and was paid as such. And here is where the problem begins. Currently making over $6.0 million per year, Redden's play has deteriorated to the point that he can't even crack the New York Rangers line-up, let alone regain his former glory. In order to squeeze under the salary cap the Ranger have left Redden to wallow in the AHL with their Hartford farm team making him the highest paid player in AHL history. He's also currently hunting for a CCHL home as well, but at that price, not likely to find one.
Jeff Finger: Also formerly with Budapest, Jeff finds himself in almost an identical situation to Wade Redden above. Insert Toronto instead of Hartford, and $4 million instead of $6 million, but the net result is the same.
Jiri Hudler: Jiri took a one year vacation last season in the Russian KHL with Moscow Dynamo with whom he signed while he waited for his arbitration hearing with the NHL. However, the Dynamo couldn't hang onto him and released him after just one season. Just a few days later the much storied Russian team ceased operations and Jiri has since returned to the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings. He'll be back on the disc next year but judging by his play so far this season, he might not have much of a role to play with the Black Wings.
Todd White: Last CCHL season, White was the #1 centre with the Winnipeg Ferrets and managed to score at a point a game pace and lead the team in assists; oh the glory. Now Todd can't find a CCHL job. It seems that his point totals were directly related to his line-mate relationship with Ilya Kovalchuk and once Ilya went to New Jersey, Todd's true colours shone through and his point totals drop by two-thirds. The Thrashers traded White to the Rangers for spare parts where he plays now and again but his usefulness in the CCHL is no longer.
