Chicago Blackhawks re-sign Jamal Mayers and Johnny Oduya -NHL Update
Chicago Blackhawks have officially kicked off their offseason work as the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise announced the signing of veteran forward, Jamal Mayers, and defenseman, Johnny Oduya, to a one-year and three-year contract extension respectively
on Tuesday, May 29, 2012.
The move saved both players from becoming unrestricted free agents later on in July of 2012, which would certainly have them struggling for a deal with other teams. This way, both Mayers and Oduya were able to stay with their team of choice.
"For me, it wasn't too much to think about," Oduya said. "I had a good time last year even if it ended a little bit quicker than I wanted to."
While the official financial terms and conditions of the deals between the team and players were not released, Oduya’s deal is believed to be worth $3.375 million while Mayers will be making $650,000.
Signing them on is not something Chicago Blackhawks did to keep the players participating with the same level of dedication like previous seasons, but it is reported that the team has set strict standards for both players, especially Mayers.
Mayers was given a one-year deal and will need to prove his worth in order to get a better one next time around.
"Once you take a step back and you take a look at the whole year, I thought it was a good fit, both for myself and the Hawks," Mayers said. "You try to look at the whole season and not just how things ended."
"They're on the road to recovery," Chicago Blackhawks’ general manager, Stan Bowman, said. "We're certainly optimistic come September they'll be ready to play. ... We're sitting here in May, so it's hard to predict that."
Mayers picked up 15 points (6 goals, 9 assists) in 81 games played while Oduya had five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in just 18 games played after being traded by Winnipeg Jets during the final parts of the 2011-2012 NHL regular season.
Seeing both players back on the line-up and performing above par will certainly be exciting, especially since Chicago Blackhawks have set much higher goals for the upcoming season.
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