Contracted (In A Good Way)

In sports, it can take a while to close a book on a trade, whether it was good or bad for a team.

In the case of the Blues' move in December 2007, which brought in Andy McDonald and sent Doug Weight to Anaheim, the book was reopened again on Monday.

McDonald, 31, signed a four-year, $18.8 million contract extension with the Blues, a signature that without the trade might have been unlikely this summer in free agency.

But after playing 49 games with the Blues last season, and 16 more this year before fracturing his ankle, McDonald said he became comfortable with the idea of being in St. Louis.

"There's a number of things you have to consider when you are negotiating a contract and certainly (the young talent in St. Louis) was one of the biggest," McDonald said. "You look at the team, and the potential for success down the road, even this year, and that was a big reason.

"I'm really happy here. I've been treated well, it's a good spot for my family, so there were a lot of real important reasons to stay and so I was really happy to re-sign."

The contract for McDonald, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, will average $4.7 million a season. The actual money being paid is $5.2 million each of the first two years and $4.2 million in the final two years.

You gotta like this. McDonald was going to get plenty of attention in free agency, so even if you might have been able to get him more cheaply it might not have been worth the risk that someone else might throw even more money at him.

Additionally, in terms of this team at this time in its development it makes sense to keep McDonald around. When healthy he would still be the number one center for the Blues, and at $4.2 million he's a perfect number two center when Berglund is ready to move into that number one role.

It also says a lot that McDonald believes so strongly in the young talent the Blues have in the organization.

The Blues are not amkign many missteps as an organization these days. It makes me afraid I won't have enough to bitch about.

I'll take it anyway.

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