'"It could have been," he said. "But they did what they had to do and I did what I had to do. For me, I wanted to be here for the long term. I think I made that clear in a lot of ways and it didn't happen. The money was good and stuff, but I can't sign a deal like that. You see what happens in the NHL. A person (Richard Zednik) almost lost his life here a couple of weeks ago. The time table is short and you have to look out for No.1."'