If i had to pick one, i would take Redden, but there is no doubt in my mind that both should be there. I just think that what redden does for this team goes highly unnoticed. Not to take anything away from chara. I still see them as 1aa and 1a. See, so close they are only separated by a single vowel
I picked Chara as well. The last few weeks in particular has simply exemplified how physically dominant he can be. His cannon from the point and his poke check (reach) are tools that are proving to be priceless. The scariest part is the upside that Chara still holds.
I'd go with Reds...he's been consistently good all year whereas Chara started out poorly. Mind you, if I wanted a player for one game right this very second, it would be Chara as he has been dominant the last few weeks.
Much as I love Chara, I have to go with the somewhat bureaucratic idea that an all-star selection should be on the merit of the entire half-season, not just what has happened in the past few weeks. IMO Redden has been the more consistently good of the two, and should probably get the nod if it comes down to one or the other.
Personally, I think they should both be there, though - the fan voting this year was pretty embarassing, and will cost a couple of very good players a chance at making it to this year's team. Yet another example of fan voting being a pretty suspect way of determining things... you don't often see an elected starting centre from an NHL all-star team considering declining based on the poorness of his play.
