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He’s tough, smart, fearless and will do whatever it takes to keep the puck out of his net.

But the rest of the league saw that, too, and his options this summer will be considerably greater than they were last off-season, when it took him until October to find a team.

If the Oilers aren’t looking for a different kind of player on that second pairing, would they be willing and able to compete with whatever offers come his way in July?

And to what extent would Russell be willing to accept a home-province discount?

Stay tuned. But as of right now, Russell says he wants to stick around.

“They showed faith in me by going out and signing me,” he said after the exit meetings and locker clean out on Friday. “I love playing here. It’s a first class organization. They treat you very well. The group inside is great. I think this team obviously has a bright future. I wish we were still playing, but I think this team grew a lot.”

There is no question Russell played himself into a significantly stronger bargaining position during his year here. The question now is what he plans to do with it. Or whether somebody else might give him a Godfather contract — an offer he can’t refuse.

“With the signing and all that stuff, I’ll let my agent deal with that,” said Russell, who made $3.1 million this season. “Obviously I’d like to come back but there is a business side to this and you never know what’s going to happen.”

Russell, who grew up in Carolina, Alta., would like to stay close to home, but he also understands it takes two to make a deal, and even then the math sometimes gets in the way.

“(The Oilers) have to make decisions too, the brass here,” he said. “But I’m an Oiler and I’m not going to look past that until I’m told otherwise or come July 1 maybe (if something else happens).

“I want to be here. I’m not worried about other teams, I want to be an Oiler. I enjoyed my time here extremely well. The fans and the people, it’s a great city to play in.”

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rtychkowski@postmedia.com