I am not seeing anything out of Richards. I think he is exactly same Richards as last year. He sucks! Why didn't we buy him out? I think, so far I am most upset about that.
You're preaching to the choir there 2009, but, everyone wanted him back so I guess we'll see. I wouldn't say he's been good or bad so far, but I don't see much difference early on either. His skating and conditioning look better but we'll see what the production is.
I did not want him back..........but then again, I don't matter. Sather wants him, therefore Richards stays. Bad move in my book. Just a big name in a Ranger uniform. No leadership. Not a team player.
Agreed. Didnt want him back. Issue was everyone was saying no one out there was worth the money in FA. I woukd rather havr the cap space. the dimished mind of a soon to be 40 year old
I agree with you Al, Richards salary coupled with his anemic production, lack of defense or physicality make him the worst Ranger (hope he proves me wrong).
Not defending Richards but can we at least wait until we actually play1 game that counts before we say he will sukkkkk this year? Preseason is completely meaningless
As I mentioned earlier, the only positive of this move is if Stepan and Brassard really carry the load at center, Richards is having a good year, maybe they can deal him for a pick to a team he will play for that needs a veteran. Calgary comes to mind as they are horrible and need a legit vet. Anaheim is another possibility as they have nothing behind Perry and Getzlaf. They also have a ton of cap space coming off next year and 4 defenseman the year after that who I'm sure they could trade. Honestly, I don't know how they won games last year. I think it was a total fluke. I would not be surprised to see the Ducks be awful this season.
Keeping Richards is and will be a bad move, im just hoping he doesn't get injured and screw this team during the year. Stepan and Brassard are more then capable of being a 1 and 2 center combo, Lindberg impressed me alot during the preseason, as well as Fast. Even if Richards gets hot and is having a great year, i just dont see a team taking on his salary and years. Then again Montreal took Gomez, so anything is possible. I would like to see a trade as the roster is flooded with 3rd and 4th line talent and i would rather see some of the kids get a full year then let pyatt, boyle, asham, powe etc play, but from what I've read AV isnt exactly keen on using the younger guys.
Yep. If the Rangers could trade Gomez, anything is possible. I always say that a lot of teams can't attract vet free agents. While our fans might consider Richards useless with Stepan and Brassard here, a team like Calgary that has nothing probably would. Not to mention a team like Anaheim who really has nothing behind Getzlaf and Perry. I mean, Selanne is 43 and Koivu is 38. Richards is 33. The Panthers have no quality vet leadership and are 11 million under the cap. Campbell is due to come off the cap in 2 years with a 7 million cap hit.
Richards is pretty much untradeable Dump...Because of the cap recapture rule every GM out there knows there is a good chance NYR amnesty him. Richards at $3-4m cap hit is still an excellent player. We're in a bad spot w him.
If av is not going to play talented youth to get experience and develop and play mediocre veterans over them he may not be the coach I thought he was going to be. Kreider not on the big club at the start is a joke.
mrmel29, It doesn't matter who the coach is.......Sather still calling the shots. NY Rangers are an enigma, a mystery I do not think Sather can solve! This is year 14 of being Ranger GM. We shall see what we shall see......I see mediocrity. NY pro sports teams sukkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk !
Ok, Richards better not let me down. I let my fantasy team auto draft and i got stuck with him in the 8th round lol.
Not sure that's a good move...he isn't a speedster nor a grinder. .nor does he have a rocket of a shot. He is a playmaker who has slown down. the dimished mind of a soon to be 40 year old
I stand by what I said. I believe they will trade Richards. I stated that the Ducks have nothing behind Getzlaf and Perry and played way over their head all season. They got pummeled by the Av's in the opener 6-1. They have some cap room. They have no depth on that roster. They could send back Penner at 2 million who is a UFA at the end of the year to offset some of the money. When you look at the guys who are UFA next year for the Rangers(Lundqvist, Cally, Girardi, Brassard) and RFA(Moore), something will go down. Granted with other guys and if they amnesty Richards, their could be as much as 16 million coming off the cap. They have a ton of role players in the last year of their deal. Still,it doesn't add up which makes me think for the first time they may explore a MDZ trade. I'm thinking Calgary would potentially be a great partner for Richards and MDZ.
Why would richards agree to go to calgary? If I remember correctly when he was a free agent he let it br known he wantrd a east coast team. the dimished mind of a soon to be 40 year old
He definitely does have a no movement clause and I also can't see him agreeing to a trade to Calg....I think he'd rather take a buyout and sign somewhere else (while also getting his NYR paycheck) if Calg is his only choice via trade
