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Following a discussion on the message boards here last week and Tom Jones's much talked about piece for the Times, I've decided to give my thoughts on a potential Brad Richards return/buyout. For the record, Richards was my favorite member of the Lightning during that '04 run and one of the big reasons that I'm so invested in this team today.
From the moment John Tortorella’s New York Rangers were eliminated from the playoff picture just a few days ago, the hockey world has been abuzz with the thought that Brad Richards might be bought out once the amnesty period rolls around. Considering his struggles in Manhattan, culminating with him being a healthy scratch when the Rangers’s season ended, it’s not all that hard to imagine Richards being a free agent sooner rather than later. Since Tom Jones, a noted sports columnist with the Tampa Bay Times,
wrote a piece discussing a potential return to Tampa for Brad Richards, Bolts Nation has been in frenzy. Opinions have been thrown around and reaction has been mixed, but the ultimate question is whether or not Brad Richards could be a fit with the 2013-14 Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Lightning and its fans know Richards and his skill set intimately. After being drafted 64th overall by the team all the way back in 1998, Richards went on to become one of the Lightning’s most prolific offensive weapons over the course of his eight year career with the team. Climaxing with his Conn Smythe Trophy win during the Bolts’s Stanley Cup run in 2004, Richards had a storied career with the franchise and will always be a special part of hockey history in the state of Florida.
After being dealt to the Dallas Stars during the 2007-08 season, Richards continued to produce at an incredibly high level. With 227 points in 220 games as a Star, he cemented himself as one of the National Hockey League’s elite offensive forces. It was that production which earned him a nine year, 60 million dollar contract with the New York Rangers during the summer of 2011. He was wooed by teams from all over the league, but ultimately he decided that the Big Apple was the right fit.
Fast-forward two seasons and things look a whole lot different. With a 12 million dollar salary paid out in the first year of Richards's contract, the Rangers expected big things from him. Tallying 66 points in his first season on Broadway, Richards’s production was hardly anything to sneeze at, but it’s probably fair to say that the Rangers wanted more. During the lockout shortened season, nothing changed as Richards only managed to score 34 points in 46 games. Good production? Absolutely. Elite production? Not so much.
As mentioned, Richards was scratched during the Rangers’s second round playoff series against the Boston Bruins. John Tortorella simply thought that the Rangers minus Richards had a better chance to win than the Rangers with Richards. Given all that the two gentlemen have been through together, that turn of events was quite an indictment. Since then, buyout rumors have been popping up left, right, and center.
Anyone who looks at the Lightning’s roster understands that this team is developing young players with the intention of being a really solid team for a really long time. That being said, every young team needs some veteran leadership. With Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis leading the way in that category, it reasons to suggest that Brad Richards would fit right in. Remember, it was Richards who powered the Lightning to the Stanley Cup with those two gentlemen just under one decade ago. While he’s certainly lost a step since that magical run, it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Richards would not help the Lightning both off the ice and out on it.
This Lightning team is completely void of scoring depth. With all due respect to Ryan Malone, the Lightning need to add another top-six forward. After St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, and Steven Stamkos, the cupboard is simply bare when it comes to proven scorers. While dressing young players is all fine and good, the reality is that this team needs help. Adding a player like Brad Richards would immediately create one of the more dynamic top six forward cores in the National Hockey League. Consider, for a moment, a top six consisting of Stamkos, St. Louis, Lecavalier, and Richards. Add to those names two youngsters or Teddy Purcell, and the Lightning would be one terrifying animal for oppositions to handle.
Of course, as of right now, none of this is any more than speculation. Richards remains under contract with the New York Rangers, and all teams are bound by the Collective Bargaining Agreement to respect that. However, it’s not against the rules to imagine a reunion of sorts involving Brad Richards and the Tampa Bay Lightning. If the Rangers do indeed buy out the 33 year old forward from Prince Edward Island, it would be wise for Steve Yzerman and Co. to pick up the phone and have a conversation. With dollars in his pocket thanks to the Rangers, Richards could potentially be had for a very affordable price. Given all the success he had in this market, it’s hard to imagine that he doesn’t have any desire to return.
Perhaps in order to take that next step forward, the Lightning need to take one big leap back in the time machine. As Jones put it in his piece, the “bottom line: Richards remains a productive NHL player.” If the Lightning is truly gunning for a playoff spot next season, it would behoove management to acquire a proven, productive player or two. Brad Richards would fit right in.
As a community here at HockeyBuzz, we’ve discussed this possibility a little bit. Like I said, reaction has been mixed. With that said, the job of a good management team is to explore every possible option to make the team better. If Richards does get bought out by the New York Rangers, is there anyone who doesn’t think that he would make the Lightning even just a little bit better? There are some who believe that Richards's time in Tampa has come and gone; however, take a look at the free agent market and ask yourself if there's a better fit for this group. The question now is whether or not this speculation has any place in the Lightning’s reality.
As always, thanks for reading.
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