Over the past week all of the
movement to be buyers has come out of the Western Conference due to how close
the standings are right now. Another
Western Conference team, the Dallas Stars, might just hold the key to how the
rest of the trade market shapes up before the deadline in whether or not they
make Brad Richards available within the next two weeks. Compared to the other players said to be in
the market right now, Richards would clearly be the best available commodity
out there. Many of the other players
that are rumored to be possibly available have concerns (injury, salary) that
make them less attractive to perspective teams or just lack that ability to
fully change the race like Richards does to be worth the asking price.
This season he was an All-Star
selection and has produced 24 goals, 39 assists and 63 points in 56 games this
season. He would clearly be the best
available commodity on the market and his Conn Smythe history would only make
him more valuable to acquiring teams.
The question now is whether he will be made available before the
deadline comes?
When the 2010-11 season began it
was all but assumed that come the deadline Brad Richards would be on the
trading block and teams would be lining up to sign him. The rumors started early in the year, but
what the rumors did not account for was the surprising start the Dallas Stars would
get off to, led by Richards, and their ability to sustain it.
Last month, with the Stars
competing for the top spot in the West and with a comfortable lead in their
division, they went out and made a buyers type move when they acquired Jamie
Langenbrunner from the Devils. When that
move was made I said that the trade rumors surrounding Richards would come to
an end because Dallas was making a statement that they were all in for this year. The team responded beautifully following the
trade, with a five game winning streak, but since struggles have hit their
performance and with the Western Conference as tight as it is, maybe it is time
to rethink whether Richards will be available after all.
With the tight race in the West
and the uncertainty regarding ownership, along with uncertainty if Richards
would stay, can the Stars really risk losing Richards for nothing this summer
and not making the playoffs? Would the
better move for the long term health of the organization be to deal Richards to
the highest bidder and set up the team with players, prospects and picks for
the clear prime target that would be on the trade market? That is the delicate decision that now awaits
Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk.
Currently Dallas still sits in
first place in the Pacific Division, but they have lost seven of nine games
which has left them tied in points with Anaheim, but ahead due to having played
one less game. The team is also a mere three
points over last place Los Angeles.
Their standing in the West Conference is similar as they are currently
third with 68 points, but only three points from being out of the playoffs
altogether.
ESPN’s Pierre Lebrun took on whether
the recent slide might make them move him instead of risking getting nothing this
past Friday in his Crosschecks
Blog:
But if the Stars are only one or two points clear of the
danger zone come Feb. 28, do they not at least seek out what kind of package is
out there for Richards, something that potentially could set up the Stars for
five years?
Richards has a no-movement clause, but I'm guessing if the
right team calls, he might be willing to waive it. Take Boston, for example.
The B's now are armed with the Marc Savard
cap savings and could offer him a chance at a Cup run.
Boston, as used in Lebrun’s
hypothetical, certainly has the potential to offer a huge package for Richards
as they might have the best trading chip out there right now; Toronto’s first
round pick, acquired in the Phil Kessel trade.
A package that included a likely top 5 if not certainly top 10 selection
in the draft would go a long way to meeting the price tag that LeBrun said
Dallas would require to move him.
Obviously Boston would not be
the only team interested in the services of Brad Richards as New York, Toronto,
Los Angeles and possibly even Pittsburgh would inquire among others in the
asking price for the former Conn Smythe Award Winner. His inclusion would also have a domino effect
on the entire rest of the market both in terms of price and interest. If you are a team that is looking to buy to
make a run this season, Richards is the only elite player whose acquisition can
take a team to that next level of contention.
The next week will likely define
how available the Stars and general manager Joe Nieuwendyk make Richards
because he is unlikely to get caught flat footed by waiting until the last day
to see what is out there to be had.
When players like Mike Fisher, who is a good player, but more of a second
line type player, receives a return of a 1st round pick in 2011 and conditional
2nd or 3rd in 2012, the amount that the Stars could get to build their future
might be too tempting not to move him before the deadline on February 28.
The decision will not be entirely
Nieuwendyk’s to make because as Lebrun points out Richards has full control of
whether he wants to go and where he would accept the move to. This is one of those decisions that shapes a
franchise for years to come because you either roll the dice and hope you come
up lucky or in essence you fold the cards on this year to better control the
cards you will have to play in the future. While they decide in Dallas the trade market
really lacks that game changing target for everyone to go after.
