The worst kept secret in the National Hockey League is that the New York
Rangers have interest in signing Brad Richards this summer. In this morning’s New York Post, Larry Brooks suggests that the Rangers trade
their 57th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft to the Dallas Stars so that
they can gain a measure of advantage in that chase.
This is the time for the Rangers to get Richards to New York, to get him acquainted with the organization. This is the time for the club's medical staff to conduct its due diligence. This is the time for conversations about the contract, when there is time for give-and-take and careful consideration as opposed to a few hours of sometimes panicky offers, counter-offers and ultimatums.Maybe Richards will want no more than five years, a term that should be perfectly acceptable. Maybe Richards will be willing to play for $6 million or so if he sees taking that deal would allow the Rangers to retain maneuverability on the market. Let's face it, coming off a five-year contract worth $39 million, Richards doesn't have to suck down every nickel that will be thrown at him.
The obvious advantage would be that the Rangers would gain exclusive
negotiating rights with Richards before July 1 instead of having to wait until
he hit the open market and being part of the frenzy. The questions with this plan are not with
what the Rangers would or could get out of it, but what is really to be gained
for either Dallas or Richards to go along with it.
The biggest obstacle to Richards going back to Dallas all year has been the
instability in their ownership situation, but now it is getting closer to being
resolved which should only add to their confidence in potentially getting a
deal done. The Stars refused to lower
the asking price for Richards at the trade deadline believing they could bring
him back long term so there is no reason to realistically believe that they
would settle for a mere late second round pick for him now.
In terms of Richards himself, being just over one month away from being the
biggest fish in a very weak free agent market, there appears to be little
incentive for him to sign on to a deal with anyone before July 1, unless
massively overpaid.
If it could be done for the scenario that Brooks is proposing here, then the
Rangers should certainly do so, but there appears to be little to no incentive
for the other two parties that would have to agree for it to happen.
