The New York Rangers interest in bringing Brad Richards into
the fold was much of the talk of last season’s trade market, but no deal was
ever finalized to bring the 31-year-old center to New York at that time. According to Larry Brooks at the New York Post,
Richards was the one who refused to come in a trade because of the asking price
that Dallas was giving New York to move him.
Richards could have come to the Rangers last year at the trade deadline. But, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation, he declined to waive his no-move clause when he learned of the bounty (three Grade A assets) the Stars were demanding in return, not wanting the Blueshirts to be diluted upon his arrival.
While it is unlikely that Glen Sather would have met an
asking price as high as the one Brooks is speculating about here, it is great
to see that Richards knew he wanted to be a Ranger and decided to use the power
of his no-trade clause to ensure that the team would be worth coming to for the
long-term. It was a smart move for
Richards given his stated desire to play for a contender, but not one that he
had to make if he was thinking about things through a self-centered lens. This is another small example of how Richards
is doing a lot to improve the Rangers off the ice through his leadership and
the dividends it is paying on it. Think
of this Rangers team if it was without Stepan or Anisimov from their forward
core or if Dallas had demanded McDonagh be involved from defense.
Richards knew that he wanted to be a Rangers and he knew
that he wanted to win. With those two
focuses clear in his mind he was willing to wait an extra few months to
relocate to Broadway and both sides are better because of it.
