Richards signs with Rangers

[Ebenezer]

9 yrs. at 58.5 million. The Sabres could have afforded that but I bet the reports yesterday were true - he was willing to give the Rangers the chance to match any offer - and they did. He wanted to play there.

[chernobylwraiths]

I wish free agents would just shut the F up when it comes down to free agency sometimes. All the, "I want to play for a contender", "I want to go to a place without a lot of media (unconfirmed)" and "I will give every offer serious consideration" is all crap sometimes. I know it is a "game" they play, but they could still do it without giving fans false hope. It came out almost immediately that he wanted the Rangers and that they had the last shot at it.

[Ebenezer]

I wish free agents would just shut the F up when it comes down to free agency sometimes. All the, "I want to play for a contender", "I want to go to a place without a lot of media (unconfirmed)" and "I will give every offer serious consideration" is all crap sometimes. I know it is a "game" they play, but they could still do it without giving fans false hope. It came out almost immediately that he wanted the Rangers and that they had the last shot at it.
"A lot of media" can be translated - I want to go where I can escape the local media. Very hard to do in Buffalo even if we only had one newspaper and one radio station........:ontome:

[chernobylwraiths]

"A lot of media" can be translated - I want to go where I can escape the local media. Very hard to do in Buffalo even if we only had one newspaper and one radio station........:ontome:

They will NEVER escape the media, wherever they go. The only good thing about going to a place like NYC is that they will be anonymous. There are so many people and in the city baseball and football are king, nobody will give a crap about them.

[Ebenezer]

They will NEVER escape the media, wherever they go. The only good thing about going to a place like NYC is that they will be anonymous. There are so many people and in the city baseball and football are king, nobody will give a crap about them.
That was my point. Once they give their 10 second sound bite they are gone.

[chernobylwraiths]

That was my point. Once they give their 10 second sound bite they are gone.

I don't think it is any worse here than anywhere else media wise, and a whole lot better than many others. We only have a few here, where the bigger markets have one from each paper and publication.

The biggest difference is the lack of barrier between fans and players here. There, they probably hardly ever mingle in their every day lives with fans. Here, they have no choice.

[SkateZilla]

9 years, 60 million, and NHL hasnt approved the deal yet either, but it should go through no problem unless its seriously front loaded.

[PUCKER]

Well Brad,dont let the door hit your tushi on the way out. :moon::zapper:

[SabreEleven]

Well Brad,dont let the door hit your tushi on the way out. :moon::zapper:

he was never here so that really doesn't apply.

[X-Era]

9 yrs. at 58.5 million. The Sabres could have afforded that but I bet the reports yesterday were true - he was willing to give the Rangers the chance to match any offer - and they did. He wanted to play there.Exactly. The Sabres made the right move. He had no intention of going anywhere else.

The Sabres got their plan B; if they had stuck with trying for Richards they would have been left with nothing.

Good move Darcy! :up:

[snow1989]

Frankly...I think the rangers overpaid

[SabreEleven]

NY Rangers...where FA go to die...Good luck with that.

[YardRat]

Hate on hockeybuzz.com all you want, but 'Garth' stated on 97Rock Friday AM that Richards to the Rangers was pretty much a done deal.

[TheGhostofJimKelly]

Hate on hockeybuzz.com all you want, but 'Garth' stated on 97Rock Friday AM that Richards to the Rangers was pretty much a done deal.

Actually, you might have to give him a little more credit than that, he has been on more than usual this season.

[YardRat]

Actually, you might have to give him a little more credit than that, he has been on more than usual this season.

Agreed. He seems to be more of a true 'insider' than 99.9% of the rest of these dumbasses claim to be.

[tampabay25690]

Alot of $$$ for a 20 goal scorer.....
Im glad he did not come to Buffalo for that type of cash......

Good player but not a ELITE player in the NHL.........

[tampabay25690]

Hate on hockeybuzz.com all you want, but 'Garth' stated on 97Rock Friday AM that Richards to the Rangers was pretty much a done deal.

Remember his coach from Tampa is the coach at NY now Tort's.......
I figured that was his 1st choice....

[chernobylwraiths]

Alot of $$$ for a 20 goal scorer.....
Im glad he did not come to Buffalo for that type of cash......

Good player but not a ELITE player in the NHL.........

Why not "elite", because he doesn't score goals?

[Dozerdog]

Looks like I'll have to move Marion Gaborik to my Fantasy Hockey "Keepers" list

[Philagape]

Looks like I'll have to move Marion Gaborik to my Fantasy Hockey "Keepers" list

And that's what makes Richards so valuable. It's not the goals he scores, it's the goals he helps others score. Imagine Vanek or Stafford on his line.

I'd have given Richards a 6.5 cap hit in the blink of an eye. That's pretty good for a top-10 point producer

[snow1989]

I'll take a wait and see attitude. He had one good year, and the year before was decent, but he's been a negative plus/minus for 5 out of 6 years. For that kind of money I want consistent production in goals or huge assist numbers, or a great plus/minus rating. There's a lot to be said for team/line chemistry also...so I'll leave my jury out until a few weeks into the season...personally I think they over-paid and I'm not overly concerned that we didn't land him...but time will tell

[tampabay25690]

Why not "elite", because he doesn't score goals?

Why is he ELITE because he is the only good free agent this year???

[tampabay25690]

I'll take a wait and see attitude. He had one good year, and the year before was decent, but he's been a negative plus/minus for 5 out of 6 years. For that kind of money I want consistent production in goals or huge assist numbers, or a great plus/minus rating. There's a lot to be said for team/line chemistry also...so I'll leave my jury out until a few weeks into the season...personally I think they over-paid and I'm not overly concerned that we didn't land him...but time will tell

THANK YOU finally someone that sees the big picture....

[Philagape]

Why is he ELITE because he is the only good free agent this year???

Over the past two seasons he's seventh in the league in points per game.

[snow1989]

Over the past two seasons he's seventh in the league in points per game.

Actually...NHL.com has him

2010-2011 Listed 10th

2009-2010 Listed 7th

2008-2009 Listed 117th !

I'll stick with wait and see...if the line chemistry is no good he'll sink from 10th right down because I don't think he's a huge goal scorer..20-30 yr guy...he's supposed to be the big assist...I'm just not sold on 6.5 mil a year after 2 yrs of production

[chernobylwraiths]

Actually...NHL.com has him

2010-2011 Listed 10th

2009-2010 Listed 7th

2008-2009 Listed 117th !

I'll stick with wait and see...if the line chemistry is no good he'll sink from 10th right down because I don't think he's a huge goal scorer..20-30 yr guy...he's supposed to be the big assist...I'm just not sold on 6.5 mil a year after 2 yrs of production

Averaged .93 points per game over his entire 11 year career. Don't need to "wait and see". Considering Vanek makes 7 mil a season, he doesn't "deserve" that either. He is paid what he is paid.

He would have been a great addition to the Sabres. He isn't here, but just because he isn't here doesn't mean he now is overrated.

BTW, the Sabres NEED a big assist guy to feed the puck to scorers like Vanek and Stafford.

[Philagape]

Actually...NHL.com has him

2010-2011 Listed 10th

2009-2010 Listed 7th

2008-2009 Listed 117th !

I'll stick with wait and see...if the line chemistry is no good he'll sink from 10th right down because I don't think he's a huge goal scorer..20-30 yr guy...he's supposed to be the big assist...I'm just not sold on 6.5 mil a year after 2 yrs of production

I said points PER GAME. Over the past two seasons he has 168 points in 152 games.

[tampabay25690]

Over the past two seasons he's seventh in the league in points per game.

OK?

[tampabay25690]

Averaged .93 points per game over his entire 11 year career. Don't need to "wait and see". Considering Vanek makes 7 mil a season, he doesn't "deserve" that either. He is paid what he is paid.

He would have been a great addition to the Sabres. He isn't here, but just because he isn't here doesn't mean he now is overrated.

BTW, the Sabres NEED a big assist guy to feed the puck to scorers like Vanek and Stafford.

I will agree he would have been a great addition but to many DWELL on what happened.
It's over and he is a Ranger......Lets hope he is OVERRATED now......

I know the Sabres are not done at all.....
We will have to wait and see what happens but don't be surprised for a big trade......

Yes Vanek is over paid but still are best player and playmaker....

[Philagape]

Richards' new cap number is 25th in the league. That's not overpaying at all.

[snow1989]

I said points PER GAME. Over the past two seasons he has 168 points in 152 games.

I just read the listing off NHL.com for points per game.

Vanek only got that contract because we had to match it or lose him after the Briere/Drury debacle. I just don't think he would have gotten that much if Edmonton hadn't made their offer.

Sure we could use an assist guy, and I'm not saying he wouldn't have helped, or wouldn't have been a nice addition...all I'm saying is that to me....that asking price, for a guy who has had 2 decent seasons, and several years of bad plus/minus just isn't worth the risk. *shrug*

[Philagape]

I just read the listing off NHL.com for points per game.

Vanek only got that contract because we had to match it or lose him after the Briere/Drury debacle. I just don't think he would have gotten that much if Edmonton hadn't made their offer.

Sure we could use an assist guy, and I'm not saying he wouldn't have helped, or wouldn't have been a nice addition...all I'm saying is that to me....that asking price, for a guy who has had 2 decent seasons, and several years of bad plus/minus just isn't worth the risk. *shrug*

Over the past eight years he's 17th (16th not counting some guy who played one game). He has more points per game during that time than Lecavalier, Staal, Gaborik, Zetterberg.

You're judging a player on +/-??? Stamkos is minus 12 in his career. Eric Staal minus 13. Kovalchuk is a career MINUS 101. Lecavalier MINUS 109. It means THEY'VE BEEN ON BAD TEAMS.

[snow1989]

Like I said...I got the points per game off NHL.com...he's listed 10th this year, 7th last year....117th in 08-09....so no...not just plus minus.

And no...I wouldn't have paid Kovalchuck either

[Philagape]

Like I said...I got the points per game off NHL.com...he's listed 10th this year, 7th last year....117th in 08-09....so no...not just plus minus.

And no...I wouldn't have paid Kovalchuck either

You read something wrong because 117th is way off. He had .85 PPG that year

[snow1989]

You read something wrong because 117th is way off. He had .85 PPG that year

I could have...I'll have to recheck it.

[Ebenezer]

And that's what makes Richards so valuable. It's not the goals he scores, it's the goals he helps others score. Imagine Vanek or Stafford on his line.

I'd have given Richards a 6.5 cap hit in the blink of an eye. That's pretty good for a top-10 point producer


So would I...I'm going to bet so would have the Sabres - only to have the Rangers match it. I'm convinced that was his destination and they just simply said, "get what you can; we'll match".