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Will Broadway Brad be headed back to New York this offseason?
Bobby Bevilacqua
After winning the Stanley Cup in Chicago, could Brad Richards be heading back to New York for next season? Photo courtesy of Nick Laham.
Now that the Stanley Cup Finals are over, with the Chicago Blackhawks crowned as champions for the third time in six years, it’s time for trade rumors, surprise signings and speculations. And today, I’m starting with my own speculation and prediction, something that I have said since before the start of the 2014-15 season.
Brad Richards will be a New York Ranger for the 2015-16 season.
Before I start, this is pure speculation. I don’t have an insider tip, I haven’t talked to Brad Richards or his agent or a family member, and I don’t have contact with any members of the Rangers’ front office. But I do think that I have some fairly strong arguments for my case.
After the Rangers were defeated by the Los Angeles Kings in five games in June of 2014, Glen Sather used his final compliance buy out on Brad Richards, terminating his contract after just three years in New York. It was a foolish contract by Sather, mainly because it kept Richards until he was 40, with a cap hit of $6.67 annually, and it was a contract that realistically never would have been completed. Keeping him at that hit would have handcuffed the Rangers when trying to re-sign younger, core players in the coming years. Read the rest of this entry
Despite Rangers’ postseason defeat, Yandle trade was worth the price
Bobby Bevilacqua
The Rangers made a gamble when they acquired Keith Yandle, but it paid off, as Sather was able to acquire an elite defenseman in his prime. Photo courtesy of MSG Photos.
Glen Sather, the president and general manager of the New York Rangers, has a knack for making big deals at the trade deadline in an effort to make his team more versatile and balanced. He’s not afraid to take a calculated risk in an effort to obtain these players, trading draft picks and prospects.
On March 1st, Sather sent John Moore, top-prospect Anthony Duclair, a first round pick in either 2016 or 2017, and a second round pick in this year’s draft for Keith Yandle and career AHL defenseman Chris Summers.
Duclair was one of the Rangers best prospects, putting up massive numbers with his QMJHL team, the Quebec Remparts, and playing with the Rangers for 18 games, tallying one goal with six assists. He looked at home with the Rangers, playing pretty well when he was in the NHL.
While it’s obviously not optimal that the Rangers have traded away their first round draft picks (the last first round draft pick for New York was in 2012, Brady Skjei), Sather said that it helps when they sign players like Kevin Hayes, who was in the midst of a 17 goal, 45 point season. Read the rest of this entry
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