The Signing: Brad Richards, C, 34 signs with the Chicago Blackhawks
The Terms: $2 million for one year
The Cap Hit: $2 million
Where he fits: Well Richards doesn’t quite fit yet, at least in terms of money, with the Blackhawks more than $2 million over the cap. As a No. 2 centre on the Hawks, Richards will be playing with more surrounding talent and in a better environment than he has been in recent memory.
The Good: History and pedigree. Back in 2004, Richards won a Conn Smythe with a Tampa Bay team that boasted the regular-season league MVP and scoring champion. That’s a testament to Richards’s all-around game which, in his prime, suited playoff hockey. He has always been a zero-maintenance player and is the template for a team leader, whether he wears a C or A or not. The Rangers got out from under Richard’s nine-year, $60-million contract even though he provided a pretty serviceable 20 goals in 2013-14 and scored the winner against Pittsburgh in Game 7 in the opening round, the biggest goal in New York’s surprise run to the final. He has managed to miss only a handful of games over the last five seasons.
The Bad: Thirty-four years old, he’s ten years removed from his best hockey. A year ago at this time, you had to wonder if Richards had any hockey left in him at all. He couldn’t get on the ice with the Rangers under John Tortorella in the 2103 playoffs.
The Grade: B+. You knew Richards was never going to play in New York to the end of that ridiculous deal. His parting gift in the buyout allowed him to sign for far less than market value. The line-up right now favorably compares with Chicago’s two Cup winners in the Toews-Kane vintage–but the deal is docked a half mark pending further shuffling to get under the cap.