Richards Picks Rangers

There was a big separation between Brad Richards and everybody else available on the unrestricted free agent market this summer. Any team in need of a veteran top-line center who can log a healthy number of minutes, play in all key situations and produce significantly on the scoresheet was taking a keen interest in Richards' availability on Friday.

Richards spent the better part of the day listening to presentations from at least six reported clubs and took the night to sleep on his decision. It apparently became clear to him Saturday morning that the popular frontrunner ended up being his chosen destination.

Richards has decided to take his talents to Broadway, where he is set to compete for the New York Rangers on a nine-year, $60 million contract. The deal will serve as a $6.67 million annual cap hit to the Rangers' payroll but looks far more unique on a year-by-year salary basis according to TSN's Gord Miller:

2011-12: $12 million - $10 million signing bonus and $2 million in salary
2012-13: $12 million - $8 million signing bonus and $4 million in salary
2013-14: $9 million
2014-15: $8.5 million
2015-16: $8.5 million
2016-17: $7 million
2017-18: $1 million
2018-19: $1 million
2019-20: $1 million

Rangers general manager Glen Sather is not typically known for tossing around contracts of this nature - ones including cap circumventing-oriented years toward the end. But when playing ball against other teams offering similar deals for even more money, Sather couldn't simply stand on principle and take the risk of losing the player. He had to play ball, too. And he did.

"With the growth and youth that we've been able to accumlate and put together here now, we needed somebody like this that's going to take us to the next step," Sather said in a conference call. "We think it was a great opportunity for us."

This contract pays out $24 million in just the first two years, while dishing out $57 million by the sixth season. Richards will be 37 years of age by the time those $1 million years kick in.
But, this wasn't even the most lucrative deal placed in front of Richards during his courting Saturday. He left money on the table from organizations like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Calgary Flames in order to play for the Rangers.

"I know that he's left a lot of money on the table by accepting the offer that we made through New York. We only had a certain amount that we could put out there because we still have players that we've got to sign. And there were people that were offering a lot more than we were," Sather said.

"I'm happy that he's excited to come here and I'm happy that he's excited to come here at a reduced rate in comparison to what he would have gotten somewhere else."

Richards selected the Rangers for fewer dollars because the team really afforded him everything he wanted in addition to the money.

Richards was looking for stable ownership - check. The Dolan family may not be the most loved across New York. But they have been in it for the long haul and have no reluctance to spend money when necessary. They were around long before Richards arrived to the Rangers and will remain there long after he's finished with his tour on Broadway. That is refreshing for a player who went through two awkward ownership changes in Tampa Bay and Dallas.

"The huge thing all along was going to a hockey market with stable ownership," Richards said in a conference call with the media on Saturday.

Richards wanted to play for a good hockey market - check. The Rangers play in New York City, which is a hot sports market, period. There is also an aura about Manhattan that makes players really want to shine in that spotlight and Richards looks to embrace the challenge of at least partly carrying the Stanley Cup hopes of everybody, including the 18,000+ in attendance every night at Madison Square Garden, on his shoulders.

"If you want to be a great player then a challenge like this is something you should relish, and what better place to perform than Madison Square Garden, that's a dream come true really," Richards said. "With these kind of fans behind you and that kind of atmosphere, it's going to push you. I look forward to the challenge."

Richards wanted to play for a Stanley Cup contender now and in the future - check. The Rangers aren't there yet. They are still in a process, as head coach John Tortorella constantly puts it. And that's because the Rangers remain on the path toward building a team with the youth within its system - i.e., no more gutting the team for Eric Lindros and the like. But the Rangers also are not that far away from the Cup and it's reasonable to assume they can be competitive for the next few seasons before fully getting into Stanley Cup mode. An elite goaltender (Henrik Lundqvist), a top-of-the-line goal scorer (Marian Gaborik) and several young heart and soul pieces (Ryan Callahan, Brandon Dubinsky, Brian Boyle, Brandon Prust) are already in place. Richards now helps push them that much further through their "process."

"[The Rangers] have that core foundation, so you know they have the right attitude for how to play the game," Richards said. "Now it's going to be a challenge to take it to another level, but that's what we have to do now year-in and year-out."

Richards wanted to move back east - check. Richards spent eight years of his career on the east coast while with the Tampa Bay Lightning and never really felt comfortable with his move to Dallas. He wanted to be closer to his family in Prince Edward Island, including a 93-year old grandfather that watches him play and was unhappy with having to do so based on west coast times. Moving to New York fulfills his wish of getting closer to home, as the Rangers obviously play geographically east.

"I grew up on the East coast, my family still loves to watch me play and it's a lot easier for them out here," Richards said. "I've got a grandfather who is 93 that watches every game on TV and he wasn't too happy about the West coast games. You add up all that stuff, it's just an easier transition to get back East."



Richards wanted to play for John Tortorella - check. John Tortorella can sometimes rub players the wrong way with his no-nonsense level of coaching that places full accountability on his them. But a lot of players appreciate what that brings out of them. And though Tortorella admits that the two had an up and down relationship at times while he coached Richards with the Lightning, Richards undoubtedly responded to Tortorella's hard-nosed approach en route to winning the Cup and being named playoff MVP back in 2004. Richards appreciates and understands Tortorella's coaching style and has great confidence in his ability to get the Rangers to where they need to be. It was simply a perfect reunion and one that could obviously only happen in New York.

"I've seen how Torts operates and it has worked, I know that firsthand," Richards said. "I can see how he's bringing that young team along in New York. It kind of reminds me of what he was doing with us [in Tampa Bay]."

Now that the courting is over, the responsibility falls on Richards to make all of this worth it. He will hold a great deal of value and responsibility for the Rangers now that all this time and money has been invested into him.

He will fill many roles for the organization. He will surely sport the top line center position between whatever left wing Tortorella finds suitable for the spot and Marian Gaborik, who could use a bounceback year and will benefit greatly from a playermaker like Richards dishing him the puck. Richards will also play an important role running the power play, an issue that has plagued the Rangers for several years.

Perhaps most importantly amongst Richards' roles, however, is the influence he will have over his younger teammates that are still developing their NHL games.

"Something that goes a little unnoticed ... is the mentoring of our young kids," Tortorella said in a conference call. "We've got some guys right on the cusp of really understanding what it is to be a pro. I think we're still learning what we have to do in playoffs to win and start moving along in that situation. [Richards] has done that.

"Forget about what the stats are, and forget about what on-ice is. It's some of the mentoring and just teaching kids what it is to be a pro with such a young crew that we have, I think that's going to be very important and he certainly fits the bill there."

Whether Richards can take in all of this, as well as the spotlight of being in New York and the unknown reality of whether the next check he takes could be his last based on previous concussion problems, remains to be seen. But the Rangers saw a player that filled a variety of needs for them and their coach was very familiar with. And they were happy to find out the admiration was mutual when Richards woke up after a good night's sleep and picked the Big Apple.