All Things Brad Richards

There is going to be nonstop talk about Brad Richards and the Rangers today, so I’ll do my best to log all the news here chronologically. I’ll be constantly updating this blog post as new information gets posted.

3:07 PM: Dallas Stars officially announce that Richards was not traded.

3:00 PM: The deadline has officially passed. Trades still can and will be announced as the NHL officially registers them, but a Richards trade is essentially dead. His agent confirmed that he was never asked to waive his no-trade clause.

2:56 PM: ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun got a text from Richards stating that “nothing is going on.” At this point, it would take a miracle for a deal to take place.

2:49 PM: TSN’s Bob McKenzie says there are still “crickets on the Brad Richards front.” If the Rangers plan on making a move, they’re going to have to execute this pretty quickly, with only 11 minutes left until the deadline.

2:37 PM: TSN’s Darren Dreger says that it doesn’t look like a deal involving Richards will happen but that it’s “not definitive.” Claims the Rangers are the only team in play. Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos claims that the Rangers and Stars are still talking but that “a deal of that magnitude is unlikely to be pulled off at this time.”

2:30 PM: Larry Brooks claims that Richards is “still in play” and that the Rangers are the only option.

2:15 PM: Newsday’s Arthur Staple reports that “All [is] with the New York Rangers for now.” Meanwhile, Rangers official beat writer Jim Cerny reports that Sather is “still working the phones” but that his “hunch” is that the Rangers “made their big move two days ago.” TSN’s Bob Mckenzie states that the Richards “Trade Barometer” is “pointing towards no.” However, Darren Dreger makes an important point in that Richards hasn’t been informed one way or the other if he will be traded. This implies that a trade is still an option for the Stars.

1:27 PM: Per ESPN’s Pierre Lebrun, as of now the Stars still haven’t contacted Richards about a possible move. With the deadline an hour and a half away, it’s getting to the point where you have to be discouraged about the potential for a deal to happen. Still plenty of time, though.

12:48 PM: TSN’s Darren Dreger says on-air that Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk has not budged “one iota” on what he’s demanding in a trade for Richards. He claims that “as the hours pass, a deal appears less likely.”

12:19 AM: TSN informs us of what Brad Richards had to say regarding his situation. He claims that no trade has been presented to him or his agent, and that there is no list of teams he will or will not waive his NTC for. Don’t take him for his word completely, however. He’s not going to blatantly announce to the media if he had actually waived it. I’m not saying Richards is lying, but it could just be a PR move more than the 100% truth.

11:47 AM:

Arthur Staple of Newsday is reporting that the Rangers aren’t biting on a Richards trade right now and are hoping that the Stars lower their demands in the coming hours. The real interesting bit of information, though, is that a Dallas source told him that the Stars are “fully aware that Richards won’t resign.” Like I alluded to earlier, the Stars are likely trying to gain as much bargaining power as possible. I’ll speculate that they’re purposefully leaking reports of Richards being open to other trades or resigning in Dallas in an attempt to gain trade leverage. If Dallas is truly aware of Richards’ intent of not resigning then it would be pretty silly of them to not move him.

10:47 AM:

–HNIC’s Elliotte Fiedman reports that Dallas is asking for “four pieces” including picks, prospects, and roster players. Calls what Dallas is doing “Russian Roulette.”

-Larry Brooks says that Richards hasn’t told Dallas management that he WON’T resign with them, and until they hear otherwise believe they have a chance of keeping him after this season. As long as this is the case, Dallas is going to be requesting a lot for Richards.

10:18 AM: Larry Brooks believes that the Rangers could choose to defer Vinny Prospal’s bonuses as well as a few Entry Level bonuses to next year in order to make cap room for Richards. However, he also states that he’s hearing a deal is “less than 50/50” because Dallas is requesting too much. Again, a lot can change between now and the deadline and Dallas is likely trying to get a good bargaining position on the Rangers. This isn’t close to over.

9:51 AM: Add SportsNet analyst Nick Kypreos to the list of people who think the Rangers are the only team in the Brad Richards sweepstakes as of now. However, he claims that the deal “remains unlikely” and that it will take “multiple roster players” going to the Stars to solidify any deal. This doesn’t gel with what Brooks believes the proposed package is, of course.

9:36 AM:

– Per Larry Brooks’ Twitter, he reports the asking price for Richards to be “Artem Anisimov, a first round pick, and a prospect.” Of course, “a prospect” is vague. Chris Kreider and Dale Weise are both prospect, but their importance to the Rangers is completely different.

–TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that Brad Richards is only willing to waive his no trade clause for one team. Though he hasn’t confirmed it yet, he says that “a good guess” is that it’s the Rangers. On one hand, this lowers Dallas’ bargaining power, since the Rangers are not bidding against anyone. However, this information might make the Rangers decide to wait until the offseason to get him, now with the knowledge that he’s our #1 priority.