The New York Rangers' saga with Kevin Shattenkirk was something that couldn't have been foreseen, and in many ways it played out in a somewhat similar fashion to another mega contract that didn't pan out as expected.
I recently revisited that as Best and Worst week at FanSided NHL winds down, and felt that Brad Richards' brief stint on Broadway deserved a similar treatment. The parallels are quite interesting, and as the start of a new season draws near, here's another trip down memory lane before we will have current events to talk about.
Rangers bring in Brad Richards to be No. 1 center after lengthy courting process
NHL free agency isn't what it once was, as there used to be some real theatrics and intrigue associated with the process. When Richards became a free agent he met with a number of different teams along with his agent Pat Morris, and there was quite a lengthy pitch process. Teams in the mix included the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames, and the Rangers.
Richards hit the market coming off a stint in Dallas after he'd spent the start of his career with the Lightning. He won a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe as playoff MVP with Tampa, and had 489 points in 552 games. During his four seasons in Dallas he had 227 points in 220 games, including a career high 91 points in 80 games during the 2009-10 season.
Richards decided to take the Rangers' offer on July 2, and it was a nine year deal for $60 million which carried a cap hit of $6.66 million per season. Given what happened later, if very much feels like the Rangers never intended him to remain with the team for the full nine years, and there were some fake years tacked on to dilute the cap hit, a mechanism the NHL would later crackdown on.
Richards and John Tortorella round two didn't work out as intended
Torts was Richards coach in Tampa, and he was a big selling point to bring Brad to Broadway. Things were different offensively in New York under Torts than they were in Tampa, and that played a role in his game dipping. Year one saw him score 25 goals and finish with 66 points in 82 games skating 20:16 per night.
One of the bigger highlights of the regular season for Richards actually came from the HBO 24/7 documentary leading up to the 2012 Winter Classic.
Richards was very good in the playoffs with six goals, nine assists, and 15 points in 20 games, and the Rangers made it to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 1997 where they lost against the New Jersey Devils.
He came up clutch against Washington earlier in the playoffs scoring a tying goal in Game 5 of a second round series that was tied 2-2, and a game the Rangers would win in overtime. He also scored in Game 7.
The following season was shortened due to another lockout, and Richards finished with a line of 11-23-34 in 46 games which represented a points per game drop off of 0.06.
That year in the playoffs he scored one goal in 10 games, and got so bad that Tortorella scratched Richards for Game 4 against Boston in the semis. The Rangers went on to win the game against Boston in overtime before eventually losing the series in Game 5, and it is possible he was trying to give the team a spark.
At that point in time Richards found himself on the fourth line and it just wasn't working. Tortorella talked about the move in typical Torts fashion, and it certainly caused a buzz at the time.
"This is a Conn Smythe winner, a guy I've grown up with, a guy that I love as a person and as a player, but I have to make that decision ... so kiss my ass if you wanna write something different. It's not about blaming that guy, and I don't want anyone to pile on. This is my decision, and I make it for the hockey club."
Tortorella ended up getting fired after losing that series, and Alain Vigneault would replace him for what ended up being Richards' final season with the Rangers.
Back to back Stanley Cup appearances for Richards
Richards' last year with the Rangers saw him in skate on the second line, as Derek Stepan had more than earned his place on the top line. He ended the regular season with 20-31-51 in 82 games skating 18:41 per game, and it was another year in which his points per game dropped.
Richards got a spark when the team added Marty St. Louis for the playoff run, and the two were paired together along with a young Carl Hagelin. In the playoffs Richards scored five goals and added seven assists for 12 points in 25 games skating 17:01 a night, and one of his bigger moments was a game winner against Pittsburgh in the second round of the playoffs.
The Blueshirts came up short against Los Angeles in the Cup Final, and a few days later it was announced that the Rangers were buying out the remainder of his contract. It was a tough couple of days for Richards, but he bounced back in the best way possible.
Richards signed with the Chicago Blackhawks in free agency, and he played an important bottom-six role and was a key veteran. He appeared in 76 games skating 14:53 a night, and ended the season with a line of 12-25-37. Once again he turned his game on in the playoffs, and in 23 games he averaged 16:44 a night and scored three goals while adding 11 assists for 14 points.
For the second year in a row, Richards played in the Stanley Cup Final, and this time he was successful. It was a one and done year in Chicago, and he joined the Detroit Red Wings for his final season in which he tallied 28 points in 68 games.
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