Leafs, Stars Likely to Pursue Brad Richards if Bought Out

[Fuhgeddaboudit]

http://www.thefourthperiod.com/news/tor130605.html
 
 

 
If the New York Rangers buy out the contract of veteran center Brad Richards, the Maple Leafs could be knocking on his door soon after, reports the Toronto Star.

It has been widely speculated that the Rangers will buy out Richards' contract this summer, as they look to retool their roster for next season.
 

 

 
The Leafs were among the teams that heavily courted Richards two summers ago, but fell short and lost out to the Blueshirts.

According to the Star, the Leafs could use Richards, especially if they end up letting center Tyler Bozak walk an unrestricted free agent.

Bozak is believed to be looking for a contract north of $5 million per season, while Richards might only cost closer to $3 million per year.

However, as the paper notes, the Dallas Stars could also pursue Richards, if available, and might have an edge as the 33-year-old thoroughly enjoyed his time in Texas.
 

 
Woah, this is interesting.
 
It's likely that Brad Richards gets bought out.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if either of them sign Richards either because the Stars could use a first-line center to help those wings. 
 
And the Leafs, if I remember correctly, offered more for Richards than we did at the time but he chose the Rangers to play with.
 
So we'll see what happens, but this is interesting.

 

[Phil The Thrill]

No thank you.
 
If I remember correctly we offered more annual cap hit, but less years since Burke isn't a fan of back-diving contracts.

 

[Fuhgeddaboudit]

Think you're right

 

[The Guid]

Problem is people were expecting great things from Richards. He's nearing the end of his prime, if he hasn't already. He had one real good playoffs with Tampa and the rest have been not much better than this season. He was never going to perform anywhere close to that contract.