redruM Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Yeah.. Just like Gaborik lost speed and strength.. and Nash will in a year or two.. and whichever next bigshot FA the Rags sign.. Richards is a Conn Smythe winner, I'd love to have him. Yeah.. Just like Gaborik lost speed and strength.. and Nash will in a year or two.. and whichever next bigshot FA the Rags sign.. Richards is a Conn Smythe winner, I'd love to have him. in 2004 thats a decade ago!!! he's 33 and on the downside, his pt totals have dropped for 43 straight years. If he signs for 1 mil per, OK, but we donot need anymore old players Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdevsftw Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 in 2004 thats a decade ago!!! he's 33 and on the downside, his pt totals have dropped for 43 straight years. If he signs for 1 mil per, OK, but we donot need anymore old players His best stats are from 08-11 so I don't really see the whole "that was a decade ago" argument. His point production has dropped? Really? If Crosbys PPG average dropped from 1.5 to 1.4 to 1.3 in consecutive years you could say that about him as well. I think his recent drop in production speaks more to Tortorellas coaching style now then his sudden lack of ability. I assume this whole discussion is based on the (slim) possibility of him being bought out, so a slight discount on his current salary would be expected.. But clearly he is worth 5M a year for another 3-4 years by todays NHL standards. We are currently paying a 37 year old Elias, with comparable stats, more then that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 His best stats are from 08-11 so I don't really see the whole "that was a decade ago" argument. His point production has dropped? Really? If Crosbys PPG average dropped from 1.5 to 1.4 to 1.3 in consecutive years you could say that about him as well. I think his recent drop in production speaks more to Tortorellas coaching style now then his sudden lack of ability. I assume this whole discussion is based on the (slim) possibility of him being bought out, so a slight discount on his current salary would be expected.. But clearly he is worth 5M a year for another 3-4 years by todays NHL standards. We are currently paying a 37 year old Elias, with comparable stats, more then that. Richards has a stunning lack of effect on the play these days. I was joking about it last year but it was just as apparent this year - the guy just doesn't have the puck on his stick that often and doesn't make much happen with it when he does. He's a passenger. If he's not doing real well on the power play (and he's not), he's not doing enough 5 on 5 to make up for it. The difference between Richards and Elias is that Elias is a HOF-level defensive forward and Richards is bad by any standard. Elias over the last 5 years is +382 shots while on ice at 5 on 5, Richards is -137. Now Richards' on ice shooting percentage is a little higher than Elias's, but even we use their normal shooting percentages and league average save percentages, Elias should be +51, Richards +22. That's a huge difference, one that I doubt can be made up by the quality of teammates each guy has had over that stretch. And again, Elias is coming off another great year and Richards is coming off his worst year. I think he'll be bought out this summer and someone will pay him a decent amount, but a 4 year contract for a guy who's a healthy scratch on a playoff team? I don't think so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaRay Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Richards has a stunning lack of effect on the play these days. I was joking about it last year but it was just as apparent this year - the guy just doesn't have the puck on his stick that often and doesn't make much happen with it when he does. He's a passenger. If he's not doing real well on the power play (and he's not), he's not doing enough 5 on 5 to make up for it. The difference between Richards and Elias is that Elias is a HOF-level defensive forward and Richards is bad by any standard. Elias over the last 5 years is +382 shots while on ice at 5 on 5, Richards is -137. Now Richards' on ice shooting percentage is a little higher than Elias's, but even we use their normal shooting percentages and league average save percentages, Elias should be +51, Richards +22. That's a huge difference, one that I doubt can be made up by the quality of teammates each guy has had over that stretch. And again, Elias is coming off another great year and Richards is coming off his worst year. I think he'll be bought out this summer and someone will pay him a decent amount, but a 4 year contract for a guy who's a healthy scratch on a playoff team? I don't think so. Spot on Tri! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njdevsftw Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 He's not exactly a healthy scratch because he's not good enough for the team.. Torts is clearly trying to get his team going and shake things up a bit, while sending a message to Richards that he needs to step it up as well.. The stat difference between him and Elias is pretty sick I'll give you that, and I agree Elias is a better allround player.. It's not like Richards hasn't has a good cast around him most of his career either.. That said; people on this very board are talking about giving 4-5M to Clarkson.. and yet they don't think Richards is worth more then 1-2M. That's absurd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarpathianForest Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 in 2004 thats a decade ago!!! he's 33 and on the downside, his pt totals have dropped for 43 straight years. If he signs for 1 mil per, OK, but we donot need anymore old players He obviously needs to retire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 29th Pick Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 One thing the Devils need to improve is their face-offs, we sucked the last few seasons in that dept. I dont know if he can help, but someone has to be brought in for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarpathianForest Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 One thing the Devils need to improve is their face-offs, we sucked the last few seasons in that dept. I dont know if he can help, but someone has to be brought in for that. Scott Nichol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 29th Pick Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Scott Nichol he's older and smaller than Richards.......is he that good at face offs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubie#8 Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 All I want is Stalberg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 He's not exactly a healthy scratch because he's not good enough for the team.. Torts is clearly trying to get his team going and shake things up a bit, while sending a message to Richards that he needs to step it up as well.. The stat difference between him and Elias is pretty sick I'll give you that, and I agree Elias is a better allround player.. It's not like Richards hasn't has a good cast around him most of his career either.. That said; people on this very board are talking about giving 4-5M to Clarkson.. and yet they don't think Richards is worth more then 1-2M. That's absurd. Richards has played with a lot of very good players in his career. I agree with you that Richards is worth more than that, but he's not gonna get a huge contract. He's a risk now and while NHL teams always need centers and if the Rangers do buy him out there will be 4 or 5 teams interested, I'd be shocked if he got more than 3 years with that team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caron14 Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 if they rebuy him! just sign him lou! He is not a game breaker, netheir a franchise player but would replace the parise production with us. He still have gas in the tank that for sure... Would love danny briere too if flyers rebuy him. Former flyers or rangers become devils could be priceless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derlique Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Assuming Lokti bolts to the KHL, which I doubt, I wouldn't mind seeing him play with Elias at ES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubie#8 Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 (edited) Assuming Lokti bolts to the KHL, which I doubt, I wouldn't mind seeing him play with Elias at ES Elias Richards Zubrus. Not a bad shutdown line. EDIT: might as well sign Alfredsson Selanne and Jagr while we are at it. Edited May 25, 2013 by Zubie#8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Richards can't shut down anybody - a team that signs him should be looking to get him away from top lines and the defensive zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoArmySports Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 How about one year at about 3.5 or 4 million? Sometimes players sign one year contracts to prove their worth again. If he has a resurgnce with us more power to him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubie#8 Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Richards can't shut down anybody - a team that signs him should be looking to get him away from top lines and the defensive zone. Well with Elias and Zubrus on your line it helps. Look at Sykora with them in 2011-2012. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoArmySports Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 (edited) Well with Elias and Zubrus on your line it helps. Look at Sykora with them in 2011-2012. Maybe Elias will actually acknowledge Richards unlike Sykora here.... Edited May 25, 2013 by GoArmySports Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATLL765 Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Maybe Elias will actually acknowledge Richards unlike Sykora here.... This never gets old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted May 25, 2013 Share Posted May 25, 2013 Well with Elias and Zubrus on your line it helps. Look at Sykora with them in 2011-2012. Sykora got taken off that line late in games once NJ had the depth to do so. Richards is a center, which means he's even more vital defensively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Rattlehead18 Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Maybe Elias will actually acknowledge Richards unlike Sykora here.... But then Sykora got a hug when he was announced as a star of the game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilsfan118 Posted May 29, 2013 Share Posted May 29, 2013 Heard Mike Francesa interviewing Pierre a while ago, was actually interesting. Pierre said something along the lines of "The post-lockout 2-line pass rule change was killer for Richards, because he has never been a good skater. Today especially, he just lacks the footspeed to be able to stay in the play."If that's true, and I generally trust what Pierre says despite him being one of the most awkward individuals I've ever seen, then I don't want to the Devils to go near him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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