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To Buy Out or Not to Buy Out

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There is always the option of the $125 contract termination somewhere down the road should both parties go down that road. Basically instead of retiring, the Rangers and Richie can agree to terminate their contract.

The Rangers are one of the few teams that can pick up assets from another team buy using their compliance buyout for someone else.

So let's say buy the time his contract dips which is three seasons from now (still under the current CBA), it would be very hard to imagine Richards coming back to play for $1M a year for 3 years that follow. All Richards would have to do is not retire, and just not show up for the Rangers to terminate his contract. Or fail to report to Hartford.

Redden reported because he was going to make 6.5M. Richards would only get $1M.
 
I think you gotta wait, and see how this season ends up. Personally I think he should stay, hes having a solid season, and I think the addition of MSL will help spark him. Also if they buy him out rangers enter next season without Callahan, and Richards. Thats 2 of veteran leaders. With out them who's gonna lead this offense Stepan.........? I know we'll have St Louis but still what does that say to our team and about our organization if we just keep shipping out our leaders who our team looks up to.
 
this was one of the 1st questions that popped up in my head. We still should buy out Richards. Will Sather do it? I have no idea.
 
It still has to be 'yes' IMO. You probably wont get a 60pt C that is much of an upgrade over BR in the next 2 years, but it is years 3,4,5 etc where the burden will hit if you keep him around.

Assuming he does get bought out, I'll be very interested to see what the market for him is like on Jul 1
 
The cap could be $68M. Dean Lombardi was discussing that yesterday. The NHL has told their teams the cap could be as low as(really as high as)$68M from $64.3M. The Canadian dollar is the reason. Nick Kypreos was discussing it on Tuesday. Lombardi confirmed what Kyper reported. It won't be $71M.

The Rangers have $53M committed to 12 players. $68M cap. They need to leave at least $1M to run the team. How is management icing a team next season with a $68M cap when 12 players add up to $53M?

Sather was asked about the addition of MSL and how it related to Richards's future in NY. Sather didn't want to discuss it. He said about not having a crystal ball.

The cap at $68M is still a healthy increase for the NHL with a 50/50 split. The $64.3M was based on 57% in 11-12 and the NHL/NHLPA agreed to set it at the last upper limit for the last full NHL season played before the lockout.

Good-bye Brad.
 
It's annoying because Richards is probably the best short term option out there.
 
I am not sure that Slats won't try to pull his modus operandi and squez everyone in next season. Its not impossible.

From my horizon 68m is must be the worst case scenario. I would bet at 69.5m as a much more modest and reasonable outcome. If Chi and LA goes deep in the West and Boston in the East, don't be suprised to see it head north of 70m still...

This is some kind of starting point:

FORWARDS
Carl Hagelin ($2.250m) / Brad Richards ($6.667m) / Martin St. Louis ($5.625m)
Chris Kreider ($1.950m) / Derek Stepan ($3.075m) / Rick Nash ($7.800m)
Benoit Pouliot ($2.500m) / Derick Brassard ($3.900m) / Mats Zuccarello ($3.500m)
Daniel Carcillo ($0.825m) / Dominic Moore ($1.000m) / Jesper Fast ($0.805m)
J.T. Miller ($0.894m) /
DEFENSEMEN
Dan Girardi ($5.500m) / Ryan McDonagh ($4.700m)
Marc Staal ($3.975m) / Raphael Diaz ($1.450m)
John Moore ($1.250m) / Kevin Klein ($2.900m)
GOALTENDERS
Henrik Lundqvist ($8.500m)
Cameron Talbot ($0.563m)
------
SALARY CAP: $71,100,000;
CAP PAYROLL: $69,628,333;
BONUSES: $445,000
CAP SPACE (21-man roster): $1,471,667
Click to expand...

I am not sure what Kreider will get, but he has no leverege and Slats could use that.

Zucc is the big unknown, but I wouldn't be surpised if Slats could get him to sign a 2 year 7m deal.

No matter what, with a cheap 4th line that roster is under the cap or one dump away from getting under.
 
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Center continues to be the area of greatest weakness on this team, both in the short and long term. Although our current centers (Richards, Brassard, Stepan, Boyle, Moore) are certainly above average in quantity if not quality, our weakness there is the #1 limiting factor to our becoming a legitimate and consistent cup contender.

Richards has certainly, to some extent, proven that last year was an aberration. But he is still not the player he once was, and the only certainty is that, no matter how well he conditions himself, his skills will continue to erode. In two or three years, even with the best of intentions, he will not be the player he is today. He should be bought out.

Stepan is a major disappointment to me. He has not progressed or grown this year, in fact, I think he has retrogressed. His skating will always be a limiting factor to his success. Doesn't mean we should get rid of him, just that we need to readjust our assessment of him.

Brassard, although he will never live up to his top 10, draft pick status, is a competent center, although inconsistent and occasionly absent from games. The dearth of centers available makes it imperative that he sign him long term but with the knowledge that he cannot be expected to be an elite center logging first line minutes.

Boyle and Moore are fine in their roles as 4th line centers. Plugging them in elsewhere in the lineup is something we want to avoid (if they are resigned).

Free agent centers do not seem available. Although I like Stasny to a degree, to me he seems more of the same to what we have. He is not worth 7 million a year long term, even with the cap going up.

For next year, I would be perfectly happy (although with the knowledge that center will keep us from being a legit contender and there are few options available) with Stepan, Brassard, and J.T. Miller as our centers. in fact, I like the idea of Miller as a regular center partly because he is different that Stepan, Brassard, or even Stasny. He can play a more hard nosed, puck pressure game than any of them, a quality we need. What his offensive upside is, at this point, is unknown, but I like the other qualities he brings.

Resign one of Boyle or Moore and open an opportunity for Lindberg.

So for center we need to buyout Richards, plug in Miller as 3rd line center because of the game he brings, use our few remaining draft picks to draft a promising center (knowing that we likely will not get an elite prospect) and be opportunistic when it comes to top line centers becoming available via trade or free agency.

Not an ideal situation but, at this juncture, the best we can hope for. But yes, it all starts with buying out Richards.
 
He's not going anywhere now.

2 reasons
1-MSL
2-Buying him out would be Sather admitting he made a mistake,and that aint happening lol
 
Crease said:
It's annoying because Richards is probably the best short term option out there.
Click to expand...

Remember 3 years ago when we signed Richards and everyone was saying "we only need 3-4 years out of him because that's our window to win!"

Well, here we are, with people still talking about a window to win going forward and the problem of kicking the can down the road when it comes to a #1 center staring us in the face. Again.
 
If we don't use a compliance buyout on Richards this summer, we WILL get hit with a significant cap penalty when Richards retires. There is no question about this. It's a fact. Richards will make 1 mil per year for the last 3 years of his contract. He isn't sticking around for that and we probably won't want him then anyway as his game will have fallen off even further.

So what are our options? Buy out Richards and risk MSL getting upset and leaving when his contract is up next year. Or keep Richards to appease MSL and bite the cap penalties. Great options our GM has left us with.
 
Its looking cloudy at this point. I think its 50/50 either way.

I think if they do retain him; Stepan may be the guy who could get moved.

Its hard to say at this point. It really depends on how well we perform down the stretch.
 
mrmovies779 said:
He's not going anywhere now.

2 reasons
1-MSL
2-Buying him out would be Sather admitting he made a mistake,and that aint happening lol
Click to expand...

Dislike his decisions, disagree with him, make fun of him all you want, criticize him from any angle you desire, but Sather is not stupid. He knows the score with Richards as well as anyone. If he decides to keep Richards, what I see as a mistake, it will be a hockey decision (one most of us will disagree with) and not one based on wounded pride and his inability to admit he made a mistake.
 
alkurtz said:
Dislike his decisions, disagree with him, make fun of him all you want, criticize him from any angle you desire, but Sather is not stupid. He knows the score with Richards as well as anyone. If he decides to keep Richards, what I see as a mistake, it will be a hockey decision (one most of us will disagree with) and not one based on wounded pride and his inability to admit he made a mistake.
Click to expand...

Its pretty simple. If Sather keeps Richards he is "going for it."(his swan song) If he moves him; it means he is trying to set us up more for the future. MSL would just be a stop gap.

Given the 2 draft picks he just gave up for MSL. I think its looking more like he will retain Richards.
 
Buyout no question...and I honestly have no problem giving richards money to stastny...pretty much same production but 4 years younger. Rather go with the age, though I dont think we could get stastny anyway. Our weakness is down the middle, unless stepan plays like last year and becomes a 70+ point center next year (last yr over 82 games pace he would have been around there). Bottom line just like cally its a business, we cant be stuck with that huge hit 6 more seasons while the guy is maxing out at 60 pts, gotta expect that to decline each year.
 
Giglio NYR15 said:
Buyout no question...and I honestly have no problem giving richards money to stastny...pretty much same production but 4 years younger. Rather go with the age, though I dont think we could get stastny anyway. Our weakness is down the middle, unless stepan plays like last year and becomes a 70+ point center next year (last yr over 82 games pace he would have been around there). Bottom line just like cally its a business, we cant be stuck with that huge hit 6 more seasons while the guy is maxing out at 60 pts, gotta expect that to decline each year.
Click to expand...

Long term you are absolutely right. Its an idiotic move not to buy him out.

But, I don't think Sather is looking long term anymore. Starting next year, it looks like we are going for a 2 year run. After that, I think Sather is stepping down with Gorton/Clarke having to deal with the aftermath.
 
Blueshirt Believer said:
Long term you are absolutely right. Its an idiotic move not to buy him out.

But, I don't think Sather is looking long term anymore. Starting next year, it looks like we are going for a 2 year run. After that, I think Sather is stepping down with Gorton/Clarke having to deal with the aftermath.
Click to expand...

Sather wouldn't give Callahan a NTC and six years. Sather said he didn't want to tie up the cap for the next six years with that contract. Richards has six years left at a higher cap hit plus a no move. Richards is also five years older. Callahan was a better buy than Richards is right now. The Rangers traded Callahan.
 
If there is an option later in the contract where the parties can mutually agree to terminate the contract, perhaps some sort of gentlemans agreement can be reached between the club and RIchards...

That would be the preferred option..
 
Jersey Girl said:
2a - Sather already did that once with Wade Redden lol
Click to expand...

and Bobby Holik

and Chris Drury


....I honestly think we need to look at the dollar ramifications. Brad Richards should be here now that his buddy MSL is on the team but I dont know if from a cap standpoint it will hurt us.
 
azaloum90 said:
If there is an option later in the contract where the parties can mutually agree to terminate the contract, perhaps some sort of gentlemans agreement can be reached between the club and RIchards...

That would be the preferred option..
Click to expand...

Yeah, let's violate the CBA and expose ourselves to sacrificing even more first round draft picks. Makes perfect sense.
 
Can someone explain the cap cutting ramifications with Brad Richards? Why is it bad to cut him 2 years from now?
 
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