Center Brad Richards, the consensus top free-agent forward set to hit the market on July 1, is seeking an eight-year deal for between $50 and $55 million, according to the New York Post.
The New York Rangers, long seen as leader in the chase for Richards, still covet the 31-year-old former Conn Smythe winner -- particularly coach John Tortorella, who coached Richards when the Tampa Bay Lightning, including their run to the Stanley Cup in 2004.
The Rangers will have competition for Richards, the Post suggests -- the Philadelphia Flyers. And based on salary cap figures, Philadelphia could feasibly add him, assuming his cap hit is in the $5 million-$6 million range.
The Flyers' moves on Thursday -- they traded away Mike Richards and Jeff Carter for young, talented players and picks -- cleared up a significant amount of cap space. They immediately added goalie Ilya Bryzgalov at a $5.67 million cap hit, which leaves them with 18 players under contract and more than $7.5 million in space under the $64.3 million cap, according to capgeek.com.
If Philadelphia opts not to sign winger Ville Leino, decides to trade winger Kris Versteeg ($3.08 million), or manages to dump backup goalie Michael Leighton ($1.55 million), signing Richards to the deal he's reportedly looking for would certainly be possible. Whether they actually are considering such a plan is another issue entirely.
Richards had been with the Dallas Stars since 2008. He had 28 goals and 49 assists in 2010-11, which followed a 91-point 2009-10 season. The Stars, stuck in ownership limbo, have said that they won't re-sign him and were actively trying to trade his negotiating rights before the 2011 NHL Draft.
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