Brad Richards Has Been "Lost Offensively", What's Wrong?
Brad Richards has been in a massive slump over the last couple of games, but he finally notched an assist on the empty net goal against the Flyers. Near the beginning of the season, it took a few games for him to get in gear, and things were looking up. However, as of lately, he has completely fallen off from an offensive standpoint and needs to turn it around quickly.
One of the main contributing factors, in my opinion, are the line(s) he is currently playing on. When we first signed Richards, he was slotted to be out number one center right out of the gate, as we have never truly had a top-line center. But as of lately, he is finding himself on the third on a line with Brandon Prust, and Mike Rupp. Now, I'm not saying either of these players are bad, they just don't fit the style that Richards plays.
I believe one of our readers posted this in the comments, stating that Richards had Loui Eriksson on his wing when he was in Dallas, and he was successful. I believe that if Richards gets more time up on the top two lines it will only help his offensive production. Playing with more offensive minded line mates will help him big them in the offensive department.
Just my two cents, what do you guys believe?