NHL Story: Brad Richards Being Counted On To Make A Difference
Yesterday, the official NHL website ran a story on the top-10 newcomers being counted on to make a difference. I'll give you one guess as to which New York Ranger made the list.
Brad Richards, armed with a new nine-year contract, is obviously expected to make a tremendous impact on this new-look New York Rangers squad. Richards brings creativity and vision to the table on a level that few other players in the world posses. The story from NHL.com agrees:
Brad Richards, New York Rangers -- Richards was a one-of-a-kind item in this year's free-agent market -- a real, honest-to-goodness No. 1 center. The Rangers gave him a nine-year, $60 million deal to come to the Big Apple with hopes that he'll provide them with a significant offensive upgrade. Their primary objective is to use Richards, one of the NHL's elite passers, to get the puck to Marian Gaborik, who fell to 22 goals last season after getting 42 in 2009-10 -- and to move the Rangers from a team battling to make the playoffs to one that can contend for the Cup.
Obviously what Richards will do for the Rangers has been analyzed and talked about non-stop since the center decided to take his talents to Broadway, but it's something to talk about on a lazy August afternoon. Thoughts on some of the other names on the list?