He was flattered by the offers on a long drawn-out day listening to them, but in the end, Brad Richards decided on the team he wanted to go to all along.
Multiple reports say the former Dallas Stars centre is a New York Ranger now, agreeing to a nine-year deal Saturday morning worth a whopping $58.5 million.
The Rangers were believed to be the favourite all along and Richards will be reunited with coach John Tortorella, who he won a Stanley Cup with for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Richards was by far the most sought after player in this year’s NHL free-agent class and will be rewarded handsomely for that status. While the Rangers were the key bidder, Richards also received overtures from the Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and the Lightning.
It made for a bizarre Canada Day at his agent Newport Sports’ offices in Mississauga, Ont. as several teams made their pitch. The Kings for example, reportedly came armed with a video extolling the virtues of L.A. life while the Flames had captain Jarome Iginla call him personally.
There have been suggestions that Richards turned down more money from at least one other suitor, but the lure of the Big Apple appears to have been too strong.
While Richards is a legitimate first-line centre, he certainly benefitted from a relatively weak free agent class and a hungry group of NHL general managers with money to spend.
With the Richards deal finally done, it is expected that general managers will be scrambling to pick up the remaining scraps from the free-agent pool. The Toronto Maple Leafs, for one, will likely be in the race for available centres such as former Buffalo Sabre Tim Connolly.
Multiple reports say the former Dallas Stars centre is a New York Ranger now, agreeing to a nine-year deal Saturday morning worth a whopping $58.5 million.
The Rangers were believed to be the favourite all along and Richards will be reunited with coach John Tortorella, who he won a Stanley Cup with for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Richards was by far the most sought after player in this year’s NHL free-agent class and will be rewarded handsomely for that status. While the Rangers were the key bidder, Richards also received overtures from the Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and the Lightning.
It made for a bizarre Canada Day at his agent Newport Sports’ offices in Mississauga, Ont. as several teams made their pitch. The Kings for example, reportedly came armed with a video extolling the virtues of L.A. life while the Flames had captain Jarome Iginla call him personally.
While Richards is a legitimate first-line centre, he certainly benefitted from a relatively weak free agent class and a hungry group of NHL general managers with money to spend.
With the Richards deal finally done, it is expected that general managers will be scrambling to pick up the remaining scraps from the free-agent pool. The Toronto Maple Leafs, for one, will likely be in the race for available centres such as former Buffalo Sabre Tim Connolly.
