Detroit picks up center insurance in Brad Richards for one year, $3 million
Brad Richards got a raise but is he going to a contender?
The former Chicago Blackhawks center signed a one-year $3 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings. According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, the deal could be worth up to $4 million with playoff bonuses.
Richards spurned higher offers last summer to sign a one-year $2 million contract with the Blackhawks. He did this because he believed the Hawks gave him the best shot at a Stanley Cup. Richards was bought out by the Rangers earlier in that offseason from his nine year $60 million contract.
With the Red Wings he joins an aging, but effective, core that includes Pavel Datsyuk (36 years old), and Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall (both 34). Detroit also lost coach Mike Babcock to Toronto earlier in the off-season, though the team did sign high-end UFA defenseman Mike Green.
Said Winging it Motown:
It's a strange move. You could say that the Red Wings are gearing up for Pavel Datsyuk to be out longer than expected, which is scary. The issue is that there might need to be a trade happening to make sense of all this. With the announced AAV of $3 million and $1 million worth of playoff bonuses, someone is likely on the move
Datsyuk had ankle surgery in late June and could miss the start of the regular season.
Detroit also bought out center Stephen Weiss on Tuesday.
Coming back to Chicago seemed to not be an option for Richards, especially with the Blackhawks trading for center Artem Anisimov as part of the Brandon Saad package.
Chicago then re-signed Anisimov on Wednesday which all but officially signaled the end of the Richards era.
In this day and age, is the 35-year-old Richards worth that type of money? He notched 37 points last season while mostly centering Patrick Kane. And he’s seemed to age in dog years since he went to the Rangers in 2011-12 for his massive contract.
The answer is probably no, but Red Wings GM Ken Holland may have a few more ideas in his head before the free agency period comes to an end.
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
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