Richards stays on for two more years here, max. No way we are gonna take that cap hit til 2019 when we already got him when his game was on the way down.
Usually when a player can still skate well but can't seem to bury a puck or connect on a pass he might be putting too much pressure on himself or is a tad snake bitten, but Richards is looking worse and worse every game.
You know what it is for me? I used to watch him a lot in Tampa and then caught a good amount of Dallas Stars games when he played there and he was just great. Good skater, excellent passer, his vision was amazing, and he well deserved his 90+ point seasons. He looks completely different now. His skating is abysmal and sloth-like, he makes these no-look passes every game that don't make any sense and most of the time don't even land on anyone's stick, and he's so weak on the puck that it's disgusting. I'm still rooting for him. I don't think he's hit Drury status at all, but for the love of God, he needs to try to reach down inside himself and pull out the old Richards that i used to watch and say; "wow, I'd love him in a Ranger jersey."
He can't win a faceoff. He never plays with an edge. The replay of the three on one goal by Montreal, from in back of the net, said it all. Staal dives for the puck and misses and Richards, instead of busting it, trying to back him up, is seen gliding and arriving just as the puck goes in the net.
Find a GM who stat watches like half this board (Prob more than half actually) and pawn him off for a great young prospect and pick. I honestly don't wanmt him to turn it around because I am convinced we will get this same thing next year and every year till the end so I am hoping he just continues to suck so badly that we have no choice but to buy him out. There have to be better options. Even if it's a combination of players for almost 7 mil there has to be a better way to allocate that money and make this team better than it is with richards.
Whatis he actually doing out there? Shooting? Skating? PAssing? Controling? Defense? Back checking? Breaking plays in the Nzone? What is he doing? Wouldn't a combo of Plekanec and Prust be better than what we're getting from him? Ryan O'R? PK? Players will become available you just have to have the cap space. I mean if anyone is seeing something we're all not like good plays consistently please start pointing them out
I was alright with his play in the first two weeks of the season, with his flu during training camp and whatnot, but the season is already 5 weeks old. And Richards is still playing horribly, and seems to be getting worse! His passes, if not picked by the other team, are never on the tape. He winds up for slappers like it's the 80's, he's skating like a turtle out there, which leads to needless hooking/tripping penalties. Maybe he should have played in Europe during the lockout instead of lounging in the sun. That would have probably helped.
I was alright with his play in the first two weeks of the season, with his flu during training camp and whatnot, but the season is already 5 weeks old. And Richards is still playing horribly, and seems to be getting worse! His passes, if not picked by the other team, are never on the tape. He's winds up for slappers like it's the 80's, he's skating like a turtle out there, which leads to needless hooking/tripping penalties. Maybe he should have played in Europe during the lockout instead of lounging in the sun. That would have probably helped.
Yep its not even the fact that hes just fundamentally making dumb plays. Hes doing it with what looks like minimal effort... he looks like hes going through the motions out there
Oh boy. A performance like tonight is not helping my cause. I'm still going to give him some time (I've said March all along), but it's not looking good. To put it bluntly, he looks like he's skating through ****.
Oh, I will agree that he needs to be moved regardless of a possible season turnaround.
I just figure that I have nothing left to lose at this point, so I might as well mix it up and not berate him to death.
Richards will turn it around. He's a world class center when he is playing to his capability. Remember, if we didn't sign him, there were plenty of other teams ready to invest in him.
He had a slow start last season. Played great with Gaborik in March. And was HUGE for us in the post season. Did we have a better forward than Richards in the post season? Nope. He's a big game player.
When he scored that goal against the Capitals was anyone complaining about him? The guy scored several big goals for us and is getting ridiculed beyond belief for a slow start to the season. It happens. Great players have slow starts. There is no reason to completely tear them down for it. He isn't slowing down at 32. His performance March through May was a testament of that.
Based on some of these comments, you'd think the entire loss was on Richards' shoulders. As if everyone else on the team played a brilliant game.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Richards
I know its sacrilege to bring up, but Gomez was a vastly better skater than Richards.
Gomez is a terrific skater (when he is in shape, which hasn't always been the case). Can you name something else that he does better than Richards? I can't.
No one has ever doubted Gomez's physical ability or even his skill. It's the empty space between his ears that makes Gomez a liability.
Based on some of these comments, you'd think the entire loss was on Richards' shoulders. As if everyone else on the team played a brilliant game.
Gomez is a terrific skater (when he is in shape, which hasn't always been the case). Can you name something else that he does better than Richards? I can't.
No one has ever doubted Gomez's physical ability or even his skill. It's the empty space between his ears that makes Gomez a liability.
Oh boy. A performance like tonight is not helping my cause. I'm still going to give him some time (I've said March all along), but it's not looking good. To put it bluntly, he looks like he's skating through ****.
Based on some of these comments, you'd think the entire loss was on Richards' shoulders. As if everyone else on the team played a brilliant game.
Nature of the beast. If you are this highly prized coming in and get paid what he does then he deserves to take a good portion or it when he plays like just another one or the players. He's supposed to be a stud AND he wears in A. He deserves people being critical.
Based on some of these comments, you'd think the entire loss was on Richards' shoulders. As if everyone else on the team played a brilliant game.
We expect more from Richards. It's not enough for him not to be the reason we lose, he's supposed to be (one of) the reason(s) we win. He really hasn't played that part once this year. I thought he looked a little better in the first period tonight, but then he went back to being the Richards we've seen all year.
