I kind of agree with what your saying. To be honest I dont see Gagne being on this team after this year anyhow. Moving Vinny to the wing however could be just what the doctor had ordered. Add in the fact that Vinny seems to be a little bit emotionally unstable, having Brad Richards on the team to help him get through the tough times like he did before when Vinny was being labeled as bust(If you remember the article of Brad Richards having a sit down talk with him, shortly after he became the beast that dominated the league.) he could revitalize his career.
Vinny's 7 mill a season cap hit wont look so horrible then. Give Richards Gagne's money when hes gone and we still have 12 million in cap space to resign Stamkos and worry about other assets like goaltending. It could really be a match made in heaven, again.
I doubt Richards signs to a $5.25 Million cap hit.
Depends, we also said Dom moore wouldn't come here for peanuts, and Ohlund wouldn't come to Tampa, and so on. Depends how bad he truly wants to come back. Vinny needs to focus on just scoring and get some of the other stuff out of the way, he would be a lot better on the wing at the moment.
If we feel Tokarki is ready we can offer Richards around 6.85M without gaining any salary from this year. Even with signing Stamkos we will have a ton of capspace. I don't know much about UFAs next year but it will be fun.
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"Embrace and savor the moment." -- WF
Leaves Tampa with around 10-12m(depending on cap increase) to find 2 goalies, 2 dependable D-man and a fourth line which should be more then enough if we can resign Bergenheim and Thompson for cheap.
I don't see the need for another center, and I'd love to have Richards back with the Lightning. I'd rather keep Gagne on the wing and have SFY concentrate on the defense and goaltending.
I don't see the need for another center, and I'd love to have Richards back with the Lightning. I'd rather keep Gagne on the wing and have SFY concentrate on the defense and goaltending.
Kill two birds with one stone. Trade Smith (and Simon Gagne with whoever else it takes) for Brad Richards.
Regardless of what Lebraun says, Richards isn't getting to Tampa.
Most likely he'll sign with LA or re-sign with Dallas given the length of contract and amount he is looking for.
Stamkos is going to command 8.5 to 9 mil for a duration easily.
That leaves Tampa with 15 mil or so with more holes than I count to fill.
They would be fools to sign Richards, considering he will be looking for a retirement contract at 8 mil for 6 to 8 years.
The contract killing Tampa right now is Lecavalier. And I see no one trading for his monster hit given his performance of late.
Just like most other teams, your in a straddled situation.
You could sign Richards, but most likely it will bite you in the arse as your only going to role 2 scoring lines, and once other teams shut them down, your as good as done.
Richards would have "interest" in coming back to Tampa, but only if they $$$ signs were right. Lets make no mistake about it people, Richy is a humble guy, but hes not going to take the kind of massive pay cut it would require for him to sign with us.
I doubt we ever see Brad back in a Lightning uniform, hes a no. 1 center and we already have Stamkos/Lecavalier. All that cap space needs to go towards helping improve our blueline/goaltending.
Regardless of what Lebraun says, Richards isn't getting to Tampa.
Most likely he'll sign with LA or re-sign with Dallas given the length of contract and amount he is looking for.
Stamkos is going to command 8.5 to 9 mil for a duration easily.
That leaves Tampa with 15 mil or so with more holes than I count to fill.
They would be fools to sign Richards, considering he will be looking for a retirement contract at 8 mil for 6 to 8 years.
The contract killing Tampa right now is Lecavalier. And I see no one trading for his monster hit given his performance of late.
Just like most other teams, your in a straddled situation.
You could sign Richards, but most likely it will bite you in the arse as your only going to role 2 scoring lines, and once other teams shut them down, your as good as done.
Um, I doubt Stamkos is getting 8.5 to 9 mill a year. If he does it will be a career ending contract and his cap hit will be like 5 to 6 million a year. Sorry to burst your bubble. Richards is my favorite player but if he wants a 7 million cap hit salary, he can GTFO. I doubt it though, he has said numerous of times he regrets taking that much cash to begin with.
Regardless of what Lebraun says, Richards isn't getting to Tampa.
Most likely he'll sign with LA or re-sign with Dallas given the length of contract and amount he is looking for.
Stamkos is going to command 8.5 to 9 mil for a duration easily.
That leaves Tampa with 15 mil or so with more holes than I count to fill.
They would be fools to sign Richards, considering he will be looking for a retirement contract at 8 mil for 6 to 8 years.
The contract killing Tampa right now is Lecavalier. And I see no one trading for his monster hit given his performance of late.
Just like most other teams, your in a straddled situation.
You could sign Richards, but most likely it will bite you in the arse as your only going to role 2 scoring lines, and once other teams shut them down, your as good as done.
Its an old story i've heard go around many times - Vinny and Brad would take less money to keep everyone together and have another go at the cup, but then took his contract and Vinny got his. Both were kind of upset with each other or something like that. I know brymel remembers the story a little better than I do.
Its an old story i've heard go around many times - Vinny and Brad would take less money to keep everyone together and have another go at the cup, but then took his contract and Vinny got his. Both were kind of upset with each other or something like that. I know brymel remembers the story a little better than I do.
As I remember it, Brad called Vinny out when he signed his contract, even though Vinny signed for less then the max at the time. The following season Brad signed his whopper of a deal. Truthfully, I blame Feaster for it. At the time he was handing out No Trade Clauses like they were Halloween candy. Both Brad and Boyle in my opinion signed deals that insured they would have to be dealt.
For the record, I have no interest in bringing back Brad. In my opinion, he's a good, not a great player and soft as heck, although I haven't watched him play much lately. A fantastic player to have if we are making a run in the playoffs. Our efforts need to be focused on the goaltending issues. Not reuniting long lost friends...
Last edited by brymel: 12-16-2010 at 06:59 AM.
Reason: just because...:P
Misinformation, that Kariya contract was so he would become a UFA at the end of that season and earn big money after. As a clause in the then CBA was something along the lines of if a player earned less than the league average they would become a UFA, something to do with the lockout I think??
