Mike Richards

The NHL wasted no time creating buzz after the Stanley Cup playoffs. While the player-movement freezes in the NFL and NBA have made things a little duller transaction-wise, the NHL has picked up the slack with major names switching organizations on a daily basis. 

The Los Angeles Kings, looking to upgrade their offense, leadership and grit, traded for former Philadelphia Flyers captain Mike Richards, even though he brought with him a Marian Hossa-like contract.   

The New York Rangers, as desperate for a first-line center as Jim Carrey is for a hit movie, coughed up $60 million for free-agent Brad Richards, formerly of the Dallas Stars. This move hopefully means that Rangers franchise goaltender Henrik Lundqvist will not be on the short end of as many 2-1 and 1-0 losses as he has during the last couple of seasons.    

So which of these Richards’s are going to have the better fantasy season in 2011-12? Here is a look at what their roles should be, who they will play with, and their projected point totals for next season. 


Brad Richards, New York Rangers

Unlike Alexander Ovechkin or Ilya Kovalchuk, Rangers right wing Marian Gaborik cannot create scoring opportunities on his own. He needs a play-making center to be a more productive goal scorer as much as Britney Spears needs a taped vocal track to put on a more entertaining concert.   

Gaborik has been good, but not great (134 points in 138 games), as a Ranger because none of the centers he has been stuck with—Brandon Dubinsky, Vinny Prospal, Derek Stepan—are Adam Oates clones in the passing department.

Gabby can slide into great shooting spots and has a deadly wrist shot, but when his centers are passing pucks into his skates it’s hard for him to score. He has the talent to be a consistent top-10 point-getter, yet his center men, and his brittle body, normally become roadblocks the size of Dion Phaneuf.     

Enter Richards, one of the premier playmakers in the NHL. He is a pass-first pivot who averaged over one point per game in his last two seasons with Dallas. Richards always elevates the fantasy values of the lucky line-mates who flank him. He did just that with the Stars when he helped turn left wing Loui Eriksson into one of the scarier snipers in the league.    

While Richards and Gaborik are not going to be the next coming of Gretzky and Kurri, you would think they should mesh as well as Franklin and Bash. Barring any further Richards concussions or Gaborik groin tweaks, they should both average over one point per game while playing major minutes on the power play and seeing 20 minutes of ice time per game overall.

Prediction—Brad Richards scores 86 points (21 goals, 65 assists) in 75 games, Gaborik scores 67 points in 60 games (he will miss six weeks with a torn toenail) and Lundqvist loses fewer low-scoring games and wins more high-scoring contests.   



Mike Richards, Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles already had a No. 1 center in Anze Kopitar, so consider Richards No. 1-A. Now the Kings are more solid in the middle than the Houston Rockets were when Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson patrolled the lane.    

The key to Richards’ fantasy value could be tied into who his line-mates are. In Richards’ case he might not play with more talented wingers than Kopitar, and that could actually be better for his offensive output. 

While Kopitar will likely play between power forwards Dustin Penner and Dustin Brown, Richards sounds like he may be slotted between fellow former Philly Flyers Justin Williams and Simon Gagne. Williams is coming off a 57-point season, while Gagne just signed a two-year deal with the Kings after coming off back-to-back 40-point campaigns. 

There are not many NHL duos who have combined for as many injuries as Williams and Gagne have over their careers, so you cannot predict how long they will stay on the ice or how well they will play when “healthy.”

But familiarity and chemistry are two factors that cannot be ignored. Richards missed Williams by a season in Philadelphia, but he played with Gagne, and Gagne played with Williams, so Mike’s adjustment period with his line-mates in L.A. should not be as long as Brad’s will be with his in N.Y.

Richards is in no danger of shrinking in a big-media market like Los Angeles, either. The pressure to immediately produce will have zero affect on him, considering he did just fine being the captain and a prime point producer in Philadelphia—a much more vocal and ardent hockey city than Los Angeles will ever be.  

Richards may also benefit from playing in the more wide-open Western conference instead of the neutral-zone clogged Eastern conference. Many forwards have seen their fantasy worth and offensive numbers shoot up once they went west. 

Prediction—Mike Richards scores 70 points (31 goals, 39 assists), is a plus-18 and has 75 penalty minutes. 

Mike Richards is a different type of player than Brad, thus his fantasy value is different as well. Where Brad racks up assists and points, Mike is the all-around player who helps in more fantasy categories across the board. Mike should score more goals, have a higher plus-minus and accumulate more penalty minutes. Brad only has 177 PIM in a decade and is a career minus-72, so I’m not exactly going out on a limb on the last two predictions.      

Neither Richards should see a dip in fantasy value while playing with their new teams, and both will continue to provide what they always have in the past.

If you need offense, draft Brad higher. If you want a little bit of everything, draft Mike higher. And if you want the best player in fantasy hockey, go after Washington’s Alex Ovechkin or Anaheim’s Corey Perry instead.

  

I remember a time when I looked toward the next hockey season with trepidation. I would anxiously await the offseason, only to be disappointed by the number and quality of their acquisitions. Then I would watch as my beloved Blue Jackets get off the pad quickly, flame out and eventually fall back to Earth in another fireball of broken hopes and dreams.

Come to think of it, that time was only a couple of months ago.

This offseason seems to be changing up that sad flight plan, however, giving me and other Jackets fans the hope that they won’t crash and burn yet again.

Finally getting a big time center was huge. Pass first, shoot first, it really didn’t matter who the Blue Jackets got. Jeff Carter may not be ideal to play on the same line with Rick Nash, but he is definitely ideal to play on the same team. A proven scorer on a team that traditionally can’t score is a very big improvement.

A defenseman who can not only move and shoot the puck effectively, but also do so on the power play was sorely needed.

James Wisniewski may not be disciplined defensively, but as long as he doesn’t play puck giving traffic cone defense like so many Jackets did last year (Stralman, Hejda, Commodore), he can’t be any worse. The fact that he scores points is enough, something they’ve lacked since their inception.

Even the under-the-radar moves have been exciting. Radek Martinek is a very solid defender when healthy, which he is most often not. If he stays healthy, they will have a good defensive defenseman, if not one of the kids like John Moore will get their shot like Grant Clitsome did a year ago.

The situation in goal may have gotten better too. Mark Dekanich will backup Steve Mason next year. A promising young goalie, he may even push Mason for the starting job. It could finally light the fire that’s been missing in his game since his rookie season. There’s nothing like competition to make people work harder at getting better.

The most intriguing and needed moves were the ones involving Nikita Filatov and Jakub Voracek. Both are highly talented young hockey players. Both are also very lazy young hockey players. Neither wanted to work, Filatov all the time and Voracek before the season started.

Filatov forced his way onto the team when he wasn’t ready and forced his way out when he didn’t perform. Vorecek just didn’t perform. I hope they both succeed at their new clubs, but wouldn’t be surprised if they played the exact same way.

While the Jackets may not be Western Conference tyrants next year, they will be putting a better team on the ice than ever before. Gone are the prima donnas and aging veterans. In come the fresh faces willing to help the team succeed.

For the first time in years, I am actively looking forward to the hockey season. This year I won’t be waiting for the inevitable crash, though. This year I will, hopefully, be waiting to buy my playoff tickets.        

The big news in the Flyers world the past few days has been focused heavily on the prospect development camp currently happening in Voorhees, NJ. While it's easy to chalk this up to the long summer months that provide no hockey satiation, I can't help but find this new found obsession with prospects slightly disturbing.

To be honest, my own methods of coping with the offseason blues have produced little to no results, with my clinging on to Sarah Baicker's (of CSN Philly) most recent offseason rumors producing no more than conversation fodder to bore my fellow fans with.

However, I find the media frenzy around prospect camp to be simply a distraction keeping real fans asking questions about the complete reorganization of the franchise as requested by the Draconian leader that is Ed Snider.

Being fair, I was very intrigued by this year's prospect camp, and to be honest, who wouldn't be? Not counting undrafted acquisitions, the happenings in Voorhees boast the presence of "the best player not currently in the NHL" and the No. 8 overall selection in this year's draft. This excitement is heightened by the fact that the Flyers have been seriously lacking in the prospect department over the past few years.

I chose not to attend the prospect camp due to other obligations, but from what I'm told, it was met with serious interest by the fans. The limited bleachers at Flyers Skate Zone were filled, and fans lined the glass trying to get a better look at players attempting to make next season's roster. And for what? A bunch of boring skating drills and routine passing plays.

While I didn't attend prospect camp, I have been to the Skate Zone multiple times to watch the Orange and Black practice. The times I went, I was able to see first- and second-line guys practice drills that were used on the ice the very next day at a high-profile game.

The attendance at these practices? Let's just say there were few enough people there for my girlfriend to almost be struck on the head by an errant puck and for me to set up a comfortable nap spot on the against-the-board bleacher seats.

I know everyone is trying to satisfy their offseason hockey needs, and that prospect camp provides a good enough outlet, but the attendance and interest this year is totally unprecedented. I get it—Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn have been touted so much by central scouting that it is hard not to take a look.

However, I feel that Flyers fans have already stopped asking questions like "how were they acquired?" and "was it worth the cost?" From the sentiment I'm getting around town, these answers have already become obsolete.

The Flyers faithful have accepted Paul Holmgren and Ed Snider as benevolent deities that bestow upon the fans whatever is in their best interest. I'm not saying that there is no reason to be excited about prospect camp.

I sure as hell hope that Couturier and Schenn end up playing like we're told they will, but I think it would be wise to take a step back and realize what was given for all this. We lost our top goal scorer and perhaps the best two way forward in the league—a price that is rather steep, in my opinion.

Before you drink the Snider laced Kool-Aid, ask yourself if it was all worth it. For me, I will reserve my excitement for when the puck drops in October and only truly show it only if it is warranted.

Last season the L.A. Kings had the potential to make a deep playoff run up until the late injury to Anze Kopitar. Since then, Lombardi, Robitaille and Hextall have made some great moves over the last week and a half to better the franchise in L.A.

Yes, L.A. gave up some youth in a recent trade of Simmonds and Schenn but picked up a key leader and two-way forward in Mike Richards and now signed free agent Simon Gagne. I think the Kings want to make a run for a Cup now rather than in a couple of years, hence giving up some youth for some already proven warriors.

I have to admit that there are plenty of ties to the Flyers' organization now, and I can see why it is an inviting spot for former Flyers to come play! Gagne and Richards could easily form one of the top second lines in the Pacific division or entire league for that matter.

Freeing up $6,250,000.00 in cap space by sending Ryan Smyth back to the familiar Oil Fields of Western Canada was definitely a great business decision for the Kings.

Mike Richards is more than just a 30 goal scorer. He has a defensive game but can also put the big ones in the net when needed. In fact, sometimes he prefers to score double shorthanded as well—just ask the Rangers. Richards is a leader (despite the recent criticisms of his Captancy in Philly) on the ice, and he is a guy you want out there whether it be in practice or a game situation.

Does he like to party like a Rock Star? Yes, on occasion I believe he does like to let loose but not like he once did on off nights with Lupul and Carter. Richard’s all around game is sometimes underrated in this league with so much young/raw talent these days. I think Richards could easily have a 30-40-70 point season.

Simon Gagne is another great guy to have around the arena. He is a two-time 40-goal scorer, but expect more like 22–35–57 out of him this season if he can manage to stay healthy.

That has always been a concern for Gagne, the 11-year veteran who did have a decent season with Tampa but again missed 19 games last season. He is a key veteran and is no stranger to big playoff performances and GWG’s—just ask the Bruins!

I have been riding Quick and Bryzgalov in my fantasy pools for the last 2-3 seasons and have to admit that the Kings already have two solid young goalies in Quick and Bernier, a good defensive crew with Doughty, Johnson, Willie Mitchell, Scuderi, Greene and Drewiske.

Now that some key veterans are familiar with each other an the coaching staff and some management, I believe the Kings will take off this year. Kopitar is one of the most skilled players in the league, and considering he's still skating with guys like Brown, Stoll, Williams, Penner and the new Flyer editions...lookout

The Kings still need to work out a deal with Doughty but currently have apox. $20 million left under the salary cap. This gives them some flexibility to get even better as time marched forward.

Needless to say, the Kings have become my team from the Western Conference. From classy ex-players in the front office, to the new ex-Flyer additions, to the already young but experienced nucleus, this team has potential. And if it can lock up a few current players long-term, this will be a force for years to come!

I look forward to watching them this season!

Thank you for the read!

Flyers Live