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Post by Doc Holliday on Apr 24, 2007 7:20:14 GMT -5
Team will lose over 5mil with their early exit. They made the playoffs by the skin of their teeth and if they wouldn't have made it, there is no question that one of the big 4 would have been gone. Does 2 home games saves them?
Rumors are that that the Bolts, despite the increase in the cap next year, want to lower their payroll to about 40 mil.
Richards is frustratad that his winger, Modin, has been traded and that he no longer can count on talented players on his line.
Goaltending situation still up in the air.
Basically the team has its back against the wall with 25 mil spent on 4 players. They don't have the money to progress and their stars are taking this team as far as they'll ever can without help.
I know every summer the question arise, but the lack of depth and heavy financial losses will put pressure on Tampa to move one of their big 4. Do they trade their captain who just had a rough season? Do they trade Vinny, their franchise playe?. Do they trade St-Louis, their goal scoring machine? Boyle their only solid dmen?
I'm not a gambling men, but if I had a dollar to burn I'd bet that Richards will be a Duck next season.
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Post by Rimmer on Apr 24, 2007 8:00:41 GMT -5
isn't Tim Taylor their captain?
given their salaries, Richards definitely looks like the best bet to be moved, but not many teams can afford to take his 7.8M contract. can the Habs? I doubt it.
btw, I think Philly would be looking for a 1st line center this summer and I wouldn't be surprised if Briere, Gomez, Drury or even Richards end up there.
R.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Apr 24, 2007 8:06:00 GMT -5
Well, possibly there are a lot of teams looking at this scenario, Doc. Everyone and their dog might be enquiring to see if Vinny and/or Martin S-L will be available.
But even if they are, it would be a chance at taking either one. We simply don't know how these players will do when they're split up.
Like you suggest, it might be Richards who is the odd man out. If so, it's hard to say if he'd be a good fit or not in Montreal given the system we use. Can he adjust or will he brood?
Cheers.
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Post by jkr on Apr 24, 2007 8:16:16 GMT -5
Giguere is a UFA on July 1st & he is the answer to the Bolts goaltending issues but Feaster has to make some serious roster adjustments first. I never understood his thinking when trading for Marc Denis & signing him to a multi year deal. I didn't see the guy play a lot but there was never anything there that indicated he could carry a team. The problem is that Denis is locked up for 2 more years at 3 million & that Giguere is already making 4 million. He won't sign for less than 5. To top it off, Denis didn't even dress for the playoffs.
TB also has Sarich & Pratt going to UFA so he has two holes on defense to fill. Trading Richards will open up tons of space but can TB find someone to take 7.8 million for the next 4 years? I don't think so. St. Louis is making a little less but is 4-5 years older than Richards or Lecavalier & has 4 years left on his deal.
Seems like a real mess to me.
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Post by BadCompany on Apr 24, 2007 8:56:51 GMT -5
I could see them dangling Richards, looking for a home run deal, but I also don’t think they have to panic and hold a firesale, just to get rid of some salary.
Looking at their roster, I see that they have about $44 million right now, so they would have to cut “only” $4 million to get to their self-imposed $40 million cap (good thing we had that lockout, eh?):
* Sean Burke still counted towards their cap this year, but his salary of $1.6 comes off the books, and they don’t even have to replace him with a roster player.
* Ruslan Fedentenko is a UFA, and he played all of zero minutes in the final two games against New Jersey, and Tortorello said he “wasn’t going to die on the vine” with him. So he’s gone, along with his $1.65 million (but he’ll have to be replaced on the roster).
* Dave Andreychuk’s $650,000 salary also counted towards their $44 million cap, and he’ll come off the books this summer as well (also without any need to replace him on the roster).
That’s about $4 million right there. If they replace Fedentenko with a $500,000 rookie, they’ll have a salary of about $40.5 million. They have no real significant RFA’s worthy of huge raises. If they let Cory Sarich and his $1.9 million go, and somehow manage to unload Denis and his $2.86 million, they’d be well under $40 million. Sure, they’d have no depth, but they’d still have their stars, and it was good enough to get them to the playoffs this year, so...
I’d be surprised if they firesaled anybody for nothing. Like I said, they could dangle Richards, just to see what is out there (to Columbus, for Federov, Brassard and the Blue Jackets #7 pick?), but I don’t think they have to make a deal that they don’t like.
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Post by blny on Apr 24, 2007 9:21:25 GMT -5
St Louis has an NT clause. Richards' salary is a virtual NT clause, and the GM is on record as saying he won't go down as the guy that traded Lecavalier. IMO, none of these guys are going anywhere.
BC does a good job outlining the cuts to be made.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2007 9:48:06 GMT -5
Fedorov is washed up. Nobody wants him and Columbus can't get rid of him.
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Post by BadCompany on Apr 24, 2007 9:53:26 GMT -5
True, but if the Bolts want to deal Richards, they're going to have to take some significant salary back, just so the other team can get under the cap. If they take Federov and his $6 million off of Columbus, the Blue Jackets would be able to afford the $7.8 million Richards is making, the Bolts would cut close to $2 million off of their cap for next season, and walk away from Federov after next year, thus saving themselves another $6 million on their cap.
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Post by Boston_Habs on Apr 24, 2007 10:02:07 GMT -5
I hate that contract. At $7.8M I expect Crosby/Thornton/Jagr type production. Despite his playoff heroics I have never thought of Richards as en elite offensive talent. Lecavalier costs $1M less per year and is a better offensive player but that trade window closed with Vinny's career season.
I think we need to target a young centre who is still cheap but with good upside. I have liked Stephen Weiss for a long time and would like to work out a trade with the Panthers. The Panthers have a young team with a good core in Jokinen, Horton, Bouwmeester. Not sure what the right trade mix is (they would probably like a dman) but I think this is the kind of trade Gainey should pursue. Once a guy gets a home run contract like Richards it's really too late unless you are sure he can deliver the numbers.
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Post by Rimmer on Apr 24, 2007 10:21:01 GMT -5
another team that could be able to take on Richards' contract is Washington. they will also be looking for a playmaking center for Ovechkin's line.
R.
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Post by Tankdriver on Apr 24, 2007 12:45:51 GMT -5
Does it really matter? After July 1, St Louis and Lecavalier will have NTC, and Richards is 7.8 million. They aren't going anywhere.
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Post by Doc Holliday on Apr 24, 2007 13:03:04 GMT -5
I could see them dangling Richards, looking for a home run deal, but I also don’t think they have to panic and hold a firesale, just to get rid of some salary. Looking at their roster, I see that they have about $44 million right now, so they would have to cut “only” $4 million to get to their self-imposed $40 million cap (good thing we had that lockout, eh?): * Sean Burke still counted towards their cap this year, but his salary of $1.6 comes off the books, and they don’t even have to replace him with a roster player. * Ruslan Fedentenko is a UFA, and he played all of zero minutes in the final two games against New Jersey, and Tortorello said he “wasn’t going to die on the vine” with him. So he’s gone, along with his $1.65 million (but he’ll have to be replaced on the roster). * Dave Andreychuk’s $650,000 salary also counted towards their $44 million cap, and he’ll come off the books this summer as well (also without any need to replace him on the roster). That’s about $4 million right there. If they replace Fedentenko with a $500,000 rookie, they’ll have a salary of about $40.5 million. They have no real significant RFA’s worthy of huge raises. If they let Cory Sarich and his $1.9 million go, and somehow manage to unload Denis and his $2.86 million, they’d be well under $40 million. Sure, they’d have no depth, but they’d still have their stars, and it was good enough to get them to the playoffs this year, so... I’d be surprised if they firesaled anybody for nothing. Like I said, they could dangle Richards, just to see what is out there (to Columbus, for Federov, Brassard and the Blue Jackets #7 pick?), but I don’t think they have to make a deal that they don’t like. That's true BC but you're outlining a scenario of "let's not get any better". Seems to me that Tampa came dangerously close to missing the playoffs and their early exit only strengthen the evident lack of all around depth that is killing this team right now. Do they put again Richards and his 8mil between 2 no names because they can't afford anybody else? I'm certain that missing the playoffs at a 40mil payroll is not an any better scenario for them than exiting them early at 44mil. Not sure if they'll get a home run type of deal for Richards but they should certainly try to get quality young players with good upsides. Does it really matter? After July 1, St Louis and Lecavalier will have NTC, and Richards is 7.8 million. They aren't going anywhere. A NTC is merely just an insurance that the trade has to be approved by the player. While I am sure that Richards likes his team, he also must be quite dejected to have nobody with any kind of finish on his line. I doubt he'd be opposed a trade that would have him centering Ovechkin as Rimmer suggested. |
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Post by seventeen on Apr 24, 2007 20:06:48 GMT -5
I, for one, would be more than willing to take on Brad Richards' salary and find a way to make it work under the cap. Samsonov likes warm weather, doesn't he? Yes, I know Tampa would want more, even though Feaster's a dork, he's not quite that dumb. Then again, he did trade Pitkanen for that thunderbolt Fedotenko and spare change. Ok, so we toss in some real prospects (Halak, etc.). Sheesh you guys....you want a # 1 centre who's going to be around for a while, pay up. Richards is gold, and his contract makes him cheaper than the real stuff.
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Post by Skilly on Apr 24, 2007 21:23:40 GMT -5
I, for one, would be more than willing to take on Brad Richards' salary and find a way to make it work under the cap. Samsonov likes warm weather, doesn't he? Yes, I know Tampa would want more, even though Feaster's a dork, he's not quite that dumb. Then again, he did trade Pitkanen for that thunderbolt Fedotenko and spare change. Ok, so we toss in some real prospects (Halak, etc.). Sheesh you guys....you want a # 1 centre who's going to be around for a while, pay up. Richards is gold, and his contract makes him cheaper than the real stuff. When Ryder is awarded 4.5 million in arbitration (remember what Dumont was awarded) sign him and then package him with Samsonov and you have 8 million in salary for Brad Richards and another (Kuba). I say another, because Tampa would want to decrease their salary, not increase. |
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