Richards bids farewell (AP story)

[PEIBolt]

Tampa Bay Lightning trade forward Brad Richards to Dallas Stars

By Schuyler Dixon
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DALLAS — The Dallas Stars tried to boost their offence and their playoff moxie Tuesday, getting centre Brad Richards from Tampa Bay in a five-player deal completed hours before the trade deadline.
The Stars gave up backup goalie Mike Smith, forwards Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern and a fourth-round pick in next year’s draft for Richards and starting Lightning goalie Johan Holmqvist.
Richards, MVP of the playoffs when the Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004, was Tampa Bay’s fourth-leading scorer with 51 points (18 goals, 33 assists) in 62 games. He will be third on the Stars’ scoring list, six points ahead of Mike Modano.
Tampa Bay is last in the Eastern Conference and looking to clear salary cap space two years after signing Richards to a five-year contract that averages US$7.8 million per season.
The trade breaks up Tampa Bay’s “big three” of Richards and prolific forwards Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, two of the top 10 scorers in the league.
“I’ve played on every team in my life since I was 14 with (Lecavalier). He’s my best friend,” Richards said. “It goes without saying, that part was tough. But I kind of got past that mentally now. That’s why I’m so excited.”
Richards, who waived his no-trade clause, said Dallas topped the list of teams he would consider joining.
The appeal for the Stars was adding a proven playoff scorer in their effort to get out of the first round for the first time since 2003. In the 2004 playoffs, Richards set an NHL record with seven game-winning goals and led the league with 26 points in 23 games.
Entering Tuesday’s game at St. Louis, Dallas had won 11 of 13 games to solidify the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference behind Detroit. Catching the Red Wings is unlikely but not impossible.
“I have played in the playoffs the last four years. I can’t wait to get back in them,” Richards said. “I will keep playing the way I always have in the playoffs, and been successful, and we’ll see what happens.”
Besides switching teams, Smith and Holmqvist are trading roles as well.
Smith will probably be the starter for Tampa Bay after challenging Marty Turco for that role in Dallas earlier this season. Ultimately, Smith made 21 starts to 47 for Turco, who had eight of the Stars’ past 11 wins before Tuesday. Smith was 12-9 with a 2.46 goals-against average in Dallas.
Holmqvist was 20-16 with a 3.01 goals-against average in 45 games as Tampa Bay’s starter. He will back up Turco.

[timothy]

“I’ve played on every team in my life since I was 14 with (Lecavalier). He’s my best friend,” Richards said. “It goes without saying, that part was tough. But I kind of got past that mentally now.

:Cry:

[chad]

From DC's blog:

Richards: Don't blame Torts, Feaster

Brad Richards said on a TSN interview, his only public conversation so far, that the "spiral'' in which Tampa Bay finds itself should not reflect on coach John Tortorella or general manager Jay Feaster

"It’s tough,'' Richards said. "Jay Feaster, John Tortorella built that organization into what we did in 2004. It was so good. It was the place to be. It really was, and all of a sudden we go the other way. There were a lot of outside influences there. You don’t know who the owners are going to be, who they are. It’s a tough job and its unfortunate because it makes them look bad, but they really did a good job with that organization and don’t have a lot of control over what’s going on right now, and that’s unfortunate. Hopefully they get back on track.''

[missK]

Thanks PEI. I'm very sad that it all had to come to this. Please send Brad our best wishes in the playoffs. And please stop by and visit us from time to time. You will be missed.

[Sotnos]

From DC's blog:

Richards: Don't blame Torts, Feaster

Brad Richards said on a TSN interview, his only public conversation so far, that the "spiral'' in which Tampa Bay finds itself should not reflect on coach John Tortorella or general manager Jay Feaster

"It’s tough,'' Richards said. "Jay Feaster, John Tortorella built that organization into what we did in 2004. It was so good. It was the place to be. It really was, and all of a sudden we go the other way. There were a lot of outside influences there. You don’t know who the owners are going to be, who they are. It’s a tough job and its unfortunate because it makes them look bad, but they really did a good job with that organization and don’t have a lot of control over what’s going on right now, and that’s unfortunate. Hopefully they get back on track.''
listening to that was really tough. that and seeing the interviews they showed with marty & vinny about did me in

[PEIBolt]

These past seven/eight seasons have been amazing. I've met some truly incredible hockey fans on SSN and, now, here, made some great friends and it's one of the hardest aspects of this trade.
I pictured Brad playing in Lightning colours until he hung up the skates.
I established a great media contact in Tampa (EE is a class act), visited the city a few times and will always have some wonderful memories.
2004 will be a season I will never forget. Having Brad fly all of us down and personally covering Game 7 for the P.E.I. newspaper was awesome.
I can still remember sitting at my father's computer back in 1998 and jumping for joy when I saw Brad's name in the draft list in Tampa, knowing he was being reunited with his best friend.
I've got a jersey, four golf shirts, countless licence plates, flags, pictures and countless other items with the Lightning logo that I will keep.
Obviously, I'll be spending most of my time on the Dallas boards now but you can rest assured I'll be back from time to time.
You guys have been awesome, you've made the past seven or eight years terrific.
I sincerely hope things turn around in Tampa. I know I'll be flipping over to Tampa's games to check out the score.
From the bottom of my heart, folks, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bolthed]

From DC's blog:

Richards: Don't blame Torts, Feaster

Brad Richards said on a TSN interview, his only public conversation so far, that the "spiral'' in which Tampa Bay finds itself should not reflect on coach John Tortorella or general manager Jay Feaster

"It’s tough,'' Richards said. "Jay Feaster, John Tortorella built that organization into what we did in 2004. It was so good. It was the place to be. It really was, and all of a sudden we go the other way. There were a lot of outside influences there. You don’t know who the owners are going to be, who they are. It’s a tough job and its unfortunate because it makes them look bad, but they really did a good job with that organization and don’t have a lot of control over what’s going on right now, and that’s unfortunate. Hopefully they get back on track.''

First of all, I choked up too. I got to meet and interview all of those guys and their friendship really is special. On a personal level, that hit me just as hard as it does to hurt for my favorite team being gutted.

But let's put that quote in some perspective. Richards is the guy who benefitted the most financially from Feaster. I'm not surprised he'd defend his GM, after all Jay treated him like he was the president of the Brad Richards Fan Club. Saying that "all of sudden we go the other way" isn't exactly reality. There were a lot of bad decisions and freak injuries and players who didn't step up (Brad included, to some degree) that contributed to this slow, painful ordeal.

But there is also a lot of validity to what Richards said, and I'm not naive enough to think this woefully handled ownership transfer hasn't put this entire season in a blender. It's not ALL Feaster's fault ... just most of it. :tongue: Just kidding. Kind of.

[WaiverWire]

PEI, you will be missed. Your insight has made this game better for me. If you are ever this way you do have a standing invitation to look me up and use my tickets.

[astro]

PEI, you will be missed. Your insight has made this game better for me. If you are ever this way you do have a standing invitation to look me up and use my tickets.

Bill, you are a class act. You help out the fans who don't live in Tampa. That's awesome.

[Pepper]

First of all, I choked up too. I got to meet and interview all of those guys and their friendship really is special. On a personal level, that hit me just as hard as it does to hurt for my favorite team being gutted.

But let's put that quote in some perspective. Richards is the guy who benefitted the most financially from Feaster. I'm not surprised he'd defend his GM, after all Jay treated him like he was the president of the Brad Richards Fan Club. Saying that "all of sudden we go the other way" isn't exactly reality. There were a lot of bad decisions and freak injuries and players who didn't step up (Brad included, to some degree) that contributed to this slow, painful ordeal.

But there is also a lot of validity to what Richards said, and I'm not naive enough to think this woefully handled ownership transfer hasn't put this entire season in a blender. It's not ALL Feaster's fault ... just most of it. :tongue: Just kidding. Kind of.


I am pretty sure he was talking about the direction that the upper management began steering the team toward. He is placing the blame on them.

[TexasBolt]

I am pretty sure he was talking about the direction that the upper management began steering the team toward. He is placing the blame on them.

"Forget it, he's rolling."

[the_narrow_way]

Nice chatting with you PEIBolt, or is it PEIStar :)?

You're always welcome to visit.

[PEIBolt]

Still visiting. I feel very lonely over there as PEIStar. I miss you guys. It's like being the senior in one school and then moving to another school and being the newbie.

[chad]

Now by a senior do you mean Grade 12 or 13? ;)

[WaiverWire]

Now by a senior do you mean Grade 12 or 13? ;)


COLD

First the :beer:, then the:grouphug:

[PEIBolt]

Now by a senior do you mean Grade 12 or 13? ;)

What a family we all are, LOL. How can I leave?

[Flycoon]

PEI, you will be missed. Your insight has made this game better for me. If you are ever this way you do have a standing invitation to look me up and use my tickets.

Probably have seen the last of jbhebner as well, he was/is a Pro$pal fan.

[Bolthed]

Interesting stuff from the Dallas media ...

‘‘It’s kind of like getting let out of a cage. I felt handcuffed here. It’s kind of like Christmas morning for me.’’
‘‘I told my agent that (Dallas) would be No. 1 on my list. With what they’re doing, I really respect them and the way they play. They play as a team and they play to win, and that’s something I miss.’’

‘‘Risk? Risk? I see absolutely no risk at all in making this deal. In dealing with a lot of people in the NHL, I have never heard one person say one bad thing about Brad Richards. As far as I’m concerned, he is a sure thing.’’
‘‘He is a champion. He was a champion in junior hockey, he was a champion in the NHL. You don’t get many chances to acquire players of this caliber, and I just can’t say enough good things about him and what he can do for our team.’’
‘‘He is a prototypical Stars player. He is Mike Modano, he is Brenden Morrow, he is Marty Turco. He is a player of high character who loves to compete. I think he is the perfect fit for this organization.’’

‘‘He’s just a great overall player, and he’s a great playoff player. And people criticize his defense, but he’s a really good defensive player. He’s a tough player to play against.’’
‘‘He’ll be much better on this team.’’

[Sotnos]

brett hull, such a loudmouth. when feaster said talking to his fellow gms is like calling up bob mckenzie himself, he's the first one i thought of.

i get the impression from a lot of brad's comments that he had no idea this was coming until a week ago, but since that time he felt under tremendous pressure (from new ownership it seemed) and his last week here was sheer hell. no wonder it's a relief.

his interview with duemig was his real goodbye imo. never heard brad talk so much or in such a heartfelt way. *frustrated sigh*

[jaydeedub]

:jaw:

Originally Posted by Brad Richards
With what they’re doing, I really respect them and the way they play. They play as a team and they play to win, and that’s something I miss.’’

Pretty telling how the Bolts locker room was. Wow. Guess it was time for a change.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brett Hull

‘‘He is a prototypical Stars player. He is Mike Modano, he is Brenden Morrow, he is Marty Turco. He is a player of high character who loves to compete. I think he is the perfect fit for this organization.’’

Prototypical Stars player? Gee, I thought he was a prototypical Bolt when he won the Conn Smythe with a Bolt on his chest you jerk.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Ribeiro
‘‘He’ll be much better on this team.’’


Thanks dick head. You don't have to rub it in.

Guess I'm just bitter. And sad.