It is not anything against Brad Richards that makes me oppose his being signed by the Rangers other than the track record the Rangers have when it comes to Unrestricted Free Agents.
There is something about the Rangers that can take a good player and turn him into an overpaid and under-productive after he signs a free agent contract. We have actually found a disease that Ranger free agents contract when they sign that fat long term contract.
It is called "FatWalletitis" where the moment you sign your contract you start to become so weighted down that you can not produce. Chris Drury suffers from it, Wade Redden caught it and hopefully a doctor can cure Marian Gaborik before his case becomes permanent.
If a player can not be cured before he enters the 3rd year of his contract then there is no hope of curing him of this horrible disease. So the best way to prevent "FatWalletitis" is to use preventive measures.
First no contract longer than 3 years but if you want something longer then go earn those extra years. If you are able to give the same kind of performance that you had before you signed with the Rangers then you can earn more years.
Seriously no more "no trade" or "no anything" clauses in anyone's contract. If you want to remain a Ranger then give the team a reason to want to keep you.
I promise that if you are scoring 30 or more goals and 70-80 points in a season that the Rangers will want you to stay, the fans will want you to stay and you can earn those fat extra 2 years. Trust me if you are giving the Rangers the bang for their buck then there will not be any reason for them to get rid of you.
But if that is too much for you the free agent and somebody else wants to give you a 5 year 40 million dollar deal then go give them the disease. Heck take Wade Redden with you free of charge to make it a 2 for 1 special.
All kidding aside, if the Rangers really badly want to add a Brad Richards then why not make him earn the money? If Brad Richards can come to the Rangers and give them an average of 30 goals for 5 years then yes pay him the money but if he cannot then have a way out that does not handcuff the team via the buyout.
Otherwise move on to a different idea because as much as Ranger fans loved seeing the trade yesterday; it is almost universal that Ranger fans fear Glen Sather with a checkbook in his hand on July 1st.
But you know what else would make it easier to handle giving Richards a contract? Take care of the Ranger's free agents first. It is not like the Rangers do not want Dubinsky, Callahan, Boyle, Sauer or Anisimov back so why not get them signed?
It is annoying that the Rangers will throw tons of money at another team's free agent and then turn right around and expect current Rangers to play for less money. It would be a whole lot easier to accept a Richards being signed if the Rangers would first take care of their own free agents.
Show some loyalty to that young core foundation that the Rangers keep preaching about as how they are running the franchise. And while we are at it do the same thing as Richards by giving these young players a chance to earn those big bucks.
What good will signing Richards do if the Rangers wind up not being able to keep that "young core foundation"? The Rangers are not deep enough that they can afford to lose any of the core that was mentioned but like Richards make them earn the money.
Tell Dubinsky that if he can repeat what he did this past season then roll over the contract with a raise. Just like Richards put the carrot on the stick and say "here earn your money."
I know. I know I am being a silly dreamer but let me please have this dream just for a little while? And I am pretty sure that I am not the only person who feels the same way as we do want to win, yes a Brad Richards can the Ranger win. But if Richards contracts a case of "Fatwalletiitis" then once again the Rangers are stuck with a bad contract.
Please though before you go would you please drop a quarter or two in the container so we can one day find a cure for "Fatwalletitis."
(Ranger logo courtesy of the New York Rangers)
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