| Michael Sonday. 14th January, 2008 - 2:15 pm
 When a talented team with high expectations fails to take precedence all involved begin to point fingers. For the Tampa Bay Lightning many of those fingers are being pointed at forward Brad Richards.
Richards has scored a respectable 38 points in 45 games so far this season, but his defensive play has left much to be desired. Richards has received a great deal of unwanted attention due to having the worst plus/minus rating in the entire NHL with a minus-25. This is a far fall from the same player who won the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) in 2004.
"I'm not happy about it, and I'm not proud of it," Richards said in an interview with the Tampa Tribune. "There have been times here lately that I haven't been on my game and it reflects it, but sometimes things happen and you can't control it. Five-on-five, I have to be better."
The Lightning, who have qualified for the playoffs four straight years, are currently in last place in the Eastern Conference, and many fans want someone to blame for the teams' recent decline. Richards, because of his poor defensive numbers and the fact that he makes $7.8 million a season, makes him an easy target. Richards and his NHL worst minus-25 can not be blamed entirely on the teams' decline. The goaltending has been awful, allowing a league high 153 goals against and posting a dismal .879 saves percentage, also the worst in the league.
Richards could be a candidate to be shipped out of Tampa Bay before the February 26th trading deadline. A trade would help the Lighting free up some cap space so they could add depth instead of just having all their money wrapped up in Richards, Martin St-Louis, and Vincent Lecavalier.
Would there be any takers at $7.8 million a year for Richards? Many teams do not have the money or cap space for a player like Richards.
Since signing his five year, $39 million contact after the 2005-06 season, Richards had been a minus-44. Is this just a case of bad bounces, or did Richards take the money and run? |
