Soon-to-be UFA Brad Richards has found himself in an interesting situation with the Stars.
In a normal world, Pat Morris would be on the phone to Joe Nieuwendyk negotiating a contract extension for Brad Richards.
But this is not a normal world, is it?
Morris, the Toronto-based super agent, does not have a negotiating partner. Even though Richards' contract with Dallas runs out after this season and most teams are locking up their top players with long-term extensions, the Stars are in the process of being sold and GM Nieuwendyk has no money to dish out. Richard would get more by going door-to-door Sunday night trick-or-treating.
"Ninety per cent of the elite players in the league sign early," Morris said. "Players (on the last year of their deal) are usually curious around this time of the season about how much they might get and where they might end up next season. I think Brad will probably be the best forward available so naturally he's curious about what is happening."
When centre Joe Thornton signed a three-year extension with the San Jose Sharks and defenceman Zdeno Chara re-signed with the Boston Bruins, that automatically made Richards one of the prime potential unrestricted free agents for next summer. Other big-name potential UFAs who will surely attract plenty of attention include left winger Alexander Semin of the Washington Capitals as well as defencemen Ed Jovanovski of the Phoenix Coyotes, Andrei Markov of the Montreal Canadiens and Tomas Kaberle of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Richards, who sits 10th in NHL scoring with three goals and 12 points, must wait until the Stars are sold before the team can entertain the notion of re-signing him. He is a plus-7 which is significant because for a few years he has been among the NHL's least trustworthy players when playing at even strength.
The 30-year-old centre from Murray Harbour, PEI, helped the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup in 2003-04 and was named winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP that year. He has 651 points in 709 career games and appears to have plenty left in the tank. Morris would love to get him signed, but that isn't likely to happen soon.
"It's something nobody can control," Morris said. "It's not overly frustrating at this point. It's external forces that are controlling the situation."
JUST WONDERING
The New Jersey Devils are weak on the blueline and the Toronto Maple Leafs are in the market for a top-six forward. Shouldn't they be talking a little Tomas Kaberle? In fact, I have heard that is exactly the case. We all know Leafs GM Brian Burke has indicated he would honour Kaberle's no-movement clause, but we also know Kaberle gave Toronto a list of teams that he would consider being sent to in a trade. You'd have to think Burke would be able to put pressure on Kaberle to accept a deal if the Devils offered him a quality forward.
THE STEWART STORY
Colorado's Chris Stewart was my choice for best sophomore last season and he's even better this year. The 22-year-old right winger, who is 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, is currently second in NHL scoring with eight goals and 14 points in 10 games. After scoring 11 goals and 19 points in 53 games as a rookie, the Toronto native exploded for 28 goals and 64 points last season on one of the NHL's surprise teams. Goaltender Craig Anderson got a lot of the credit for the Avalanche's success, but Stewart played a huge role, too.
Not only is Stewart helping Colorado, but he seems to have inspired his older brother, Anthony, as well. Anthony was the Florida Panthers’ first pick (25th overall) in 2003, but has not been able to establish himself as a bona-fide NHLer … until this season. With four goals and seven points in nine games with the Atlanta Thrashers, it looks like he may have finally arrived.
RANDOM THOUGHTS
Alexander Ovechkin of the Capitals is on pace for 41 goals and 82 points through 10 games; rather pedestrian numbers by his lofty standards…
Not exactly sure why the Phoenix Coyotes aren't using veteran defenceman Ed Jovanovski on their first power play unit. The Coyotes rank 28th in the NHL on the power play with a measly 9.7 per cent success rate while Jovo has 55 career power play goals…
Also can't figure out what is going on in Minnesota with Martin Havlat. Potentially one of the most exciting players in the NHL, Havlat has no goals and just six assists in nine games with the Wild and is averaging just 16:57 ice time per game. Those are not the numbers of a player of Havlat's caliber. He has three more years at $5 million a season remaining on his contract.
