A couple of Canadian teams miss out on Richards on a day when a whole lot of money was handed out.
Day 1 of NHL free agency actually ended on Day 2 with the news that Brad Richards had finally decided he would playing at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan for the next nine seasons.
The truth is Richards had always been smitten with playing in New York City. If he had decided to sign somewhere else on Saturday, now that would have been a BIG story. Richards spent a few hours on July 1 listening to pitches from some other suitors, but it was always, always on the basis of being a better deal, a better place to play than NYC.
An interesting aspect of the Richards' courtship will be how it's measured in two Canadian cities, Toronto and Calgary. One city can take the news of losing Richards as a bit of a positive. The other will find its long-suffering fans grinding their teeth one more time.
It’s just another frustrating day for Leafs general manager Brian Burke and his staff, who are still in need of a first-line centre. With all due respect to Phil Kessel, the Leafs are in need of a star player that can create an identity for the team. Burke is the highest profile Maple Leaf personality still today. Quite simply, that is not right. And despite his own protestations to the contrary, this team will not progress until we are talking about the people who lace up the skates rather than those who buy the skates.
In Calgary, Flames general manager Jay Feaster had a successful "spin" day Friday without adding anyone to the roster. The fact the Flames were apparently in the running for Richards, and the fact the team has cleared enough room under the NHL's ever-growing salary cap, will give Southern Alberta fans a bit of hope for the next few years.
It is truly strange how a year changes attitudes for the sitting Flames GM. One year ago, Darryl Sutter was being questioned for his four signings on July 1, while this year Feaster will be congratulated for giving it his best try, and signing no one (Insert Olli Jokinen joke here).
As far as the rest of the free agents who signed in the first few hours, even without Richards’ big take, almost $300 million in salaries was dished out to more than 60 players.
Cries of "He got what?" and "For how long?" were the phrases of the day amongst our group at Sportsnet. I'm sure the same cries were being muttered in the halls at the office of 1185 Avenue of the Americas and most team offices (as long as it wasn't their deal).
It was a feeding frenzy that I don't expect will ever occur again because the NHL and players are entering the last year of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Much to the chagrin of Messrs. Bettman and Daly, the agents and players have been joined by some GMs and even some owners, in finding ways to get around the spirit of the current agreement. And before fans of Sabres and Panthers submit comments to tell me their teams are better (they are) and their teams now have a chance to win (they do), just hearken back to 2004-05 and all the NHL hockey we enjoyed as the owners and players negotiated over cost certainty, revenue sharing, free agency and the like (Oh yeah, right).
At the time, most people expected the owners to win the day. Some even believed they did. "It’s easier to control 30 owners than 800 players," was a cry heard in all NHL cities. I think Friday just might have disproved that one more time.
An while the commissioner is gnashing his teeth at teams overspending and committing too many years on contracts, somewhere in a sunny spot, former NHLPA Executive Director Bob Goodenow is smiling.
