Ongoing Conflict between Dallas Stars and Brad Richards, No Contract in Sight –NHL Update
Dallas Stars and its centre player, Brad Richards, have not been able to work out a solution to Brad’s problems regarding the team not having a proper owner. It is very likely that some deal may settle the two parties before the free agency opens up on July
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The National Hockey Leagues’ (NHL) veteran player, Brad Richards, has been playing with Dallas Stars since 2007 and just finished off his fifth year with Dallas as a centre.
Richards said that even if Stars offered him an opportunity to sign back with the team before the free agency opens up on the first of July, he would not sign until and unless the teams’ ownership problems are resolved.
"There's really not any point because we know that he is not going to sign without an owner", said Stars’ General Manager, Joe Nieuwendyk, on a report by The Sports Network (TSN), adding that they tried to make a serious long-term offer to Brad, only to
be rejected.
On the other hand, Richards is excited at his first opportunity of becoming a free agent ever since he was drafted by the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by Tampa Bay Lightning. He remained with them from 2000-2007 until being traded to Dallas Stars.
Stars will try and trade him before the first of July to prevent losing a veteran player’s value and hopefully acquire a player with the same capabilities to fill the gap, but the problem is that they would need his permission to do that since there is a
no-trade clause in his contract.
"It would be great to try and help Dallas out if something was reasonable and made sense for both sides", said Richards. "But we'll see what happens. You never know what will happen. I think my mindset right now is to see how many options I have".
Losing Richards would be a major setback for Stars that was unable to make it to the playoffs this time around.
Richards is one of Stars’ leading forwards, picking up 72 points, including 28 goals and 49 assists, 10th best in the league.
The month of June will be crucial for the team as it looks to negotiate with Brad, either to sign back or be traded off, both options seeming to be unlikely looking at Richards’s mindset at the moment.
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