Highly dubious Richards becomes a Flame next season. Rangers won't trade him to anyone, as the recapture penalty is significant. Richards isn't doing well enough to avoid being bought out now that there is a recapture penalty in place. It would probably actually take a significant over-payment for NYR to take that risk, and nobody thinks Richards is worth an over-payment at this point.
Richards probably won't want to sign here in the off-season. Once again, he would more than likely want to sign out east somewhere so his grandfather could play (as that was one of the reasons he stated for signing in NY), and he will probably want to play for a contender again.
This team is going to have a difficult time signing free agents next year. They are not competing. The cap is also going up so a lot of other teams are going to have extra cash to spend. I think the best bets for signing UFAs are the guys that are just holding onto their careers in the NHL, or really need a second chance after a disappointing season or two.
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