Not too be one of those hockey fans, but it's ultimately the fans that are going to foot the bill of this mistake. NYR's ability to find fans to bear the cost of these mistakes is probably one of the best in the leagues. B. Richards wasn't trolling, but did wind up taking the maximum amount possible to play for a good hockey team and didn't fully live up to the expectations. Not a bad player, badly overpaid, rightfully accepting the cash truck as most of us would.
Also, there are a lot of other factors. Sometimes a player doesn't mesh with an environment, a coach, a trainer, the culture of a team. They get demoted, minutes pulled and the psyche goes offline where it needs to remain competitive. I think there's many organizational barriers than can take a good move on paper and over time to make the reality of the choice no longer acceptable to both parties.
For NYR club to be able to move on as well as B. Richards presents the best possible outcome for the demoted player and the NYR to move forward.
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