Report: Rangers expected to use compliance buyout on Brad Richards
The NHL's compliance buyout window opens on Monday, and the team that was on the losing end of the Stanley Cup Final may be at the front of the line in regards to filing the paperwork.
Both Larry Brooks of the New York Post and Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe report the New York Rangers will use their remaining buyout on forward Brad Richards, with the former going as far as to say it is a "only a matter of timing as to when management exercises its final amnesty buyout on the team’s de-facto captain."
The 34-year-old is under contract for six more seasons with a cap hit of $6,666,667 annually. For the second straight postseason, he found himself relegated to the Rangers' fourth line, contributing five goals and seven assists during the 25-game run but only one assist against the Los Angeles Kings.
Richards did register 51 regular season points (20 goals, 31 assists), but his contract and diminishing skills don't justify that kind of cap hit, making it likely that he'll be plying his trade for a different team in 2014-15.
Click here for more on Richards' situation, and 4 other like compliance buyout targets.