Inside The Penalty Box 12.17.07: Richards In Philly ‘Til 2020

Posted by Neil Borenstein on 12.17.2007

Taking a page out of the New York Islanders’ playbook, the Philadelphia Flyers signed center Mike Richards to a 12-year extension for $69 million – an annual cap hit of $5.75 million. In this week’s Inside The Penalty Box, Neil Borenstein dissects this ridiculous transaction, in addition to discussing the Doug Weight/Andy McDonald trade and the rumored deal that would send Alvaro Montoya to the Colorado Avalanche.

t's beginning to be a busy time for Anaheim Ducks general manager Brian Burke. On Friday, in an effort to clear up some cap space for Scott Niedermayer, if he chooses to return next season, Burke dealt 30-year old center Andy McDonald to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for 36-year old center Doug Weight, 21-year old forward Michal Birner and a seventh round draft pick in 2008.

While Weight makes $170,000 more than McDonald this season at $3.5 million, he is eligible for free agency on July 1. McDonald is slated to make the same salary of $3.33 million next season in the final chapter of a three-year deal. A total of $2.5 million in cap space will come off the books as a result of this trade, according to The Sports Network in Canada, allowing enough room for Niedermayer to lace up the skates for the final year of his four-year, $27 million contract with Anaheim.

I was not a big fan of this trade when I first heard it went down. Weight is not the player he once was. He will be 37 next month and he's starting to show his age. A man that was able to put up 70+ points a season in his early days with the Edmonton Oilers was on pace to post only 29 this year after scoring only four goals and adding seven assists through 29 games with the Blues.

But even though McDonald is a bit cheaper and six years younger, he hasn't been producing like the Ducks have been accustomed to over the past two seasons. In 33 games with Anaheim, he had four goals and 12 assists, keeping him on pace for 39 points on the season. While better than Weight's projection, it's not the 79 points he posted last season nor the 85 points he put up in 2005-06.

A big reason for McDonald's sharp decline is the fact that he no longer has Teemu Selanne on his wing. Coming out of the lockout, Selanne signed with the Ducks on a one-year deal and shocked the hockey world with 40 goals and 50 assists in 80 games. Before that season, Selanne was considered by many to be somewhat washed up. But he pulled through and proved he still had talent to hang with the best of them in the NHL. And by doing so, he also helped turn McDonald into one of the better centers in the league. Last season was no different. Selanne returned on another one-year contract and finished with 94 points. He was once again helpful on McDonald's wing by tallying 48 goals on the year to McDonald's 51 assists.

It's very noticeable that without Selanne in the lineup, McDonald is not nearly as valuable. And with the uncertain future ahead for the Finnish star, keeping McDonald on the roster might not be the smart decision.

Now, if Selanne does decide to return to the NHL, which the free agent has already said he would only sign with the Ducks, this trade might come back to bite the team. Considering their chemistry, re-forming that duo would have been ideal. However, with a decision from Selanne expected to come sometime between Jan. 1 and Feb. 26 (before the trade deadline), it's a bit difficult to pass on this trade that's in front of them right now when Selanne could decide in two months that he's officially retiring after all.

To make up for the little bit extra McDonald has to offer than Weight in production and age, the Ducks received a decent prospect and late-round selection in the next draft. With Weight alone, however, the Ducks gain experience and leadership from a man perfectly capable of centering their second or third line. Come playoff time, his versatility will come in handy. And, at the end of the season, the Ducks can cut ties, which is to be expected considering the intention of this deal.

The Ducks also activated Niedermayer on Saturday in anticipation of his first NHL action of the season against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. In 23:52 of playing time, he had a game-high eight shots, a plus-1 rating and two minutes in the penalty box.

Flyers Hand Over 12-Year Deal To Future CaptainRichards Staying In Philly Long-Term

Photo Credit: Yahoo! Sports/Getty ImagesMike Richards' received a 12-year, $69 million extension from the Flyers – the richest in franchise history.

Apparently teams did not learn from the New York Islanders that obnoxiously long-term contracts are not the brightest moves on the planet. What's even worse is the latest team to partake in such ridiculous dealings is actually one of the Islanders' division rivals.

On Thursday, the Philadelphia Flyers inked center Mike Richards to the richest contract in club history and second-longest in the NHL. The 22-year old was dealt a 12-year, $69 million deal, which will keep the center in Philadelphia until the 2019-2020 season when he will be 35-years old. Richards is making $942,000 this season, and his new deal will produce a $5.75 million annual cap hit when it goes into effect starting next season.

I'm a bit perturbed by this deal since I didn't realize a player deserved such a reward for actually meeting expectations throughout a grand total of 30 games in his NHL career, or actually 28 when the deal was signed. This is Richards' third year in the NHL, and it's the first that he has really come into his own and proven he can handle carrying a very heavy load for the organization.

Undoubtedly, Richards is showing this season that he can be a player of many tricks once he steps onto the ice. He can play at any time and in any situation over the course of a game. Richards leads the Flyers offensively in points (36), goals (14), assists (22) and game-winning goals (three.) He is also considered one of the rising two-way stars of the game with his plus-9 rating and three short-handed goals on the season, proving to be a defensive and penalty kill asset, as well. He is also second on the team in power play points this season with 16, and tied with Daniel Briere and Mike Knuble in power play assists with 12.

On top of the production on the ice is the fact that Flyers nation is pretty much awaiting the end of Jason Smith's tenure in Philadelphia so that the team can hand over the captain "C" to Richards, who is already an alternate captain.

But with all this considered, I'm still very reluctant to accept the tendering of a 12-year deal at almost $70 million to a player who has really only shown this kind of value for 30 games of the 168 he has played in his NHL career. Where's the guarantee Richards isn't just off to a hot start? How can we be sure this isn't a fluke?

Maybe Richards will eventually revert back to the past two years, where he was also supposed to be a can't miss player according to Flyers fans all across Philly. In 2005-06, Richards only had 11 goals and 23 assists in 79 games of action. Last year, in a disaster of a season for the entire organization, Richards only played 59 games with 10 goals, 22 assists and a minus-12 rating. Sorry, but I'm not too impressed by those numbers.

The Flyers had every right to ink Richards to an extension at this point in the season. With the way general managers have been more willing to tender offer sheets the past few years, it would have been foolish for general manager Paul Holmgren to allow Richards to hit the restricted free agent market. Once a player lands there and other GMs start offering deals, teams are normally forced into losing that player or over-paying.

There are smarter deals that could have been offered by Holmgren, however, than one that lasts over a decade at a price absurdly high for a third-year player not named Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin.

First, the length of the contract is entirely too long. There's no chance that a 22-year old should receive the second longest contract in NHL history. Twelve years makes me cringe considering the kid could under-produce or merely become complacent. For Richards, I think a five-year deal would have been more than sufficient to get the point across that the Flyers want to keep him in Philadelphia for the long haul and keep him away from the grubby little paws of other general managers who will quickly tender him an offer sheet if he hits the free agent market. There's no need to go overboard with 12 years. He'll get the point with five.

Second, the money, at least at this point, is way too much for Richards. Again, we're giving this kid his extension based on 30 games – or really what was 28 games when he signed the deal. There is no way Richards should be setup for $5.75 million on average per season. The deal actually pans out on a year-by-year basis like this:

Year 1: Salary - $4.4 million; $1 million signing bonus
Year 2: Salary - $5.6 million
Year 3: Salary - $5.4 million; $1 million signing bonus
Year 4: Salary - $5.4 million; $1.2 million signing bonus
Year 5: Salary - $5.4 million; $3 million signing bonus
Year 6: Salary - $7.6 million
Year 7: Salary - $7 million
Year 8: Salary - $6 million
Year 9: Salary - $5.5 million
Year 10: Salary - $4.5 million
Year 11: Salary - $3 million
Year 12: Salary - $3 million
Courtesy of TSN.ca

Most of the money is geared toward the middle years of the contract, including the $8.4 million he's set to make in 2011-2012 between salary and signing bonus money.

The rationale for offering this kind of money is that in the long-term, it could payoff to be a cheaper investment for the Flyers than if they played it out in smaller deals. I guess they inevitably feel Richards will be a $7 million per year player or something, sort of like what the Islanders believed about Rick DiPietro. But if the Flyers are able to predict that, then I'll go ahead and predict Richards doesn't quite exceed expectations like the Flyers think he will, and by Year 6 this contract will become a huge mistake. By that point, the Flyers have now paid him about $6.5 million per year. Now the team has to find some sucker to take on his salary and cap hit, which they will end up being stuck with themselves at that lovely $5.75 million rate.

Along with the five-year deal Richards should have received, he should have also been offered no more than $4 million per season over the course of that contract. I think $20 million over five years is more than plenty for a player just now reaching his hype. Hell, I'd even be willing to tack on an extra $250,000 per season and make it a $21.25 million deal over five years – the same contract Dustin Penner received in an offer sheet from the Edmonton Oilers over the summer. But the line needs to be drawn somewhere, and that would be it.

Besides, the Flyers are always a competitive organization. As such, they will always spend as close to the cap as possible. Already for next season, the Flyers are locked up for over $50 million in salary. There's essentially zero flexibility to make moves for more improvement, which any team in the Atlantic Division can always use. R.J. Umberger, Randy Jones, Jeff Carter and Jason Smith all need to be signed to new contracts, as well.

Richards' contract is not even the only uber-long-term one on the team's payroll. Briere is currently in the first year of an eight-season contract that causes a $6.5 million cap hit every year. Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell are each in the first year of six-year deals signed over the summer, and account for annual cap hits of $6.333 million and $4.088 million, respectively. Even Simon Gagne has three more years on his contract following this season with a cap hit of $5.25 million.

With complete understanding that the Flyers wanted to keep Richards locked up for a good number years without having him hit restricted free agency, I think they went entirely over the line. They signed onto a contract that was too long and worth too much money, that should have been saved for future signing that they need to concentrate on.

On The Rumor Mill …

Many unfounded rumors tend to float around the Internet, but this latest one happened to peak my interest. Eklund of the Web site hockeybuzz.com, which apparently is wrong a lot more than on-target with its trade rumors, came up with a potential trade on Dec. 10 that has right wing Marek Svatos and defenseman John-Michael Liles going from the Colorado Avalanche to the New York Rangers in exchange for right wing Petr Prucha, defenseman Marek Malik, goaltender Alvaro Montoya and an "intriguing prospect."

Without knowing who that "intriguing prospect" is, I'd jump at the chance if I were general manager Glen Sather to make this deal happen. Though Svatos, who will be a restricted free agent following this season, is having a bit of a down year, he still has 10 goals and will be a much bigger contributor in this league than Prucha, who I'm convinced had a fluke rookie season when he scored 30 goals. The ability to lose Malik and his contract would be huge for the Rangers. Even though it's the last year of his current contract, his play on the ice leaves a lot to be desired and nobody in New York would miss him if he gets dealt away. Liles, who is also in the last year of his contract, would make a much more positive impact in the Rangers' lineup, especially on the offensive-front. Losing Montoya is going to be a necessity at some point since Henrik Lundqvist is 25 years old and there's no reason to keep a player with Montoya's skills around except as trade bait. And this would be a worthy trade to use him in.

For the Avalanche, hesitance would be understandable since they are losing a tremendous young goal scorer and one of their best, if not the best, blue line options. However, this team really needs goaltending. And as long as they're willing to take a chance on a guy who doesn't really have NHL experience but has all the potential in the world, it might be worth it for the Avs to invest in Montoya. After all, if he pans out as expected, he could be a franchise netminder for the next 15+ years. Prucha could be a good compliment player on the third line in Colorado, while Malik would be out of their hair at the conclusion of this season.

At least at first glance, the Rangers win this trade hands down, especially considering they don't need Montoya for anything other than trade bait as long as they re-sign Lundqvist to a long-term deal. But if Montoya really plays to his expectations, the Avs could have their most consistent goaltender since, well … Patrick Roy.

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Until next week, you have just been Inside The Penalty Box!

~ Neil Borenstein