For years, the most obvious flaw in a largely exceptional Chicago Blackhawks roster was at centre. Jonathan Toews is a brilliant No. 1 pivot, but the second-line job featured a revolving door of mostly underwhelming candidates.
Is Brad Richards the long-awaited solution to that longstanding issue?
At first glance, the answer is a resounding “yes.” Richards posted 51 points in 2013-14, which is pretty good production for that slot. It’s his worst season in ages; he had 91 points just five years ago and was better than a point-per-game player in 2010-11. He’s also a “name” presence, having won both the Lady Byng and Conn Smythe trophies in 2004 when the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup.
Further, the player being displaced from the roster to make way for Richards is 37-year-old Michal Handzus, who managed three points and a minus-eight rating in 19 postseason games for Chicago. There seems to be no question that Richards will be a significant upgrade.
The question, though, isn’t whether Richards is better than Handzus, who had clearly passed his “ ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis
Is Brad Richards the No. 2 Centre the Chicago Blackhawks Have Been Waiting For?
July 12th, 2014 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »
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