Thoughts on the Richards trade rumor

I'd like to take a quick look at the Brad Richards situation. It's widely believed that the Jackets have offered the Tampa Bay Lightning C/W Dan Fritsche, RW Gilbert Brule, D Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and possibly a draft pick in exchange for 27-year-old Richards, who they hope could be the top-line center we've been unable to establish since the beginning of the season. The Dallas Stars are also rumored to have made a bid for Richards involving C Jeff Halpern, G Mike Smith and D Mark Fistric.

A lot of the salivation for Richards that's been going on is due to the possibility of him centering a line of Nikolai Zherdev and Rick Nash, and while in theory this might be an intriguing prospect--could it really happen? Most of the season our two top scorers have been on different lines, and in truth have never really shown a whole lot of chemistry together. They're both always hungry for the puck, and often there was a tendency that one would shine while the other would be in more of a supporting role. The apparent draw for Richards would be centering our two stars, but you have to question whether or not it's a feasible prospect.

In reality, I can't see Tampa sending Richards to Columbus unless he refuses to waive his no-trade clause for Dallas. What the Lightning need right now is a franchise goalie and a solid defenseman, and while Mike Smith isn't necessarily that, he is better than who they currently have between the pipes. (Johan Holmqvist, 20-16-6 with a 3.01 GAA, and Karri Ramo, 4-9-1 with a 3.06 GAA) While they would free up some cap space and gain three good young players, a deal with the Jackets would still leave them with a problem in net.

I'm personally not fond of the idea of losing three of our up-and-coming players--which apparently puts me at odds with all that is right and good with the world, per the Dispatch's coverage--and a possible pick for a single player who may or may not be the 'fix' we seem to need. The understated plea to general manager Scott Howson from the coach and players has been to keep the team together, and here's to hoping he does just that.

The trade deadline is at 6PM today, so we'll all be able to see how this turns out by then.

- E