Rangers snap up Richards – Wild and Sharks negotiate
On July 2nd, the first big move of the trade window occurred when Brad Richards departed Dallas and headed to the East coast to sign for the New York Rangers.
The 31-year-old Canadian has had a long career, racking up 760 NHL appearances and has only played for two teams in that time, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars. With the Rangers getting brushed aside in the first round of the 2011 playoffs, they will look to push on further next year with the addition of Richards and some decent picks in the entry draft. Richards, a 2011 all-star departed the Stars as a free agent with the Dallas outfit without an owner. Now that he has put pen to paper, the Stars now have to plan for a future without the six foot centre man.
The first major trade in the off-season came on 3rd July as the Minnesota Wild sent Martin Havlat off to the San Jose Sharks and received Dany Heatley in return. Czech Havlat departs Minnesota with 62 points under his belt from the 2010-11 season, including 22 goals. The German born 6ft 4in Heatley racked up similar numbers to Havlat, recording 64 points in 80 appearances last term, and will leave California after just two seasons with the Sharks. In both those seasons San Jose made the conference finals.
Although the Wild will now have to adjust without one of their standout performers, they will see Heatley as a big addition to the roster and will have high expectations for next year. The Wild will hope this trade will start to bring in even more new faces as they look to end their playoff drought (which currently stands at three seasons). Over the past few years, the Sharks have acquired quite a youthful roster and will see the signing of Havlat as adding vital experience, which will be needed if the Sharks want to challenge for the title next season.
These are two really interesting trades/signings which will hopefully get the ball rolling, and we will see more big names making moves around the league in the weeks to come. Keep your eyes peeled!
