That whole Mike Richards-to-Philly thing has the makings of a pretty fantastic story: the one-time captain, shipped unceremoniously away to the far flung reaches of the West Coast, returns battered and bruised, after having found ultimate success, but also after having taken his fair share of licks, to the team that drafted and developed him, the team he called home and that, once upon a time, called him "son," to play out the rest of his days, a little more wizened, a bit more grizzled, with a few more scars.
Making this titillating storyline a reality, though, is going to take some gentle (or not so gentle, maybe more like...aggressive) roster massaging on the part of Philadelphia general manager, Ron Hextall.
Philly's potentiality of returning Richards to the fold hinges on their ability to ship out a couple of other weighty veteran contracts, according to a recent report from Eklund of Hockeybuzz.com.
...got a little more info on Philly's tire kicking with Los Angeles on former Flyers captain Mike Richards. I was told that any interest in contingent on the club being able to find takers for at least one of Vincent Lecavalier or R.J. Umberger. Also, Ron Hextall is not willing to part with picks or prospects.
Umberger, brought over via trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets this off-season in exchange for Scott Hartnell, has an annual cap hit of $4.6 million through the 2016-17 season. It's a better contract than Hartnell's was - albeit not by much.
Lecavalier's deal is $4.5 million a year, but it runs through the 2017-18 season.
The Flyers currently have a whopping $855,000 in cap space, according to CapGeek.com.
Both players have fallen well short of expectations during their time in Philly, though Umberger has only been with the team for 16 games. The 34-year-old Lecavalier, once one of the most dependably electrifying players in the league during his 14-year stay with the Tampa Bay Lightning, has seemed a shell of his former self since arriving in Philadelphia last season.
Injuries, coupled with the inability to find a permanent home in the lineup have caused Lecavalier to become not just expendable, but something of a burden.
He still managed 37 points last year, despite playing in only 69 games, so he has value. But his contract and clearly declining skills make the possibility of a trade nigh on impossible.
Umberger, who has only 3 points thus far this season, was never the same caliber of player as Lecavalier, and likely won't garner much interest from the rest of the league.
Richards to the Flyers would indeed make for a great story, but before this dream scenario can become a reality, the nightmare that is the Flyers' cap situation must be rectified.
