TAMPA HOME TO PLAYOFF MEMORIES FOR RICHARDS
Blackhawks’ forward was force behind Lightning’s Stanley Cup run in 2004
Outside Amalie Arena, in front of the courtyard they call Thunder Alley, there stands a bronze statue of Dave Andreychuk. No, really. Andreychuk may have only played four seasons here in Tampa, and totalled 67 goals, but he’s immortalized all the same, hoisting a bronze Stanley Cup over his head.
The guy best known for a parking himself in front of the net and using a stick the length of a javelin to shovel pucks into the goal may have been the captain of Tampa Bay’s 2004 Cup-winning team, but he scored only once in those playoffs. The Lightning hero in that run was Brad Richards, who scored 12 times, including an NHL-record seven game winners, and naturally won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.
That really should be a Brad Richards statue here. Although that would make things a little awkward.
Richards, 35, is now a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, who could put their foot on the collective throat of the Lightning with another win in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night.
Richards says that being back in Tampa for the climax of another Cup run has certainly brought back good vibes.
“Obviously, every time I come into this building there are great memories,” he said on Friday in the Chicago locker-room. “I look up, see the banner there, remember what we accomplished.”
That Lightning team — with the notable exception of Andreychuk — was young and kind of clueless about the playoffs, but they rolled into the post-season and figured it out as they went along. The roster was a reflection of the city, equally clueless about the playoffs, having only seen them once before in the team’s eight seasons up to that point. But Tampa got into it eventually, and by the final there were the flags and banners that are customary in hockey towns. They’re back this year.
“Driving to the rink, seeing all the flags, I remember the city doing that back then, the people getting behind it with flags on their cars and signs on the bridges and stuff, so it kind of brought back some of that,” Richards said.
He has spent time in Tampa this week with Vinny Lecavalier, his friend since boarding school and former teammate. Their kids played together.
“Just so many great memories,” said Richards. “No matter what happens this week, you can never take anything away from my 2004 team.”
Not that he’s particularly wistful about it, given the task at hand.
“Once you start playing, it was 11 years ago, so it’s all about trying to get one for the Hawks,” Richards said.
That he’s here at all is somewhat unexpected. Traded by the Lightning in 2008 in an attempt by then- GM Jay Feaster to land an A-list goalie in Mike Smith, Richards went on to have three point-per-game seasons in Dallas before signing a nine-year, $60 million US free-agent contract with the New York Rangers in 2011.
New York didn’t exactly go as planned: despite three playoff appearances, his production didn’t match his salary and the Rangers bought out the six years remaining on his deal last summer.
He signed with Chicago, for a relatively cheap $2 million for one year, largely because the Blackhawks gave him the best chance to win another Cup.
“Obviously his desire was to play on a strong team, have a chance to get back to the final,” said Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman. “The discussions really were centred around what we were looking for and how that role was going to fit well with him.”
“(Richards) knew he would be playing with some talented players, however it worked out. So that’s how the discussion went. I think it didn’t take too long to convince him that this (was) an appealing option.”
After a bit of a slow start in Chicago — coach Joel Quenneville said it took some time for Richards to become comfortable with the Blackhawks’ system — he did indeed find himself playing with some talented players, with Patrick Kane moved to his wing.
“(He) took off,” Quenneville said. “Looked like there was a little magic there. Looked like he got more quickness to his game, more puck possession.”
In these playoffs, Richards has sometimes had Marian Hossa on his line in place of Kane, but either way, he’s been a key part of Chicago having two strong scoring lines, contributing 11 points in 18 games. He has said during this run that he went through the regular season with the playoffs never too far from his mind. He wasn’t saving himself for the post-season, exactly, but this is why he is here.
“I don’t want to say it’s an intimidating team, but it’s a tough locker-room to walk into,” Richards said. “They’ve done so much winning and you try to find your role.”
He’s found it.