New Deal For Flyer Mike Richards

When the Philadelphia Flyers announced that they had inked 22-year old centre Mike Richards to a 12-year, $69 million contract extension it was pretty big news. Hockey people love Richards. Flyer fans think he’s blossoming into an elite player. Still, 12 years and almost 70 million bucks seems excessive for a guy who totaled all of 11 goals last year.

The Flyers obviously think it’s going to be money well spent. After all, Richards has already surpassed last season’s totals and i on pace to score over 40 goals this season. On top of that, he is considered an excellent 2-way player who thrives on both the power play and penalty kill.

The extension doesn’t kick in until next year, but it will average out to $5.75 million per year against the salary cap. That would represent over 10 percent of this season’s cap of $50.3 million. That's a big chunk for one guy. But the Flyers still hope they’ll come out smelling like roses, and there’s a good chance they will.

Provided both Richards and the league’s finances remain healthy (never a certainty), his wages will look like a bargain sooner rather than later.

Flyers’ GM Paul Holmgren is a Betting Man

Flyers GM Paul Holmgren is gambling on a number of fronts. For one thing, he’s betting that the former first round pick is just beginning to blossom into a superstar rather than simply having a never-to-be-repeated career year. That seems like a good bet. Most observers agree that Richards is strictly blue chip as a prospect and, perhaps as important, brings that highly sought-after intangible – leadership.

The other gamble Holmgren is making is that the NHL’s salary cap will continue to rise. That should also be a win-able bet.

When the league returned from the lockout in 2005, the first salary cap was $39 million. In just 2 years the cap has increased 29 percent. At this rate, by the end of his contract, Richards may well feel like he’s being chiseled by the Flyers.

On the other hand, he might just feel grateful that the Flyers thought so highly of him at such an early stage of his career. He might also feel that 70 million bucks will be more than enough to tide him over into his golden years.

The Flyers gamble on Richards isn’t one teams should take on just any hotshot youngster. But when a team feels it has a true franchise cornerstone on hand, this type of deal could become more common.

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