Rumored as a potential compliance buyout candidate since being made a healthy scratch in the playoffs, Brad Richards told the New York Post he doesn’t know what his future with the club is.
“I would love to be back but I haven’t been told anything,” Richards told The Post. “That’s the truth.”
The 33-year-old has seven years remaining on his nine-year, $60 million contract at annual $6.67 million cap hit -- one of the richest and potentially costliest deals in Rangers franchise history.
Assuming the club decides to buy him out, that is.
While his 2013 regular season wasn’t awful -- 34 points in 46 games -- Richards’ production completely fell off in the postseason, scoring just one goal in 10 games before ex-head coach John Tortorella scratched him for the final two games of the Boston series.
Of course, much has changed since then.
As mentioned, Totorella is now the ex-Rangers head coach -- he’s been replaced by Alain Vigneault -- and the Post reports Vigneault is “more likely than not” to give Richards a chance to redeem himself in 2013-14.
If that happens, the Rangers would leave the door open to using a compliance buyout on Richards next summer.