The Mike Richards question
About the Flyers' captain
The Mike Richards question
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
Q: Which Flyers player, in Game 1 against Boston -- the 7-3 loss when so many of his teammates didn’t show up, the game that sent the whole thing careening out of control -- scored a goal, was on the ice for only one of the seven Boston goals, was out there for only about three or four scoring chances against, tied for the team lead with eight shots on goal, and did it all as he began his eighth month with torn cartilage in his left wrist that required surgery at the end of the season?
A: The guy that so many people seem to doubt as the team’s captain.
Comments (31)
KNow what you get when you take Richards heart, and put it in Carters body.
JVR...— Unclesamzombie- Richards is a turnover machine and a third-line center on most top-notch NHL teams— johnnews
- I don't think pointing out what Richards did in one game is the best way to make a point, Rich. What about all the games in which he disappeared?
Eskin just reported that the team is more interested in trading Richards than Carter, and that's good news. (Many of us might not like Eskin but he does have his sources.) Carter has one of the best wrist shots in the game and he has proven in the last two seasons that he will play hurt and muck it up. Richards for a goalie!— VicM - ...trade him to Atlanta— petemagoop
- Mike Richards...I'm glad he's on OUR side, after all is said and done.— road515
- Sorry Rich but when you're the leader of a team that doesn't even bother to show up for 2 out of the first 3 PLAYOFF games against Boston then that doesn't say much about your leadership. Try again.— Kanayd
- Those defending Richards' captaincy point to his on the ice leadership as justification for him to keep the C. Well, honestly it hasn't been that impressive. Sure he has his moments here and there, but he takes games off like some of the other players and, at times he tries to do too much and makes ill advised passes and such. You can point to guys like JVR, Giroux and Danny Briere stepping up and leading on the ice, moreso than Richards, yet everyone thinks he's still entitled to keep the C for some reason. I don't think his on ice example is so strong that it makes up for his deficiencies in other areas as far as being the right captain for the Flyers at this time. Also, he doesn't seem to be enjoying the role, does he? He seems affected by the extra attention and criticism that comes with the position. It just might benefit Richards and the Flyers to move the C to someone else. It would relieve pressure on Richie and allow him to focus on his game, and truly let his actions on the ice do all the talking for him. It also gives the team a little bit of a psychological jolt, tweaking the chemistry a bit. I can't see this being a bad thing. Danny Briere seems to have a very strong desire to win the Cup and a refusal to accept losing regardless of the circumstances. He's pretty much the best playoff performer in the post lockout era and has the respect of the team and coaches. He'd be an ideal leader for these Flyers. Maybe in a few years, after Briere is done, a more mature and experienced Mike Richards will be truly ready to lead the team, or perhaps and up and coming star like Giroux or JVR will emerge as the more suitable candidate. Regardless, people need to get it out of their minds that Mike Richards must wear the C for some reason. A change might just be the best thing for all involved.
— phlyer69 - Its about time. As was said Richards may not be flashy but everyone wanting to blame him for everything is just sour grapes. We win as a team and lose as a team, and whatever his faults or positives, he works his rear end off nearly every shift. He's still young and is still a work in progress. I wish some of you people would get over the "be-Gretzky-right-now" thing, and cut him some slack.— WestonF01
- Rich, Thanks for saying what needs to be said. Most knowledgable hockey fans appreciate Richards' "grinder" approach and how he leads by example. Everyone needs to give the comparisons to Clarke a rest. Richards didn't choose that comparison & label, the media did. At the end of the day, every player that wears the "C" has his own style. Success in the role is a function of being in the right time & place. Was he promoted too early? Maybe... TIme will tell. Can he learn from his mistakes? I think so. Not all leaders (especially young ones) come with a fully developed set of leadership tools & talent. Some get lucky early on and things go right (Crosby). Others will take time to develop but turn out OK. Richards will be fine given time to fully develop (media harping notwithstanding).— phillyflyer58
- If they knew he had this injury in the preseaon, why didn't they get the surgery right then and there so he would be healthy for the playoffs?
No one has asked this question...the media or the fans...
Yes, he would miss some regular season but he wasn't a factor all season. bite the bullet and get it done early so he's ready when its most important. I for one would like to know who made that decision..— Zeus16 - Thanks for writing this article Rich! Everywhere Richards has played hockey, he has been a leader and a winner. He was a Captain in junior for the Kitchener Rangers, The captain and gold medal winner for Canada at the World juniors, Calder Cup winner for the Phantoms and Olympic gold medal winner for Canada. It's not always about scoring goals. It's not always about being a vocal leader. Richie leads by example, plays/hustles at both ends of the rink and never takes a shift off. He often plays against the other teams top forwards, and is a regular shut down guy on the penalty kill. He is willing to play hurt. If Philly Fans were looking for a guy that scores 40 goals a year, the wrong guy was drafted. That is not his game. Some Flyers fans need to appreciate Richards skill set. Leaders and captains are not always goal scorers or vocal leaders. Look no further than a great captain like Bob Gainey of the Montreal Canadiens who in his career only scored 239 goals, but was cherished by the Montreal fans for everything else he brought to the game. Gainey is in the Hall of Fame and ranked in the top 100 players of all-time by the Hockey News. Richards is still young and he can be that same guy,If Flyers fans are patient enough to let that happen and not run him out of town. There is a lot of blame to go around for the Flyers collapse this year, but Richie being hurt and still playing, is not where the blame should be placed.— Canadian Flyers Fan
- Why can't people just be ok with giving the C to someone else? Richards has his moments, sure, and he's a good player that we should still want on the team, but that doesn't necessarily make him the ideal captain right now. When you look at the various attributes of the players on this roster, there are other candidates, with more experience, more proven records of NHL leadership, better communication skills within the team and with the media, and yes, more consistent efforts on the ice. Personally, right now I think Danny Briere would be the best captain, followed by Pronger, Timonen. He's a former captain (in Buffalo) and seems to be among the most HUNGRY for a Cup. Look at what he did in the room when they faced elimination late in that Game 6 of the Buffalo series. He spoke up, refused to lose and inspired the team to a comeback victory. Read this article:
http://flyers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=560969
We're not likely to read any articles about Holmgren's "quiet kid" Mike Richards inspiring the team like this are we? The Flyers need a change here. By all means, keep Mike Richards, he's a core part of the team. But GIVE DANNY the C! People shouldn't fear this kind of move. A similar move seemed to work out well for Marleau and San Jose as well as for Lecavalier and Tampa. The team has little to lose in trying this, and potentially lots to gain.
— phlyer69 - I respect Richards, but it may be time to move in a different direction. I wouldn't be disappointed if they did. The players from last year got an opportunity to defend their conference title and make a run for the cup. I don't think the Flyers organization owes them anything more than that chance.— Voytas
- Where they went wrong is letting Richards play all year injured. Makes no sense. You can't win a cup with banged-up players on the ice. He had all year to recover from surgery - big mistake.— smartini
- Richards is the heart and soul of the team. Most of you guys are too young to remember another shy - reserved captain of 35 years ago. You can blow all the bleep you want on this and other sites. The people that call all of the shots at this club (16 / 17 / Snider) when it comes to the culture & structure of this club are not going anywhere. Maybe in the future when Lukko gets to run this side of the business things will change- but until that time Richards is going nowhere.— Northcountry
- I dont care what injury he has. Look at Patrice Bergeron, 2 concussions in the playoffs and is still playing. Not only playing with some symptoms from the Giroux hit but had a goal last night to help the Bruins beat the Lightening. Sorry no sympathy here. Players get paid big money to be consistent and to lead. If the team like the Flyers do not step up and play well with a few men out its the Captain's fault. There was no leadership when Pronger was out. When Pronger came back for game 6 and 7 against the Sabres. We won. Doesn't take a moron to figure that one out. Leadership isn't with Richards. Pronger is key. It shows when he plays— Flyers_70
- You don't care what injury he has? That's pretty obvious, since you didn't care that Bergeron didn't really score a goal last night when you made your point about him (goals were by Krejci and Ference). Nor did you care that Pronger, playing with injury, was -3 in the worst blowout of the series, when you made your case for his effect on the outcome. Get a clue.
— icarus 
Comment removed.- Oh I know its the guy who is always up for an invitation to the NHL all star game. The Center who relentlessly wins draws, scores 30 goals and 50 assists. He also earns over 6,450,000 per year. Yeah, what a player Brad Richards is. Oh you means Mike Richards, the Bobby Clarke clone? Sorry, my mistake! Who would ever over pay a player like that, you know a guy who couldn't pay his way on an all star team. Do they really pay Mike Richards $6,500,000. I'd fire that GM.— Joe Vegas
- Finally someone who isn't an airhead writing for philly.com, good article— ajm7719
Way to go, Rich. Good article, bro.- Rich must have read the comments section from the last few articles that blasted Richards.— sla6yer
- Finally someone gets it!! His game isn't all about scoring goals.— puckurself
- Give me a break. Holmer and Snider have this terrible habit of annointing every first round pick the "next" somebody. Mike Richards is no Bobby Clark. He is no Chris Pronger. He is no Steve Y. And he is most certainly no Mike Modano. Hell, I'd take a Selke Trophy and 30 goals like Modano's linemate, Lehtinen. He is also no Datsyuk or Brind'Amour. Stop making exuses. This kid needs to get into the weight room so he can bring it every night. But he's not to blame. These guys played with no heart and certainly no backchecking. Blame it on chemistry? Fine. But while we're watching Mark Rechhi, Gags, Randy Jones and Steve Downie play hockey, you're busy defending Richards? Give me a break.— MichaelZoe
- ... and didn't score a goal in any of the other 10 playoff games. But hey, let's do it your way and look at the glass 1/11th full.— ItsMark
- Couldn't agree more! Absolutely nothing wrong with a "down in the ditch" work approach. I know a lot was made of his scoring drought thru the playoffs, but, you know, we faced 2 GREAT goalies peaking for the year, and really, not a lot of goals in general were scored on them - look at last night's B vs TB - another shutout for TT, against a really good offensive team. There were a lot of reasons for how and why and what happened for us this year, and NOT one single thing is fully complicit - but rather the aggregate. Looking forward to next year - hope they only tweak minorly - and if injuries don't become an issue again, i think we are/can be a strong contender again. dave— unmovedmover67
- Great job Rich for pointing this out. So true. Casual hockey fans oftentimes don't see the little things, but stats to back it up will shut them up.— Jeffe
- Wish Jeff Carter had half of Richards heart.— BG in So.Cal
- Is this going to be a new feature on philly.com all summer-- a daily Richards trivia question/other misc. info ?— debbyt
- Glad to see someone stepping up & pointing out the not so obvious truths of Mike Richards.
— inkd0874 - Amen i just wish people would lay off Richards, not all captains are the rah rah type he leads by example and if rest of team worked as hard as him we would be better off— marley
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