#105 - Brad Richards

Brad Richards (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #105)

Adjusted Stats

2000-2001   TB        82 GP   23 goals   46 assists   69 points      0.84 PPG
2001-2002   TB        82 GP   23 goals   49 assists   73 points      0.89 PPG
2002-2003   TB        80 GP   20 goals   66 assists   86 points      1.07 PPG
2003-2004   TB*      82 GP   31 goals   63 assists   95 points      1.15 PPG
2005-2006   TB        82 GP   23 goals   69 assists   93 points      1.13 PPG
2006-2007   TB        82 GP   27 goals   48 assists   75 points      0.91 PPG
2007-2008   TB/Dal  74 GP   23 goals   47 assists   70 points      0.95 PPG
2008-2009   Dal        56 GP   17 goals   35 assists   52 points      0.92 PPG
2009-2010   Dal        80 GP   26 goals   73 assists   100 points    1.25 PPG
2010-2011   Dal        72 GP   32 goals   55 assists   87 points      1.20 PPG

Adjusted Playoff Stats

2002-2003    TB        11 GP    0 goals    6 assists     6 points       0.54 PPG
2003-2004    TB*      23 GP    15 goals  18 assists   33 points     1.44 PPG
2005-2006    TB        5 GP      3 goals    5 assists     8 points       1.59 PPG
2006-2007    TB        6 GP      3 goals    6 assists     9 points       1.51 PPG
2007-2008    Dal       18 GP     3 goals   13 assists   16 points     0.87 PPG

Career - 772 GP, 245 goals, 551 assists, 800 points, 1.04 PPG
Career-Highs - 31 goals (03-04); 73 assists (09-10); 100 points (09-10); 1.25 PPG (09-10)
Avg. (10 seasons) - 77 GP, 25 goals, 55 assists, 80 points, 1.04 PPG
Peak Avg. (02-11) - 76 GP, 25 goals, 57 assists, 82 points, 1.08 PPG, 1 Cup

Playoff Career - 63 GP, 24 goals, 48 assists, 72 points, 1.14 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 15 goals (03-04); 18 assists (03-04); 33 points (03-04); 1.59 PPG (05-06)

Accolades - Conn Smythe
All-Star Teams - None
1-time Stanley Cup Champion

If I'm being honest, Brad Richards doesn't leap out at me when I think of the ten or fifteen most successful players of the 2000s. He's like Adam Oates or Joe Thornton in that his point totals sneak up on you since he doesn't grab headlines by scoring a lot of goals (his career high, even in adjusted terms, is a meager 31). Like his ex-teammate Vincent Lecavalier, Richards has also never been mistaken for a great two-way forward: his career plus/minus is -8 per 82 games played.

So that's the case against Richards, and truth be told, if his career were to end tomorrow, he'd fall right off the Pyramid. But I'm doing a bit of projecting here, and given that Richards is still only 30 and has enjoyed two of his most productive seasons in the last two years, I think it's safe to say that my projections aren't too far off.

Richards' name doesn't come up when discussing the league's best centers that often, but he certainly is among the league's finest playmakers. His average of 55 assists per season is right in the Adam Oates/Bobby Clarke range, which is basically the highest a center can get without being named Wayne Gretzky. And while Richards has only once cracked 30 goals, he has had 20+ in all but one season (and as of this writing, appeared headed for another 30+ season before sustaining a concussion).

Richards has also been remarkably durable, playing 80+ games in eight of his nine seasons. This may be due to the fact that he's essentially a power-play/offensive specialist: his backchecking leaves a lot to be desired, and he doesn't exactly muck it up in the corners. Perhaps this is why Richards tends to get undervalued: he's got more than a little bit of Pierre Turgeon in him, and as we all know, that makes you far from an elite player.

Still, it's worth remembering that for a brief period around 2006, Brad Richards was considered easily one of the top ten players in the league. He was coming off back-to-back 90+ point seasons, had won the Conn Smythe with 33 adjusted points in 23 games, and his defensive shortcomings hadn't been as noticeable. After that point, Richards' game took a nosedive as he turned into a mere 70-point producer with chronically bad +/- ratings. But his game seems to have been rejuvenated in the last few years (perhaps as he gears toward free agency).

So if Richards continues to quietly amass a boatload of assists and plays another six or seven seasons, his placement on the Pyramid won't seem so farfetched. He doesn't strike many as one of the 125 best hockey players who ever played the game, but it's getting hard to argue with the accomplishments. A Conn Smythe, three times in the top ten in scoring, and five times among the leaders in assists. He may be one-dimensional, but he's one of the best at that one dimension.