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Richards Trying To Stay Focused As Rumors Swirl

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 22, 2008

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - The clock continues to count down to Tuesday's trade deadline, which arrives at 3 p.m.

But how much does it also count down to how much longer the Lightning as they are currently known remain intact?

There's no doubt that Tampa Bay has made it known that it will be busy on the transaction wire before Tuesday. The direction in which the team takes, however, remains unclear, although rumors continue to run rampant.

The rumor with the most traction continues to surround talk that Lightning general manager Jay Feaster has put out feelers to see what kind of return could be had for C Brad Richards, with Columbus allegedly showing the most interest at this point, although TSN Canadian television reported that Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal and Edmonton also have interest. Richards, however, holds a no-trade clause, which means he would have to agree to any trade, which might eliminate Edmonton's chances.

Richards said before the team left for the two-game road trip that his focus remains on helping Tampa Bay win games until somebody comes to him to tell him otherwise. Richards' agent, Pat Morris, was out of reach on Thursday and did not return a message left for him.

If Columbus is considered to be among the front-runners for Richards, then the presence of two Blue Jackets scouts, including the team's director of player personnel, Don Boyd, will only fuel that speculation.

At the same time, the team continues to discuss a contract extension with D Dan Boyle, although there is no progress to report. If terms of a new contract cannot be agreed upon before Tuesday, it is widely known that the Lightning will explore trading him rather than risk losing him to free agency with any type of compensation.

Other players believed to be in play on the trade market include LW Vinny Prospal, D Filip Kuba, C Chris Gratton and possibly LW Jan Hlavac and G Johan Holmqvist.

In addition to Columbus watching Thursday's game, scouts from Dallas, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and the New York Rangers were present for the second consecutive night.

SPEAKING OF PROSPAL: Entering Thursday, Prospal was among the hottest goal scorers in the league with nine goals in 10 games and five in the previous four games. While he said there is no particular reason why he is finding the net of late - he has already set a career high with 28 goals - he also isn't finding much joy in scoring.

"It would be more enjoyable if we were getting more wins out of it," Prospal said.

It didn't help that his goal Wednesday night should have been an insurance goal that game Tampa Bay a two-goal lead with under seven minutes left in the third period. Instead, the Lightning allowed two goals in the final three minutes before losing in overtime.

"We have lost a lot of valuable points this year," he said. "We are still good enough players and a good enough team not to have this happen to us. That's why it's so embarrassing."

NUTS AND BOLTS: LW Andre Roy was a healthy scratch for the fourth time in the past eight games. ... C Andreas Karlsson returned to the lineup after missing the past four games, two while attending to a personal matter. ... The Lightning will not practice today. ... Wang Jung, vice president of the Chinese Olympic Committee, was in attendance at the game as a guest of Islanders owner Charles Wang. ... Islanders LW Chris Simon returned to the lineup after serving a 30-game suspension for stepping on the ankle of Pittsburgh's Jarkko Ruutu. ... Thursday marked the third time in the past 10 games in which Tampa Bay had more than two power-play opportunities in a game.

Erik Erlendsson

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