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Stars' Richards Makes First Return To Tampa

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON

eerlendsson@tampatrib.com

Published: January 19, 2009

TAMPA - Brad Richards' last moment inside the St. Pete Times Forum saw him pushing a large wheeled cart that carried the weight of his equipment bag along with the stockpile of his hockey sticks.

It was a bittersweet moment for Richards as he walked out the doors following a blockbuster trade that sent him to the Dallas Stars.

Richards admits he has looked back on a few occasions with fondness, thinking about the difficulties in leaving the only organization he had known up until Feb. 26, 2008. He knows many of those memories - especially lifting the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe trophy over his head - will flood his mind as he walks through those same doors today for the first time as a visitor.

"It has taken some time and it's all part of the process in looking back," Richards said of the trade. "I've tried to turn the page on everything and slowly but surely Dallas is starting to feel like home for me, but Tampa will always have a special place in my heart."

While the memories of what was accomplished during his six seasons with the Lightning remain, little else is left of the organization he knew for so long. Ownership has changed, the coaching staff is gone, management is new and the roster looks nothing like the one he left last season. And only two players remain on the roster in which Richards won a Stanley Cup with - Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis.

Richards said playing against the Lightning won't feel as strange as squaring off against Lecavalier for the first time in his life. Lecavalier and Richards have been playing together since their early years in high school, playing for Notre Dame Academy in Saskatchewan. Both played for Rimouski in junior hockey and were drafted by the Lightning.

"It's definitely going to be bizarre," Lecavalier said. "But I'm definitely looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to seeing him again. It will be fun to see him play again."

On the other side of the ice is the principal player acquired from Dallas in the trade, goaltender Mike Smith. After spending nearly two seasons as the backup to Marty Turco, Smith is now the No. 1 in Tampa Bay and is eager to face his former mates tonight.

"It's always in the back of your mind when you get traded from a team. I think there's always that part of you that kind of wants to stick it to them," said Smith, whose 2.50 goals-against average and .919 save percentage this year top that of his mentor in Turco, who brings a 3.13 GAA and .884 save percentage. "But I think this has worked out better for my career. Although it was tough at the time, I'm getting the chance to play here and hopefully we can turn things around."

Ultimately, however, the night will be about the return of Richards, who was part of the Three Amigos at forwards - and part of the core of four which included Dan Boyle - around which the prior regime tried to build the franchise.

Richards understands tonight's game, scheduled to include a video tribute in his honor, will be anything but a run-of-the-mill day at the rink.

"I know how it's going to be and it's going to be a much different situation than any other normal Monday in Tampa," Richards said. "I'm sure it's going to be a bit of sleepless night, and it's going to be bizarre and I'm sure I'm going to be more anxious. It's just going to be a different kind of day, I understand that.

"The day will go by quick, so I'm just going to make sure I try and have as much fun as I can and enjoy the day. But I'll make sure to convince my teammates that this game is a big one for me."

ARTY FACING SUSPENSION? The Lightning received a call from the league office on Sunday informing them they are investigating Evgeny Artyukhin's hit on Florida's Ville Peltonen in Saturday's game in which Artyukhin appeared to stick out his knee.

Peltonen had to be helped off the ice, and Panthers coach Pete DeBoer called it a "dirty hit."

Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy said that every game is reviewed, but if some sort of hearing and supplementary discipline were to be handed out, it would be made known before tonight's game.

"We look at everthing that happens during each game and deal with them accordingly," Murphy said.

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835.

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