Tomas Vokoun Washington Capitals v Brad Richards NY Rangers
With the free agent signing of Brad Richards by the New York Rangers, they have upgraded their team in many ways. They have added a top-notch true 1st line center. Richards is a Stanley Cup Champion. Richards was the top of the Free Agents available in the off-season and took less money to go to New York than he could have received from other teams. The savings the Rangers get from this will allow them to attempt to retain their RFA’s and bring in a few more reinforcements(Mike Rupp). The Ranger’s now have another big name in the lineup and one who will bring some new life to the Power Play, one that lacked greatly last year. Maybe the biggest impact from Richards will be teaming him up with Marion Gaborik and provider a formidable top line in the competitive eastern conference.
The Washington Capitals free agent signing of goalie Tomas Vokoun is a sign that the Caps feel their playoffs exit was due to lack of goal-tending. The trading of Semyon Varlamov to the Colorado Avalanche opens up space for Vokoun to compete with Michal Neuvirth for the top spot between the pipes and help the Caps fixed their very disappointing playoffs of late. Vokoun has been a top notch goalie on below average teams through his career so now we will see what he can do on a team that is expected to win. Vokoun has the stats but he has not won anything yet.
