Lightning Ship Richards to Stars in Multi-player Swap.
Feb 26, 2008 | 9:07AM | Perhaps the biggest swap of the 2008 trade deadline took place between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars.

The Lightning shipped forward Brad Richards and goaltender Johan Holmqvist to the Dallas Stars in exchange for goaltender Mike Smith and forwards Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern.

This move was made by the Lightning due to a change in ownership, a need to free up cap space as well as both improve between the pipes and add depth elsewhere in the lineup.

For the Stars, they wanted to make a splash heading into the deadline and by acquiring Richards they’ve certainly done that.

Richards won the Conn Smythe trophy in 2004 helping the Lightning win the Stanley Cup, and it was because of his playmaking efforts and smart play that garnered him a whopping $7.8 million per season contract.

Unfortunately his large contract combined with those of Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis tied up too much of the Lightning’s money in three players, giving them little room to bring in much-needed depth.

As a result Richards play suffered this season as he lacked quality linemates to receive his slick passes.

That’ll change on a much deeper team in Dallas, which were looking not only for more scoring but also have an eye on eventually replacing long time Stars center Mike Modano when he retires in a couple of years. Richards certainly has the talent to step in and replace him down the road.

Holmqvist also gives the Stars a seasoned backup for Marty Turco.



He’s also a very affordable acquisition salary-wise so if he doesn’t work out his salary can be easily moved to the minors.

Jokinen is a slick playmaker and shootout specialist and should be a good addition to the Lightning, and could end up seeing playing time on the Lecavalier line. Halpern meanwhile is an experience veteran forward who should be a good fit on the Lightning’s checking lines. Halpern is signed through to next season, Jokinen is an RFA this summer and should be an affordable re-signing for the Lightning.

Bolts management probably didn’t want to make this trade, but they get back some affordable assets that could provide the depth they’ve lacked this season.

This is one of the 2 biggest trades of the day. This should help out both teams. Richards has been very steady throughout his entire career and knows what it takes to win a Cup. The Lightning get out of a big contract and get a very good young goalie who could be around for a long time.