Per Pierre LeBrun, the Rangers have officially bought out center Brad Richards. Richards originally signed a nine-year, $60 million contract leading into the 2011-2012 season. Richards played just three years under that contract, and had three productive seasons, putting together a line of 56-95-151 while missing just two regular season games.

Richards acted as the captain of the club during the most recent run to the Stanley Cup Finals. However, the cap recapture penalty risk was too great, and the Rangers had to make a business decision going forward. The Rangers will miss him, especially in the locker room, but this move was something they had to do.

Richards, who had a no-movement clause, bypassed unconditional waivers and went straight to the buyout. This was a similar move done by Chris Drury.

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