Richards and best friend, teammate and leading scorer Jeff Carter were dealt in two separate trades that represents a changing of the guard in Philadelphia.
Just 30 minutes after sending shockwaves throughout the NHL by moving Carter to Columbus for Jakub Voracek, the No. 8 overall pick in tonight's Entry Draft and a third-round pick, Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren jettisoned Richards to Los Angeles for Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn and a second-round pick in 2012.
"Today was a huge day for the Flyers organization," Holmgren said at his media availability at the Grand Hotel in Minneapolis yesterday. "What we've done today is change the direction of our organization with these two moves. I've always said over the last few years that I like our team. I still like our team, it's just a different team."
The shocking trades paved the way for the Flyers to sign Bryzgalov to a 9-year, $51 million deal to deliver the goalie who team chairman Ed Snider couldn't wait to have.
Carter was set to embark on an 11-year, $58 million extension that was just signed in November. Richards was three seasons into a 12-year, $69 million contract that would have kept him a Flyer until 2020.
Both players had no-trade clauses that would have kicked in on July 1, 2012.
All of that is out the window now, in a series of moves that few could have predicted. It was just on Monday that Holmgren said the Flyers would not be "having a fire sale."
"I probably wouldn't have signed the deal, actually, if I knew I was going to be traded," Richards said in a conference call with reporters. "When I signed that extension, I wanted to stay in Philadelphia for the rest of my career. That's what I envisioned up until 2 or 3 o'clock [yesterday] afternoon."
