While we continue to wrap our Dallas Stars minds around just exactly where this Brad Richards news leaves the team on and off the ice going forward, there's another issue that will crop up in the first week of October: What uniform will he be wearing as the season starts?
Fanbases from far and wide have ceaselessly and brazenly window shopped from afar for years now. The New York Ranger/Brad Richards rumors have been a late Winter tradition going on four seasons now, and Maple Leaf faithful (boy, are they faithful too, to sit through decades of that mess) on Twitter have practically branded him as their own for months. The idea of him an another uniform is not a new concept, but which one could you tolerate the most?
We only enjoyed his work here for 3.5 seasons, so it won't be quite like watching Mike Modano in a Red Wing uniform, but it will still hurt, knowing the reason why they couldn't even offer him a contract.
The Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers we know. The third rumored player for some time has been the Los Angeles Kings, who have a solid core of players and some cap space to work with, though they need to re-sign Drew Doughty.
To a somewhat lesser extent, the Tampa Bay Lightning are thought to be a potential suitor through clever financial maneuvering and an an obvious advantage in that Richards loves it in Tampa and never wanted to leave there in the first place. They already have top two centers but I'm sure they could find some way to fit Richards back in there. They'd be a pretty heavy favorite in the East.
The Buffalo Sabres are being mentioned as a somewhat less likely candidate but one that is at least able financially. It's hard to picture him wanting to go there with these other destinations available. There was a rumor from "a source" back in February that he wouldn't mind playing in a place like Carolina either, but it's not been revisited since.
Personally I'll take a "anywhere but Los Angeles" approach to this question but here it is for your enjoyment: Where would you least mind seeing Brad Richards end up?