Richards Out 8 Weeks

The news is bad in Dallas, as Brad Richards will now miss the next 6-to-8 weeks with a broken wrist. Fortunately, his injury will not require surgery, which has kept his recovery time from being worse than it already is. If Richards can be back within the 6 weeks, he will have some time to play a few more regular season games before the playoffs roll around, suggesting that the Stars are still going to make it with Richards' absence.

The Stars currently hold the fifth spot in the Western Conference, one point better than sixth through eighth spots and two points better than ninth. It's a pretty tight race down the stretch and the loss of Richards will only make that more difficult for the Stars, to say the least. It also makes the trade deadline a little more interesting in Dallas, as they could potentially be bigger buyers with this section of salary removed from the cap space for a more expensive rental player.

In the Draft, Richards is a Draft pick of Dale C.'s, who currently resides in eighth spot in the pool, 24 points out of third place (the last money spot). Missing out on a top line forward like this should potentially be fatal for his chances at the money now. His team has been putting on a brave face, but it does seem unlikely that'll be enough.

Click here to see an updated injury page.