Kesler or M. Richards - Pts only Cap League
 

Wich one of the two would you consider the best option long term in cap league.

Mike Richards

or

Ryan Kesler

Thanks again !

I would take Kesler. He has a better salary and I would bank on him putting up more points.

I'll go with Mike Richards.
Prior to last year's tough year... Richards had put up seasons of 75/80/66/62.
That's an average of 71pts.

I don't think he's a 70pt player in LA... but still about 62-65pts.


Like Richards, let's throw out Kesler's last poor/injury season.
He had two straight years at 75/73... average of 74pts.

With all his injuries... how much does he play?
I mean, there are a lot of injuries.
The most concerning, IMO, is that shoulder.
We've seen the toll that a shoulder injury has taken on Heatley's production.
And I've played with guys with shoulder problems... they are nagging/lingering injuries.


I think Mike Richards is a great buy-low player for this year.
He's less in the spotlight as C2 in LA... but he's got his buddy Jeff Carter back to play with... some chemistry he missed for his first 2/3rds of a season in LA.

Also, Richards can play point on the PP.
And LA opened up more opportunities for him there when they shipped Jack Johnson out.

If I KNEW Kesler was going to be healthy for the remainder of his career... I'd take him.
But I prefer the healthier Mike Richards, whose points are mainly generated from hockey sense.

Salary is of some concern... but not a lot, IMO.
Richards is signed for 7 more years (not including this one) at $5.75m. That's going to be a nice tag going forward.
Kesler is signed for 3 more years (not including this one) at $5.00m.

IF Kesler does well... then he'll be paid for it - and that salary will probably be higher long-term.
IF Kesler doesn't do well... then... well, you should've gone Richards.


Mike Richards, for me.

Kessler's injuries are a concern for me. I think he would put up more points if he were to stay healthy but I dont think that will happen. I would go with Richards.

id go with richards, again mostly because of the injuries. i do think kessler could outscore him if healthy though.

If your league uses cap hit, I think I'd go with Richards.

If it uses actual salary though, I'd roll the dice on Kesler.

I would go with Kesler. I really don't like Richards approach to the game and think he will continue to suffer in LA as a 2nd/3rd liner with PP2 duties, seeing a 50-60 point upside. Kesler will continue to grow as the number 1 option in Vancouver once he's back from these surgeries.

Yes it's 3 of them in 1 offseason but remember that Richards also had surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder a couple years back and worse, had a concussion last season after which his production dropped like a rock.

In the last 5 seasons kesler has missed 7 games from injury, richards has missed 21.

In addition, for a cap league keslers 5 million far outshines Richards 8.4 unless your using caphit where kesler still wins out by 750k.

I suppose I'm trying to say that I don't see either of them with a distinct advantage derived from their injury history but I do see one derived from their situation and also their salary and this is why I would go with Kesler.

I would take Kesler

I think overall they're two comparable players at this stage, however, I'd probably go for Kesler. Kesler should be more motivated of the two for the next few years, since hes yet to win a Stanley Cup. He'll be an UFA again before too long and if he wants to earn another "big" contract he'll have to stay healthy and produce.