Could Not Buying Out Richards Cause Rangers to Lose McDonagh?

Larry Brooks at the New York Post has this quote from Ryan McDonagh's agent Ben Hankinson on his client's contract negotiations with the Rangers... "Still some work to be done before a deal is made." Meanwhile, Rick Carpiniello at the Rangers Report wonders with the Rangers up against the cap if another team had the guts to submit an offer sheet to McDonagh when he officially become a RFA on Friday... "The Rangers surely would match up to $6M per year somehow, even if they might have to get rid of players they’d like to keep. But what if the one GM decides to go to $7M per, or more? Decides to go to a point where the Rangers can’t match because they decided to keep Richards?" ...i'm officially sick to my stomach. ...Sather is a respected man amongst his fellow GMs, so I very much doubt any of them will cross him by offer sheeting McDonagh. Having said that, I bet Garth Snow would love to stick it to his cross town rival and the Islanders have plenty of cap space. Talk about heating up the rivalry in anticipation of the move to Brooklyn. ...if not buying out Richards ends up costing Clowe and McDonagh it should also cost Sather his job. Speaking of not buying out Richards, Glen Sather explained the decision to Andrew Gross at the Bergen Record... “There were lots of factors. He’s been a good player. He had an off year and we think he’ll be much better next year. That’s probably the deciding factor.” When asked if the risk of Richards being ineligible for a buyout next season due to injury was one of those factors, Sather responded... “No, not right now.” ...is Sather kidding me?!?!?! How is Richards getting injured not a factor right now? So, when will it be? When he actually gets hurt? ...as much as I think it's a huge risk, I do understand Sather's reasoning and agree that he'll be much better this season. Remember to follow me on Twitter & Facebook or e-mail me at nyrfan94@yahoo.com.