Tortorella Cutting Brad Richards Too Much Slack

I feel like the span between these posts about Brad Richards has become smaller and smaller as the season passes by, which, for obvious reasons, is not a good thing for the Rangers' big free agent splash this past summer. Richards was brought here for several reasons, but the most prevalent included his playmaking abilities, his presence at the point on the powerplay and his leadership. While the leadership has been there all year long, the playmaking and powerplay production have not. When asked about Richards, head coach John Tortorella repeatedly states that Richards needs more time to break out of his funk and get going. For example, when Torts was questioned on why he again used Richards in the shootout on Wednesday against the Buffalo Sabres despite Brad being 0-for-7 on the season, the coach said that Richards is the type of player who will eventually overcome his struggles if he continuously is put in the same situations over and over. Well, at what point does ...