Now I've had time to calm down a bit....
This is an absolutely fantastic signing for us. Since turning to a defenceman, Richardson has been gettin rave reviews from everyone. He was a fantastic forward but never seemed to score the goals he should. The defensive side of his game was great though, and now as a offensive defenceman he should hopefully fulfil his full potential.
And it's going to be with us. This signing not only gives us a lot of flexibility in our defence, but is a signal of intent of where we want to compete this season.
I was hoping for this signing since the end of the season, though it was more wishful thinking than anything else. However, with Adams re-signing yesterday it made even more sense - and boy am I glad we have.
If we were able to re-sign Teplitsky and Stone, I would be very happy with that as a defensive line-up with Hartwick and Jarvis already staying. Perhaps try and bring Symonds back to as a 6th defenceman (or maybe an ENL guy?), and we always have Adams who can drop back onto defence if needed.
In case you can't tell, I'm really really pleased with this signing and starting to feel very excited about the upcoming season.