If you look at the New York Rangers' salary cap situation, the salary cap recapture risk represented by Brad Richards' contract, and the club's myriad of useful players headed to free agency this summer; it becomes obvious that Richards is among the most likely candidates to be the target of a compliance buyout before June 30.

His agent Pat Morris of Newport Sports Management agency isn't convinced. Morris seems to believe that there's a chance that Richards will return to Manhattan next season.

"Maybe that’s my heart rather than my head [talking]," Morris admitted on Sportsnet's Hockey Central at Noon Tuesday afternoon. "But with the commentary from Glen Sather, he was pretty positive about Brad’s role, especially after [former captain Ryan] Callahan left."

Though Morris is hopeful that his client will remain with the Rangers, he acknowledged that with the Rangers' pending salary cap crunch this summer, "something has to give somewhere."