Ricsi

"The more I think about it the more I want to see all my opportunities," he said — and why, when it comes to a potential return to the Lightning, he did not shoot down a suggestion he might be willing to take less salary than he could get elsewhere.

"I know what's going on around the league, it's not just the Lightning," said the center, who in February 2008 was dealt to the Stars in the Smith deal. "You look at any team, the salary cap, there are different structures with different teams. So, as a player you'd be stupid not to be open-minded and flexible because you want to see what all your options are."

Not negotiable is going to a franchise with stable ownership.

"That's huge," Richards said. "After what I've gone through with Tampa (in the transition to Oren Koules and Len Barrie) and what I've gone through in Dallas, I'm sick of it."

He also wants a long-term deal "to get some security and settle into a place I want to go."

"If the Lightning is going to talk to me, I'm going to listen, for sure," Richards said. "I'm not going to waste their time, but if they want to talk to me and be serious, it's going to be a team that catches my attention."