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Brad Richards donates $500K to a children’s hospital

Brad Richards

Dallas Stars center Brad Richards celebrates after a goal as Anaheim Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere (35) misses the puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Dec. 3, 2009, in Dallas. The Stars won 3-1. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)

AP

Despite having a refreshingly productive 09-10 season in which he racked up 91 points despite the fact that the Dallas Stars missed the playoffs, it’s difficult to escape contract talk with Brad Richards. He signed a bloated five-year, $39 million deal after he won the Conn Smythe during the Tampa Bay’s catching-Lightning-in-a-bottle Cup run, which makes his $7.8 million annual cap hit just short of the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin zone. Whichever way you slice it, Richards fell short of his salary over the course of this contract.

Luckily, Richards is doing the right thing with his gobs of money and isn’t falling short of being a good human being. The Guardian reports that the playmaking center donated $500K to help children at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in his home province.

Following the Dallas Stars’ training camp in Charlottetown on the weekend, Murray Harbour’s Brad Richards stopped in to visit the pediatric unit of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he made a donation of $500,000 to help children in his home province.

During the event, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation formally announced the establishment of a Brad Richards Named Endowment to help purchase medical equipment to help children.

[snip]

Richard’s gift was made in honour of his cousin and best friend, Jamie Reynolds, who passed away in 1989 with a brain tumour when he was seven years old and Richards was almost nine. On hand for the emotional announcement were members of the Richards and Reynolds family along with many of the pediatric nurses who cared for Jamie.

Richards says he had been waiting a long time to properly honour his cousin Jamie in his home province.

Wow, that’s a heart breaking story, but also a great example of the generosity hockey players display which often slips under the radar. Kudos to Richards for handing out such a huge sum of money to a cause that is near and dear to him.

With 2010-11 being the final year of that big deal he originally signed with the Lightning, maybe he can earn another big deal ... and make another huge donation.It’s pretty hard to root against Brad Richards after reading this story.