BOSTON — Brad Richards does not know his fate for next season.
“I would love to be back but I haven’t been told anything,” Richards, who faces the possibility of becoming an amnesty buyout, told The Post in an email Monday. “That’s the truth.”
There had been a report on Twitter that the 33-year-old center told his caddie during a Sunday round of golf with Mark Messier that he knew he would be back in New York next season.
“I probably said I would love to be back, but I have no clue,” Richards said. “Mark and I never talked about it.”
The amnesty buyout window will be open from 48 hours after the Chicago-Boston series concludes through July 4.
General manager Glen Sather told The Post on Wednesday that he has reached a decision on the issue but declined to reveal it, perhaps simply to maintain his options.
If the Rangers do not amnesty Richards, who was a healthy scratch for the final two games of the team’s second-round playoff defeat after previously having been demoted to the fourth line, they would have one more opportunity to do so after next season.
Richards’ contract has seven years remaining with an annual $6.67 million cap charge. The Rangers would face substantial cap-recapture penalties if Richards, who has a no-move clause, were to retire prior to the end of his deal.
The Post has been reporting over the last three weeks that the change in coaches from John Tortorella to Alain Vigneault would more likely than not give Richards a reprieve following a 2012-13 season that was stillborn.
Vigneault and Sather are expected to have meetings regarding the roster both before and after this Sunday’s Entry Draft that will be held in New Jersey. If an unforeseen personnel move presents itself between now and July 4, it is possible the Rangers might indeed amnesty Richards even if they are not currently planning to do so.
The Rangers used the first of their two allotted amnesty buyouts on Wade Redden before last season.
Meanwhile, Messier, who had interviewed for the coaching position, has not indicated whether he intends to return to his post as special assistant to Sather.
Vigneault is expected to conduct meetings with candidates to fill the assistant coach positions next week. Newell Brown, Scott Arniel and Ulf Samuelsson are believed among the possibilities. Vigneault on Friday said he wants assistants with NHL experience.