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Mike Richards: Settlement Reached

By Ryan Ritchie

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Mike Richards had his contract voided by the Los Angeles Kings back in June when he was arrested at the U.S-Canadian border. He was later charged with possession of a controlled substance. The Kings were set to save $22 million on a 5-year contract that held an annual cap hit of $5.875.

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Soon after the voided contract, the NHLPA filed a grievance on the behalf of Mike Richards. The terms in which Los Angeles used to void the contract was because of “a material breach of the requirements of his Standard Player’s Contract.”

On Friday, it was annouced by TSN Senior Correspondent Rick Westhead that the Los Angeles Kings and Mike Richards had reached a settlement via Twitter.

According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie the Kings will be forced to pay a cap penalty over the next 5 years, which the annual pay-out to Richards will be reflected as the annual cap hit charged against the Kings.

It was later revealed by rotoworld.com that the annual “cap recapture penalty” will be $1.32 million annually.

What kind of ripple effects will we see after the dust has settled in this one? Mike Richards could steal be facing legal action, but how long will it be before we see Richards back in the NHL? He should be a relatively cheap signing. Probably a low-risk Alex Semin type move.

Could there be a fit in Montreal or Nashville perhaps? New Jersey could use another top-six forward. Maybe the Capitals or Red Wings could use a temporary fill-in to help fill voids left by Nicklas Backstrom and Pavel Datsyuk. Not that Mike Richards would directly fill those roles, but could be a decent bottom tier top-six forward or top tier third liner.

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    • On the flip side, what does this mean for the Los Angeles Kings? The $1.32 annually isn’t a terrible number. But it could be the difference between having the money to keep a Jordan Nolan or Trevor Lewis type.

    It could also be the difference between whether or not you can afford to pay your big center. Obviously, if you want to extend Anze Kopitar you can. It just may be the difference between whether or not you can afford certain guys in the future. Or could be the factor that either lands you or doesn’t land you that sought after free agent.

    One thing is for sure, with the situation finally being resolved, both parties can move on with life. Mike Richards can try to find a new NHL home and see if he can’t extend his career.

    The Los Angeles Kings have a clear cap picture finally and know the numbers they have to work with.

    We may get a resolution to the Anze Kopitar situation, as the longer it looms the more the trade speculation will occur and cause a distraction.

    We may see some trade activity from the Kings sooner than later. With holes on the blue-line and some money to spend, something’s gotta give. Whether or not that means moving Kopitar, Carter, Gaborik, etc. Most of them have a no trade/movement clause besides Kopitar.

    It will be interesting to see what happens in LA if teams keep exposing the Kings defensive weaknesses like they have through preseason and game 1 of the year.  Although what exactly did LA Kings management expect?  Christian Ehrhoff was never going to be enough to replace Slava Voynov, Robert Regehr, and Andrej Sekera.

    Next: LA Kings Trade Rumors

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