Richards/Kings Settlement

[PuckinUgly57]

Essentially the Kings saved about $5 million by going through the settlement vs. the non-compliance buyout. The total is about $10.5 million in settlement vs. $14.67 million via buyout, I was pretty close at $10 million a few posts above. I didn't think he was going to get the standard buyout.

The first 5 years carries the $1.32 million Recapture Penalty, after that it is straight salary cap hit. Mike Richards cost himself about $5 million for the pills he had illegally, and the Kings turned that into an extra 5 years to spread out his cap hit.

Ugly situation all the way around for all involved, but glad it has been put to bed. Hope Richards takes care of himself before anything, and I hope the Kings take this as a valuable lesson that they need to keep a better eye on their players, especially ones who they think are model employees.

 

[CaptHowdy00]

Based on the numbers above I would have bought him out.

 

[davnlaguna]

Based on the numbers above I would have bought him out.

10 years from now we will be moaning about the cap hit

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Based on the numbers above I would have bought him out.

No freaking way. Easy to say that when it is someone else's money my friend, but $5 million is not chump change. That is the difference between getting a Gaborik vs getting a Ryan Malone.

Keep in mind if the Kings had bought him out, it would have been for 10 years at $14.67 million total since he had 5 years left on his 12 year/$69 million deal. Under the settlement it's 17 years but at $10.5 million or so. This was definitely favorable for LA in terms of cap hit and term.

Plus at some of the numbers in the late years ($700,000 let's say), that's like losing a Nick Shore or Andy Andreoff rather than not being able to sign a player who will play a much more significant part in a Cup run. It's not a big deal in the later years.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Per TSN, not getting any interest although injuries are mounting. I think someone will take a shot at him after his legal stuff in handled, but that begins on Dec 8. I'm sure they can nab him for the peanuts that fellow bonehead Stoll got from NY (1 year/$800,000 or so).

As injuries pile up, there have been no nibbles on unrestricted free agent Mike Richards, agent Pat Morris said this week. The Blues brought in Dainius Zubrus and Martin Havlat on tryout contracts this week. Richards, 30, was probably not seriously entertained given his recent troubles and rocky history with Ken Hitchcock as a rookie in Philadelphia. The popular sentiment is Richards will land another NHL job at some point. Calgary and Edmonton were both deep in trade talks in June to land him before details of his June 17 detainment at the border leaked out. Richards has not commented publicly since the Kings moved to terminate his contract on June 30. He is reportedly being paid $1.8 million by the Kings this season - as part of a $10.5 million settlement through 2032 - so there is no real rush here. It’s just that the longer Richards sits on the shelf, the more you wonder how viable a comeback may be. Intrigued teams may be awaiting the adjudication of his arrest for possession of a controlled substance, which is scheduled to resume in court on Dec. 8 in Emerson, M.B.

#MondayMustRead: The NHL’s concussion issues

 

[PuckinUgly57]

I keep finding stuff on the Richards situation all over, thought I'd share for those interested. Found this one from when the settlement happened, good information on there citing anonymous agents and players and what their take on the situation is:

Beware the Mike Richards Case: Suspicious NHL Handling Has Players, Agents Abuzz | Bleacher Report

I also noticed the writer is Adrian Dater, who covered the Avalanche on The Denver Post for quite some time and if I am not mistaken one of the larger pubs like TSN/Sportsnet/ESPN. So dude went from a national paper to Bleacher Report?

Yikes.

 

[CaptHowdy00]

Ok, to the out side world this looks fishy, especially when Voynov's situation is compared. But according to the article, Voynov was threatened with the same thing and that is why he left.
What it all boils down to is this, the laws in Canada are different than in the States, so the fact that he was arrested by Canadians caries more weight than if he was arrested in the States.
If he was arrested in the States, the situation might have been different.
Again this is only speculation on my part.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

With Voynov it's a bit tricky, if you recall he was suspended by the NHL immediately after his arrest. The sentiment is that Richards was terminated (meaning the process started) the second Dumbo found out about the incident at the draft, but Richards wasn't even charged nor suspended. But the NHL suspended Voynov immediately, and until the NHL lifted the suspension, the Kings couldn't do anything per the CBA and NHL rules to Voynov. This dragged on for over 7 months but people forget that, they couldn't just term his contract even if they wanted to.

Second, IMO it's hearsay that the Kings were "going to terminate his contract", I don't believe that for a second. If Voynov was found not guilty or the INS didn't get involved, I think Voynov is manning the blue line today for LA. But Voynov and his legal team had to inform LA of their decision (to vountarily leave) and the Kings used that opportunity to look like good guys and issue their statement that they were going to term the contract before his party revealed their intentions to the public. It saved face for LA as well as Voynov so I would not be surprised if the two legal teams were in cahoots, or if even the LA team jumped on it before Voynov got his message out, especially because the Richards dilemma was still a big topic.

Lastly, Dumbo gave the LA Times an unsolicited email about Richards and his reckless lifestyle, lack of conditioning, etc. and it was pretty candid. Why no outcry about Voynov? Because Voynov is still a valuable player and Kings property, maybe in a few years if this dies down there could be a return. There is no return with Richards, not only has that bridge been burned down, the whole damn village was napalmed. That letter was to subtly give the public information - some, but not all - as to why they terminated his contract.

Some of it is legal, some of it is read between the lines, but there are big similarities and big differences in both cases.

 

[CaptHowdy00]

How could Voynov return to the Kings? If his contract was terminated, I would assume that the gave up their rights to him.

 

[pete6835]

How could Voynov return to the Kings? If his contract was terminated, I would assume that the gave up their rights to him.

The contract is terminated, the rights remain.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

The contract is terminated, the rights remain.

Correct, much like even though Kovalchuk left the NHL under contract, since it wasn't fulfilled were he to return he is still NJ Devils property.

Same thing with Palffy, if I recall he left Pittsburgh in the first year of a 3 year/$13.5 million deal for Europe, played out his career and retired 2 years ago altogether from hockey but because that last 2 years were not fulfilled if he had returned to the NHL after 2005-06 the Penguins would be the rights holding team.

Until you are a free and clear UFA, an NHL team owns your rights even in situations like these.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown regrets not noticing signs Mike Richards was 'on drugs'

That's because Brown was too focused on how much he sucks. Nice job Captain, I'm sure when the dude walked into the locker room cock eyed and slurring it was no big deal, that's how normal people function.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Agent Pat Morris says he expects Richards back in the NHL soon. He is skating with his OHL team, the Kitchener Rangers and getting back into shape. His words indicate he is clean, but only he knows that:

Embattled Richards Getting Ready for NHL Return

They pulled the DeBoer/Rangers/SJ card as a spot where he could end up, which probably wouldn't hurt. Captain Joe and Mushy Marleau could probably learn a thing or two from a proven winner.

 

[Deader2818]

Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown regrets not noticing signs Mike Richards was 'on drugs'

That's because Brown was too focused on how much he sucks. Nice job Captain, I'm sure when the dude walked into the locker room cock eyed and slurring it was no big deal, that's how normal people function.

Dude. Seriously lol. You are going to hold Richards being a moron against Brown?

 

[Kings4OT]

Brown said that because he has too, its not like he (or anyone) can come out and say "we all knew Richards was fucked up every night".....even tho everyone in the locker room did probably know.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Dude. Seriously lol. You are going to hold Richards being a moron against Brown?

Never. That was all on Richards, he made his choices and his bed. But part of wearing that C means making sure everything is tight in that locker room. Finances a problem? Discuss as a team and fix it. Your chick is a whore? Handle it inside that room and give the proper support necessary. Your teenage daughter is being a bitch and causing household problems? Have the older guys step up and help out. You get my point I hope.

These guys are on the road 6 months out of the year together and when a piece of the machine is off, the whole mechanism is affected (as we saw). I'm not blaming Brown at all for Richards' irresponsible behavior, I am saying he needed to step up and either talk to Richards or talk to management because it sure sounds like he did neither.

Richards is a born and proven leader, and that can be intimidating because those types of guys tend to be hard headed as well as have more resolve to handle stuff on their own, so I can understand if Brown didn't want to confront him but at the very least we know it sounds like Brown just watched it happen.

He probably wasn't alone either but the onus falls on him to have brought it to the Kings' attention.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Brown said that because he has too, its not like he (or anyone) can come out and say "we all knew Richards was fucked up every night".....even tho everyone in the locker room did probably know.

And thus why I have always questioned his leadership after a structured team was put in place. It's one thing to lead a bunch of inexperienced guys or guys you are learning "on the job" with (Kopitar, Quick, Doughty, etc.) but it's another animal dealing with a veteran team with additions who did not go through that learning process with you (Carter, Richards, Mitchell, Scuderi, etc).

I think Brown was a great candidate for wearing that C....until he actually got it.

 

[Deader2818]

Or you know, his comments fell in line with wishing you noticed something was going on when everything felt fine. Like when someone commits suicide and you had no idea because they seemed fine all the time but they weren't.

 

[davnlaguna]

I am fine with most of what Brown said

Except
That he thinks Carter has called Richards but he had not. As a team leader, he should have at least called to see if Richards needed anything. Maybe he tried or maybe the team told him hands off. But if Carter could call so could Brown

 

[Kings4OT]

And thus why I have always questioned his leadership after a structured team was put in place. It's one thing to lead a bunch of inexperienced guys or guys you are learning "on the job" with (Kopitar, Quick, Doughty, etc.) but it's another animal dealing with a veteran team with additions who did not go through that learning process with you (Carter, Richards, Mitchell, Scuderi, etc).

I think Brown was a great candidate for wearing that C....until he actually got it.

I am going to go on a limb and say that Richards problems did not just arise this last year, he had issues in Philly already. So perhaps Brown was able to overcome this problem in a way to allow the Kings to win two cups despite the issues with these players. To keep saying he has no leadership skills and discount the fact they did win twice despite all problems that arouse right after is weak. Even the best leaders can only manage problems like those for so long before they are uncontrollable. I doubt that Brown (or anyone) could have fixed the problem without major consequence to either cup run.