Mike Richards III (Cleared waivers 1/27/15)

[Chain]

Compliance Buyout deadline was June 30th at 5pm EST.

Training Camp was September 19th.

Dean visited Richards at home in Canada in mid-August. So who knows how Richards worked out in that month between.

 

[KingsFan7824]

i understand the kings putting richards on waivers hoping to rid themselves of his contract, but why exactly are they sending down to the ahl? to save 900,000 dollars in cap? makes no sense, sure Richards is underperforming but still an nhl player, and probably the best 4th line center in the league. The Kings are better with Richards in the lineup than without him. How about waiving dustin brown and sending him down to the AHL, guy has been arguably worse than Richards, he has like 2 more points than richards, and he's playing top six minutes. IMO, sending richards down to the minors is completely idiotic and lessens the kings chances of making the playoffs.

Brown is physically better than Richards right now. He may not be putting up many points, but he's also not playing the way he did last year either. Richards, unfortunately, is playing the way he did for most of last season.

Why send Richards down? Well, like you said, it's not for the cap space. It's the last straw. The Kings have given Richards ample opportunity to get back to being an effective player, even in a 4th line context. They even didn't buy him out. Sending him to the AHL, after waiving him, at this point in his career, now we find out if Richards still has something left, or if he doesn't.

Out of the playoffs, and a close friend is now gone until further notice. Maybe it'll be a wake up call to the rest of the roster, who have up until this point in the season played as inconsistently as a team possibly can.

 

[DocWest]

Has anybody found any quotes from Richards yet? I've already read what Carter, Lombardi and Sutter had to say on the situation.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Has anybody found any quotes from Richards yet? I've already read what Carter, Lombardi and Sutter had to say on the situation.

I'm sure people are giving him the appropriate distance until his first game.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Brown is physically better than Richards right now. He may not be putting up many points, but he's also not playing the way he did last year either. Richards, unfortunately, is playing the way he did for most of last season.

Why send Richards down? Well, like you said, it's not for the cap space. It's the last straw. The Kings have given Richards ample opportunity to get back to being an effective player, even in a 4th line context. They even didn't buy him out. Sending him to the AHL, after waiving him, at this point in his career, now we find out if Richards still has something left, or if he doesn't.

Out of the playoffs, and a close friend is now gone until further notice. Maybe it'll be a wake up call to the rest of the roster, who have up until this point in the season played as inconsistently as a team possibly can.

Amen. Anyone complaining about Brown's play right now is strictly whining about their fantasy team.

I'd like the puck to start going in for him more but that's about all we can ask more of him.

 

[BigBrown]

Considering how strapped the Kings are for cash, even though very little money is saved it might still be the difference between being able to make a deadline deal and not.

 

[DocWest]

Here is what Carter had to say, for those interested.

http://lakingsinsider.com/2015/01/27/carter-on-richards-upcoming-stretch-of-hockey/




“I think it’s tough obviously,†said Carter, who said that he saw Richards on Monday night.

“We’ve got a pretty close team in here. Anytime anybody leaves, it’s always tough. We understand that those things happen, but he brought a lot to this room and a lot of stuff that, unless you’re in this room, you don’t see. It was tough. It was tough on him too, I know. But it’s an opportunity for someone else to step up and some younger guys to play a little more and become leaders in the room and all of that.â€

Richards, who will report to Manchester on Wednesday, understands the situation, as Carter alluded to.

“I think he’s alright,†he said. “Obviously, nobody wants to get sent down. It’s the [lousy] part of the game. I think he’s handled it well. He’s been around a long time and he knows how it works. So I’m sure he’ll work hard and we’ll see him again soon.â€

“Teams aren’t playingwell these things happen, right? That’s the way it goes.â€

 

[kingsfan]

Toffoli and Pearson my white ass.

Sun media is garbage.

That said, if the sun hits your white ass and tans it brown, what then?

Will he? St. Louis seemed to have lasted longer than 5 years. Gionta has seemed to find a niche in a league of gigantic men. Same with Theo Fleury, he had a decent career.

Desharnais, Gerbe, Atkinson, Zucarello...

Shall I go on? Height is not the end all be all anymore in the NHL. That being said, you can't have him anyways.

And for every successful smurf there is 100 who didn't make it. Good on Johnny, here's hoping he's one of the ones who does great things but odds are still strong he won't.

 

[kingsfan]

Has anybody found any quotes from Richards yet? I've already read what Carter, Lombardi and Sutter had to say on the situation.

 

[Travtera]

I'm a big Mike Richards fan but for me the lack of production is only a small part of my criticism. Given his ice time, line mates and lack of PP time are going to contribute to lack of production for a guy already struggling offensively. Brown only has 4 more points but plays with an offensively gifted player in Williams and has been getting PP time. But Brown hussles. Brown hits. It's Richard's lack of fire that has me concerned. Remember the days when he played fearless? Remember when opposition players took note when he was on the ice? They knew they had to keep their head up and feet moving because Richie was coming to get them. Haven't seen that Mike Richards in far too long.

 

[The Big Giant Head]

Amen. Anyone complaining about Brown's play right now is strictly whining about their fantasy team.

I'd like the puck to start going in for him more but that's about all we can ask more of him.

Yea, i dont want to hear anyone complaining about Brown at this point. Its just boils down to finger pointing at this point and Brown has been playing great the last 10 games. His season has been up and down but he's been getting a lot of chances and shots on net, they just havent been going in.

Richards has been a question mark for awhile now and the fact that Lombardi had to visit him at home during the summer to ask him to come to camp prepared is pretty telling that he was on a shorter leash than anyone else. At this point, hopefully Richards will take this move to heart and get it together in the AHL...the disappointment of such a demotion, i would hope, motivate him. Not only that, but the guys in the locker room just saw on of their close friends demoted, this could be the kick in the ass this team needs right now.

 

[Pez68]

Maybe Kopitar's agent can get that for him in Toronto. Seriously, Dean isn't giving Kopitar a max contract for 8 years after the Richards fiasco. This is the whole point behind having a salary cap league. GMs that get their stars signed to reasonable deals will excel. Those that don't, won't.

If I'm Dean, I limit the term to 5 years on a Kopitar deal. Kopitar will be an excellent defensive centerman for years to come, but I am thinking that in six years his offense will definitely be on the decline and the Kings don't need to be paying him big money at that time.

I would do something like $10M, $10M, $8.5M, $8M, $7M. That's $43.5M over 5 seasons, and it's very fair to both sides.

The baseline for Kopitar is the Toews' contract. Thinking he's going to get less I think is pretty delusional.

 

[Fourier]

Well, that's the reality of the situation. I'd be asking for those assets too if I were one of the very select few teams even remotely interested in acquiring him because they know the Kings are screwed right now.

So if we're gonna believe the article:
Mike Richards and one of Toffoli/Pearson OR 1st round and a top prospect
for
one or two overpaid unwanted players AND the Kings have to retain part of Richards salary.

Yeah no thanks.

There seems to be a lot of debate on the Oiler forum about the pros and cons of trading for Richards. I watched him play throughout his whole junior career here in Kitchener and have followed him ever since. He looks to me like he has definitely lost a step and for a guy who was never fast to begin with this is a concern. But my biggest concern is that I am not convinced he can still play the type of high energy physical game that drives his game when he is playing well over the course of a season. Given his cap hit, and a potentially near flat cap next year, this is a significant risk for any team that takes him on. I think it will probably cost something to shed his deal even if the Kings retain some salary.

There is no example I can think of where a team had to give up an asset like a 1st round pick or a player like Toffoil/Pearson to dump contract. However, for a team like Edmonton the 1st may be very tempting. I'd be curious to know if you thought something like:

To Edmonton: Richards (20% retained=$1.15M on the cap), 2015 1st
To LA: Petry or Edmonton's 2015 2nd

would work from the King's perspective? The cost is basically the difference between a pick in the 31-34 range and the Kings 1st, and about $1M in cap space.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

The baseline for Kopitar is the Toews' contract. Thinking he's going to get less I think is pretty delusional.

Toews getting overpaid by at least a million shouldn't impact Kopitar much. I still don't expect him to get more than 8.5.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

There seems to be a lot of debate on the Oiler forum about the pros and cons of trading for Richards. I watched him play throughout his whole junior career here in Kitchener and have followed him ever since. He looks to me like he has definitely lost a step and for a guy who was never fast to begin with this is a concern. But my biggest concern is that I am not convinced he can still play the type of high energy physical game that drives his game when he is playing well over the course of a season. Given his cap hit, and a potentially near flat cap next year, this is a significant risk for any team that takes him on. I think it will probably cost something to shed his deal even if the Kings retain some salary.

There is no example I can think of where a team had to give up an asset like a 1st round pick or a player like Toffoil/Pearson to dump contract. However, for a team like Edmonton the 1st may be very tempting. I'd be curious to know if you thought something like:

To Edmonton: Richards (20% retained=$1.15M on the cap), 2015 1st
To LA: Petry or Edmonton's 2015 2nd

would work from the King's perspective? The cost is basically the difference between a pick in the 31-34 range and the Kings 1st, and about $1M in cap space.

If it's Petry AND a 2nd, I do it without blinking. If it's Petry OR a 2nd, I blink and then do that.

 

[bmr]

I still say that Toews > Kopitar and I love Kopitar. That being said, I don't think he gets that kind of money. I think it's going to be in the 8.5-9 range. The one disturbing thing about Kopitar's play is that he can disappear for an entire series (Chicago last year) on the scoresheet.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

The baseline for Kopitar is the Toews' contract. Thinking he's going to get less I think is pretty delusional.

This.

If Lombardi adopts some hardline of 5 years as some here are suggesting, you can kiss Kopitar goodbye. He's in his prime and will get eight years at close to 9-10 million. The market has already been set there. Kopitar will get his money.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

This.

If Lombardi adopts some hardline of 5 years as some here are suggesting, you can kiss Kopitar goodbye. He's in his prime and will get eight years at close to 9-10 million. The market has already been set there. Kopitar will get his money.

I respectfully disagree.

With the way the cap is now and more and more teams feeling the crunch, less people can throw around that kind of money. You're going to see contracts taper off, imo, and no one will be getting more than Toews/Kane. More teams are starting to realize that when their youth graduates to RFA and beyond it's literally impossible to keep a vision of a team together unless everyone is taking huge discounts. It's why Carter's contract is so valuable and I will maintain Kopitar doesn't get more than 8.5.

I mean everyone wants to praise Buffalo as a model of growing a team but 1. those kids haven't made it yet and 2. if they do as well as hoped there's no way they keep em all. All you can do is trade and restock. Even Edmonton is going to start feeling it and they have yet to really hit the big time.

 

[CanadianKingsFan14]

If Calgary has interest in Richards would this deal work?

To Calgary
Richards
King

To LA
D. Jones
Smid

Jones contract is 4mil for one more season.

 

[bob77]

This.

If Lombardi adopts some hardline of 5 years as some here are suggesting, you can kiss Kopitar goodbye. He's in his prime and will get eight years at close to 9-10 million. The market has already been set there. Kopitar will get his money.

I agree. It's like selling a house at a ridiculous high price! All you need is one buyer!

 

[kingsfan]

I doubt DL looks to hard at dealing Richards right now. The vultures are swirling so guaranteed he's getting **** offers and the actual cap savings between now and the deadline likely won't be so significant as to warrant getting bent over a table on a deal. besides, likely the only teams giving any real consideration to trading for Richards are either teams out of the playoffs are teams looking to rip LA off (like Calgary reportedly).

A trade at the draft or in the off-season makes more sense.

 

[Jason Lewis]

I posed this question on twitter and on Hockeybuzz.

Take contracts out of the equation, rate the following players in order:

Richards, Stoll, King, Clifford, Andreoff, Nolan, Lewis (not my order just listing them)

 

[bob77]

I'm a big Mike Richards fan but for me the lack of production is only a small part of my criticism. Given his ice time, line mates and lack of PP time are going to contribute to lack of production for a guy already struggling offensively. Brown only has 4 more points but plays with an offensively gifted player in Williams and has been getting PP time. But Brown hussles. Brown hits. It's Richard's lack of fire that has me concerned. Remember the days when he played fearless? Remember when opposition players took note when he was on the ice? They knew they had to keep their head up and feet moving because Richie was coming to get them. Haven't seen that Mike Richards in far too long.

I can understand his 5 on 5 time being down, but I can't understand why all season he's not being used as a power play specialist? It blows my mind when I start seeing King, Clifford, Stoll out there instead of him, and even sometimes to an extent McNabb, Greene, Schultz, McBain. I like you could put him on the point also. It almost seems like if you play well 5 on 5, Sutter rewards players with PP time. I don't get it.

 

[damacles1156]

This.

If Lombardi adopts some hardline of 5 years as some here are suggesting, you can kiss Kopitar goodbye. He's in his prime and will get eight years at close to 9-10 million. The market has already been set there. Kopitar will get his money.

Kopitar is getting ready to exit his prime. The statistics, and odds are that Kopitar from here on out, will not post another career year.

Doesn't mean Kopitar won't be an elite center, it just means his production prime years are likely over.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I posed this question on twitter and on Hockeybuzz.

Take contracts out of the equation, rate the following players in order:

Richards, Stoll, King, Clifford, Andreoff, Nolan, Lewis (not my order just listing them)

Oooh that's a good one. Contracts aside, Lewis, Richards, King, Stoll, Clifford, Andreoff, Nolan.

Just my personal preference, I could definitely see Richards dropping behind King/Stoll and maybe even Clifford but not below Andreoff at this time and certainly not behind Nolan. Lewis is too valuable all around, Richards still has game in him (I'm an optimist), King is more valuable to this roster than people give him credit for and unless the Kings suddenly adopt a speed game over size get used to him, Stoll plays his role well, Clifford I debated putting higher due to his season as he's been a monster but for whole body of work he's still behind imo, Andreoff has upside, Nolan maybe has upside but he's been a kitten all year and looks like a brat every time he takes the ice.