Mike Richards next Goal of the Year Contest

[Minor Boarding]

Which has almost zilch to do with the post of mine you quoted, but whatever.

I have said already in this thread he needs to score more, six goals I agree is not enough. But let's not act like his barely contributing here. He's still helping to put goals on the board.

3A in his last 15 games:

Actually, it's his defensive zone work that wasn't on par for a supposed veteran 2-way center... And that's just lazy midseason playing...
There are no excuses for that whatsoever...


Offensively, to be fair, there is no one outside of King/Nolan that have met expectations as far as scoring contributions.

 

[KingKopitar11*]

First off i am a huge richards fan. That being said he was never a workout warrior and that was one of the complaints about him. He was always lazy off the ice but his play on the ice was so good how could you criticize. Now that he is older and his body is wearing down he is really looking run down because he is not dedicated in the off season like jeff carter or jarrett stoll.

I really believe this is one of the reasons why he has dropped off so much. But what is most concerning for me is that he looks so uninterested out their on the ice. He does not mix is up as much as he use to, his shifts are so unspectacular it is alarming.

They way he has dropped off the past 4 years I wonder if he is an amnesty candidate. I really feel LA has so many of the pieces in place Great first line center great goalie, great defense with a true number 1 but right now their top 6 is underperforming and they have a chance to amnesty their 2nd highest paid forward and use that money to go after a guy like Stastny who would bring a lot more offense to the 2nd line and they drop stoll a great shutdown center to the 3rd line. I know that this is unlikely but imagine 6 more years of his play at that cap hit.

No he's not a buy out candidate at all.

But everything else you said is spot on he does look really lazy, and uninterested. Thanks for chiming in about his off ice work ethic, never knew there was complaints about it, but it looks pretty evident when he plays. He just doesn't have that hustle that a lot of players do which is pretty scary. I hope he puts it together soon off the ice if there really is a conditioning issue.

That being said I might be too hard on him because I'm not really a Richards fan, I was when we first got him, but to be honest to this day I expected a lot more from him and I still do. I know a lot of kings fans love him which is why we always clash. But he's a good player, just think his reputation proceeds him. If he got traded next week I probably wouldn't really be bummed out.

 

[Jtown]

No he's not a buy out candidate at all.

But everything else you said is spot on he does look really lazy, and uninterested. Thanks for chiming in about his off ice work ethic, never knew there was complaints about it, but it looks pretty evident when he plays. He just doesn't have that hustle that a lot of players do which is pretty scary. I hope he puts it together soon off the ice if there really is a conditioning issue.

That being said I might be too hard on him because I'm not really a Richards fan, I was when we first got him, but to be honest to this day I expected a lot more from him and I still do. I know a lot of kings fans love him which is why we always clash. But he's a good player, just think his reputation proceeds him. If he got traded next week I probably wouldn't really be bummed out.

I agree with you about his reputation. He was a great player for a while there dare I say elite. but his last two years in philly and his time in La ( though he has been good at times) he has not been the player he once was and has lived off his reputation.

 

[moosehead81]

First off i am a huge Richards fan. That being said he was never a workout warrior and that was one of the complaints about him. He was always lazy off the ice .

If you were,in fact, a huge Richards fan you would not make unsubstantiated statements about what he, or any player, does off the ice. Richards, in fact, has a summer work out regime comparable to any player in the league. And who's complaining- you and who else? And always lazy off the ice- geez are you living in his apartment with him to be able to make these kind of statements with some sot of superior authority.

Yes, he does appear to be off his "normal" game for reasons unknown; he could be ill or injured, could be pissed off with his new line mates, could be pissed off with Sutter, could be saving himself over a long season for the POs', could have been bothered by the Olympic selection process, could have personal issues, could be out of game shape (although I find that hard to believe at this stage of the season), and a whole number of other "coulds"; my point being don't be pushing out unsubstantiated reasons without some level of actual knowledge about Richards or anyone else. You, quite simply, like me, don't really know.

 

[Jtown]

If you were,in fact, a huge Richards fan you would not make unsubstantiated statements about what he, or any player, does off the ice. Richards, in fact, has a summer work out regime comparable to any player in the league. And who's complaining- you and who else? And always lazy off the ice- geez are you living in his apartment with him to be able to make these kind of statements with some sot of superior authority.

Yes, he does appear to be off his "normal" game for reasons unknown; he could be ill or injured, could be pissed off with his new line mates, could be pissed off with Sutter, could be saving himself over a long season for the POs', could have been bothered by the Olympic selection process, could have personal issues, could be out of game shape (although I find that hard to believe at this stage of the season), and a whole number of other "coulds"; my point being don't be pushing out unsubstantiated reasons without some level of actual knowledge about Richards or anyone else. You, quite simply, like me, don't really know.

Those comments are not unsubstantiated. Richards time and time again said that he used his off-seasons to rest and recover instead of staying in philly and working out with teammates.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Those comments are not unsubstantiated. Richards time and time again said that he used his off-seasons to rest and recover instead of staying in philly and working out with teammates.

Wouldn't that be in the context of his injuries, though?

I know we used to have team-led workouts here in the summer. Organized by Brown and Greene. Would be awesome to see Richie attend those. Had no indication one way or the other this year IIRC.

 

[Jtown]

Wouldn't that be in the context of his injuries, though?

I know we used to have team-led workouts here in the summer. Organized by Brown and Greene. Would be awesome to see Richie attend those. Had no indication one way or the other this year IIRC.

His twitter feed gave a good indication of how he spent his summers. He usually goes back home and stays there for the whole summer.

 

[moosehead81]

His twitter feed gave a good indication of how he spent his summers. He usually goes back home and stays there for the whole summer.

Which does not mean he's not working out. Even people who live in Northern Ontario where he comes from have pretty amazing facilities and summer ice. Some players have constructed their own gyms at their homes.

 

[KINGS17]

No he's not a buy out candidate at all.

But everything else you said is spot on he does look really lazy, and uninterested. Thanks for chiming in about his off ice work ethic, never knew there was complaints about it, but it looks pretty evident when he plays. He just doesn't have that hustle that a lot of players do which is pretty scary. I hope he puts it together soon off the ice if there really is a conditioning issue.

That being said I might be too hard on him because I'm not really a Richards fan, I was when we first got him, but to be honest to this day I expected a lot more from him and I still do. I know a lot of kings fans love him which is why we always clash. But he's a good player, just think his reputation proceeds him. If he got traded next week I probably wouldn't really be bummed out.

According to a source that knows something some of the time, one of the reasons the Kings acquired Carcillo was that he and Richards are buddies, and they were hoping it would get Richards in the weight room more often.

Richards is a great player, but I think the guy does need to add some muscle if he is going to survive until the end of his current contract.

 

[moosehead81]

Those comments are not unsubstantiated. Richards time and time again said that he used his off-seasons to rest and recover instead of staying in philly and working out with teammates.

Does that make him "lazy" and "not a workout warrior" as you indicated? Pretty sure you have no idea what Mike Richards does or doesn't do in the summer or winter- if you do please take the time to correct me with at least some little level of substantiation.

 

[kingsfan]

3A in his last 15 games:

Actually, it's his defensive zone work that wasn't on par for a supposed veteran 2-way center... And that's just lazy midseason playing...
There are no excuses for that whatsoever...


Offensively, to be fair, there is no one outside of King/Nolan that have met expectations as far as scoring contributions.

I agree, last 15 games have not been good enough. overall for the season though, he's done well. If 4-5 of those assists were turned into goals, no one would have ever thought to start this thread.

Love the picture btw

Those comments are not unsubstantiated. Richards time and time again said that he used his off-seasons to rest and recover instead of staying in philly and working out with teammates.

So he goes how to rest and recover. therefore he is lazy. So what, half the league is lazy?

Didn't Chelios go back to Chicago every off-season instead of staying in Detroit? Yeah, he was lazy too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eATge2SFvak

Up at 5 am to do a workout.

I'm not saying Richards is Chelios, but just because you go home in the off-season like a lot of other NHlers do doesn't mean you are lazy. Many NHLers have fitness rooms in their own home and NHL teams do have expectations and workout guides for players in the off-season.

 

[Jtown]

Does that make him "lazy" and "not a workout warrior" as you indicated? Pretty sure you have no idea what Mike Richards does or doesn't do in the summer or winter- if you do please take the time to correct me with at least some little level of substantiation.

his unimpressive physique is what makes him not a workout warrior.

 

[The Butcher]

his unimpressive physique is what makes him not a workout warrior.

your physique is unimpressive

 

[Jtown]

your physique is unimpressive

said no one ever

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

his unimpressive physique is what makes him not a workout warrior.

Er. For all you know the guy could have the endurance of Lance Armstrong. You can't just eyeball the guy and make assumptions like that, it's medically wrong.

That being said, this thread is veering towards closure unless it can come off life support.

 

[Ollie Weeks]

That being said, this thread is veering towards closure unless it can come off life support.

What can I do to help?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

What can I do to help?

Well, we can start by talking about Mike's play on the ice rather than what he might look like with his shirt off

 

[Jtown]

Er. For all you know the guy could have the endurance of Lance Armstrong. You can't just eyeball the guy and make assumptions like that, it's medically wrong.

That being said, this thread is veering towards closure unless it can come off life support.

You can actually eyeball elite endurance athletes like Armstrong. Hockey is not an endurance sport however.

Whatever though lets get back on track. This mike richards guy needs to start scoring eh.

 

[moosehead81]

Absolutely Mike Richards is not playing to what he appeared to be capable of earlier this year or in his career. Not sure why, and I wouldn't be close to accurate in trying to contemplate the reasons, whether it came about because of Sutter's line-up changes (which have been discussed to death) or whether the line-up changes came about because Richards began to play poor. Whatever, a player of his calibre doesn't go from a 2C level of play at about 18-20 minutes per game (and a 60-70 point year) to a 3C/4C, at 14 minutes, overnight. Nor does a coach stay with line-up changes that seems (to me) to have almost a direct co-relation to a team's sudden poor play and lack of scoring.

However, I'm not the coach nor am I privy to what bothers Mike Richards, if anything. IMO there's a number of people who have placed very high expectations on Mike Richards which would be hard to meet on a consistent game in, game out basis and when that happens, for some reason, he appears to be a lightning rod for immediate criticism. I thought that was only a Philly issue but apparently not, unless some of the negative comments on this thread originate from somewhere other than LA fandom. Given all that, I don't think Richards is as bad a player as some here seem to contend. Keep in mind, would the Kings be a play-off contender right now and have won at least one Stanley Cup since Richards arrivel with Schenn, Simpson and Jack Johnson in their line-up, instead of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter? I think not.

 

[KingKopitar11*]

Maybe Carter makes Richards better Every line Carter is on there is production... Maybe Carter is the real catalyst here. Hmm interesting.

That said, I bet my Vcash on Richards scoring the next two games.

 

[Jtown]

Absolutely Mike Richards is not playing to what he appeared to be capable of earlier this year or in his career. Not sure why, and I wouldn't be close to accurate in trying to contemplate the reasons, whether it came about because of Sutter's line-up changes (which have been discussed to death) or whether the line-up changes came about because Richards began to play poor. Whatever, a player of his calibre doesn't go from a 2C level of play at about 18-20 minutes per game (and a 60-70 point year) to a 3C/4C, at 14 minutes, overnight. Nor does a coach stay with line-up changes that seems (to me) to have almost a direct co-relation to a team's sudden poor play and lack of scoring.

However, I'm not the coach nor am I privy to what bothers Mike Richards, if anything. IMO there's a number of people who have placed very high expectations on Mike Richards which would be hard to meet on a consistent game in, game out basis and when that happens, for some reason, he appears to be a lightning rod for immediate criticism. I thought that was only a Philly issue but apparently not, unless some of the negative comments on this thread originate from somewhere other than LA fandom. Given all that, I don't think Richards is as bad a player as some here seem to contend. Keep in mind, would the Kings be a play-off contender right now and have won at least one Stanley Cup since Richards arrivel with Schenn, Simpson and Jack Johnson in their line-up, instead of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter? I think not.

No one is questioning what richards has done in the past or the important role he played in getting a cup. But watching him night in and night out you know something isnt right.

 

[Peter James Bond]

No one is questioning what richards has done in the past or the important role he played in getting a cup. But watching him night in and night out you know something isnt right.

The 12th highest paid player in the league, at 7.6 million this year...he's not even one of the 12 best on this team right now. I hope something is 'wrong' because there surely
isn't anything 'right'.

 

[kingsfan]

The 12th highest paid player in the league, at 7.6 million this year...he's not even one of the 12 best on this team right now. I hope something is 'wrong' because there surely
isn't anything 'right'.

And what 12 players on this team are better than Mike Richards?

Also, I love when people throw out the 'he gets paid this much this season' line. Are you paying the bills? His cap hit should be your only worry, and his cap hit isn't 12th highest. The only one who should be worried about paying $7.6 million is ownership, who actually sign the pay cheques, and it doesn't sound like they are to concerned. He could be getting $12 million this year, as long as his cap hit is $5.75 million, what difference is it to you, me or anyone else if he gets $12 million? It's not stopping AEG from spending, so I don't give a flying rat ****.

 

[Peter James Bond]

And what 12 players on this team are better than Mike Richards?

Also, I love when people throw out the 'he gets paid this much this season' line. Are you paying the bills? His cap hit should be your only worry, and his cap hit isn't 12th highest. The only one who should be worried about paying $7.6 million is ownership, who actually sign the pay cheques, and it doesn't sound like they are to concerned. He could be getting $12 million this year, as long as his cap hit is $5.75 million, what difference is it to you, me or anyone else if he gets $12 million? It's not stopping AEG from spending, so I don't give a flying rat ****.

Let's go 2 better. 14: Kopitar, Carter, Williams, Brown, King, Stoll,
Doughty, Voynov, Regehr, Mitchell, Greene, Martinez, Quick, Scrivens.

Toffoli, Nolan and Muzzin have been arguably better as well, but there's 14.And Phil HATES spending money on things of poor value. He bought some things at my exhibit at his hotel, The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs in April, 2012. He asked me about the products at my exhibit and bought 2 items.
He wanted to buy 1 item with a defect (it was less money) and I made sure I gave him the item from my store warehouse. Shipped it to his son Christian, who was present...Christian paid for it with his VISA. This was the day after the first loss (game 4) of Rd 1 vs Vancouver. We talked hockey for a few minutes. Cap only matters to the...'cap' and 7.6 million does matter to the people overpaying
for a pitiful effort and performance. If the guy is playing with a concussion and separated shoulder, then maybe that's all he can do.
But I don't think that's the case.

.

 

[Herby]

Damn and you guys think I hate Richards.

I wouldn't say there are that many players better than MR, but calling him a core player is a very big reach at this point. MR has had an extremely poor year thus far, no one can really debate that.