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Mike Richards VIII Kings vs NHLPA

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It's baaack (this thread)

Interesting article. Haven't heard him speak up about this much.

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/hockey-washington-capitals/talk/richards-lombardi-i-didnt-make-it-easy-him

Asked specifically about Lombardi and his Derek Jeter comparison, Richards said, “That’s pretty high praise, Derek Jeter. I don’t know how to answer this question to be honest, but I thought at the end our relationship was good, to be honest. Obviously, he had to make some moves and he had to do things he probably didn’t want to do, but at the end of the day I didn’t make it easy on him, either, to keep me around. So, I want to say fault on both parts, but probably more so me than him and he had to do what he had to do to what he thought benefited the L.A. Kings.â€
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I re-read that last sentence 10 times. He had we had they did what they had to do for what he had thought they had to do what they had thought.
 
Reclamation Project said:
I re-read that last sentence 10 times. He had we had they did what they had to do for what he had thought they had to do what they had thought.
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I know when I have to make a tough decision, I do what i have to do what I have to do what I have to do what I have to Mountain Dew to what I have to Scooby-Doo thinks benefits Captain Mittens.
 
KINGS17 said:
This is one of the reasons guaranteed contracts are BS. Most guys when you sign them for 10 years do the work required to live up to their side of the bargain.

What do you do with a guy that doesn't do the work?

I believe that the owners are going to correct this situation in the next CBA, either by limiting the max length of contracts, or by figuring out a way to cut a player that isn't performing.
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There is already a system in place for cutting players. You buy them out during the buy out period.

If you create another loophole for big market teams that can afford to endlessly buyout players with no repercussions to the salary cap, then what's the point in even having a salary cap system in place? Why not just adopt baseball's system of no salary cap with a luxury tax implemented for the biggest spenders?
 
Thrice said:
There is already a system in place for cutting players. You buy them out during the buy out period.

If you create another loophole for big market teams that can afford to endlessly buyout players with no repercussions to the salary cap, then what's the point in even having a salary cap system in place? Why not just adopt baseball's system of no salary cap with a luxury tax implemented for the biggest spenders?
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Still handicaps the small-market teams by inflating general contracts.

I agree to an extent though but I'm with K17 that guaranteed contracts are going to be a battleground whether we agree w/it or not.

That being said, the "richards' loophole seems to just be 'don't be a liar or an off-ice issue'. Doubt that's going to be allowed to be frequently used so as to be abused.
 
Thrice said:
There is already a system in place for cutting players. You buy them out during the buy out period.

If you create another loophole for big market teams that can afford to endlessly buyout players with no repercussions to the salary cap, then what's the point in even having a salary cap system in place? Why not just adopt baseball's system of no salary cap with a luxury tax implemented for the biggest spenders?
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When is the last time a player was in trade talks with 2 teams, and during those talks he got arrested at the border for having illegal drugs?
 
I don't like how he said Lombardi has some blame? He has none. He bought out a player in decline who had a addiction to pain killers.

10 games and no points and he is valuable....okay. Whatever.
 
To be fair I don't think we'll ever get the full story, so I can handle there being both resentment and respect on both their parts.
 
Refreshing to see Richards finally taking some ownership for what happened and acknowledge that DL had ery little choice. One thing that really angered me was how him and his minions blamed everyone and everything for his collapse except for the player himself. Richards certainly shoulders a good chunk of the blame in this article.

I just hope that down the road when the Kings have reunions or tributes or whatever to the Cup winning teams that he will be a part of it. He was a significant contributor to the Kings 2012 Stanley Cup team and for that we will always be appreciative. It's just unfortunate that management made such a colossal error in 2014. As happens in many different lines of work, when the correct business decision isn't made you are often forced to make a tougher more personal decision down the road, and that's what happened with Mike Richards.
 
Herby said:
Refreshing to see Richards finally taking some ownership for what happened and acknowledge that DL had ery little choice. One thing that really angered me was how him and his minions blamed everyone and everything for his collapse except for the player himself. Richards certainly shoulders a good chunk of the blame in this article.

I just hope that down the road when the Kings have reunions or tributes or whatever to the Cup winning teams that he will be a part of it. He was a significant contributor to the Kings 2012 Stanley Cup team and for that we will always be appreciative. It's just unfortunate that management made such a colossal error in 2014. As happens in many different lines of work, when the correct business decision isn't made you are often forced to make a tougher more personal decision down the road, and that's what happened with Mike Richards.
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We'll know when Washington comes to LA.
 
I'm cool with what Richards had to say, and glad he didn't bite on the writer's obvious desire for him to say he had some need to "prove the Kings/Lombardi wrong".

This wasn't a trade that a player would feel angry about being made - this was a player who'd exhausted every last damn chance his GM gave him. This was a player who didn't pay a guy back, when that guy had shown him a s**t-ton of loyalty.

There is no "proving the Kings wrong" for Mike Richards. There is only his thanking the Kings (and them thanking him) for his two Stanley Cups.
 
Mike Richards play the last two seasons has already proven Dean wrong...

...On not using the buyout.

Richards is in a better place and situation, he is a fourth line center making a million a year, and his role on the team doesn't really require much production on the ice, something that was never going to be a reality in LA making almost $6m a year.
 
I am glad to see Richards got another chance to play in the NHL and maybe hoist the Cup.

I wish him success on the Caps... just not against the Kings. I hope there can be a tribute and warm reception for both him and Williams when they come to LA.
 
I agree Mike will always be a King, like the prodigal son I hope Richie will always stay connected with the Kings. Kinda like that ex girl friend that you were always on good terms with, wish them the best and know that in the end you both were better for it at the end. Sports are a funny stupid thing, love it.

As for Williams, I would kill to see him in a Kings sweater one more time, he will always go down as one of my all time favorites.
 
Johnny Utah said:
I don't like how he said Lombardi has some blame? He has none. He bought out a player in decline who had a addiction to pain killers.

10 games and no points and he is valuable....okay. Whatever.
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We likely only know 10% of what was said and done. We have no idea all of DL's involvement.

savemefromtears said:
Good to see some posters here aren't still crying about DL not buying Rick out in 2014.

:facepalm:
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While I agree with your disdain for the rehashing of water under the bridge, it does still have implications on the Kings cap wise for a while yet.
 
It's pretty clear that Rick sacrificed a lot physically, and that may be why he got himself into trouble. I'll forever be grateful for his contributions to the 2012 and 2014 Cup wins.

Dean wasn't really plugged into the team last year, may be what Richards is referring to as far as blame goes. Obviously there were a ton of issues surrounding the team last season. With the Voynov and Stoll cases that also caught Dean by surprise. Wish there was more that was done that could have prevented/mitigated those incidents.
 
Johnny Utah said:
I don't like how he said Lombardi has some blame? He has none. He bought out a player in decline who had a addiction to pain killers.

10 games and no points and he is valuable....okay. Whatever.
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it does take two to tango. Richards said he has most of the blame I am ok with that.
The socialist will say the team should have done more for Richards
The conspiracy advocates will say DL circumvented the cap
The loyalist would say DL did nothing wrong
The realist knows the truth is a combination of all the above and other measures.

At the end of the day for me it does not matter. As a fan of Richards and the Kings I am glad to see him back in the league and wish him success (just not tonight). It is time to move on. Sucks we have his cap hit for years to come (even if it snot that much soon) but it is what it is.
 
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