Mike Richards (Warning in OP)

[kingsfan]

Not sure how discussing Kopitar is at all relevant, both to the thread or in general. The sides can't start discussions until the summer, just wait until then to start gauging his value.

 

[Papa Mocha 15]

I think all player discussion threads should have MOD WARNINGS in the title.

Hell, made me click.

Me too. I was thinking... Oh cool, conflict. Let's see what's up. Richie played well in the first, not his fault his wingers can't hit a parked car with a puck. Otherwise, he'd have 3 assists tonight.

 

[kingsholygrail]

Me too. I was thinking... Oh cool, conflict. Let's see what's up. Richie played well in the first, not his fault his wingers can't hit a parked car with a puck. Otherwise, he'd have 3 assists tonight.

That's because when this thread was started, Richards was the pariah of an offensively challenged Kings team.

 

[KINGS17]

Not sure how discussing Kopitar is at all relevant, both to the thread or in general. The sides can't start discussions until the summer, just wait until then to start gauging his value.

It's relevant because Kopitar is playing now, and is not playing well. His offensive production has slumped significantly if you look at it over the last 50 games.

What will the discussions this summer be based on? His play and the trend that needs to be reversed soon, if he wants those discussions to turn out the way he would like.

Kopitar's play and the upcoming contract negotiations may not be appropriate in this thread, but in general it's a big topic for discussion.

 

[Johnny Utah]

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2014/12/09/sutter-calls-out-mike-richards-on-game-losing-goal/

 

[Buddy The Elf]

This thread is like the jelly of the month club. It's the gift that keeps on giving, Clark!

 

[Reclamation Project]

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2014/12/09/sutter-calls-out-mike-richards-on-game-losing-goal/

Things to analyze when losing 1-0. Sutter should call out everyone including Mr. "The Big Guys Need To Step Up" Doughty.

The likelihood of the Kings winning a game after scoring 0 goals is 0 percent.

 

[moosehead81]

Haven't said much lately but if you're a Kings fan coupled with being a Richards fan, it's getting beyond the point of frustration. Richards' minutes are steadily falling and yes, the goal last night was maybe 20% his fault for going after the guy with the puck and leaving the front of the net unguarded. The remainder of the fault lies with the 2 defencemen playing with themselves in the corner who I believe lost the puck to the guy in back.
Overall, I think Sutter has lost complete confidence in Richards, dropping him to 4th line duties with players who have hands of stone and basically relieving him of almost any power play and penalty killing time. However, I think the whole team is a mess right now; they miss Voynov and his offensive upside and I'm not sure what Gaborik has brought to the table overall. Playing him with Kopitar has done absolutely nothing for Kopi's game but Sutter is going to make it work come hell or highwater.
Given where other Western Conference teams are at the moment, the Kings may well be in the fight of their lives just to make the play-offs. Right now, I'm putting them with Calgary and Winnipeg and only one of those three will make it. Anaheim, St Louis and Chicago are shoo-ins, Vancouver and Nashville with the way they're playing, are next in line, you know San Jose will be there and Minnesota and Dallas may make a move at some time also. Its going to be very tough, particularly if the team keeps under-performing the way it is.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Dallas won't make the playoffs. Their defense is absolute trash.

The top two lines need to be switched.

 

[MOGlLNY]

Haven't said much lately but if you're a Kings fan coupled with being a Richards fan, it's getting beyond the point of frustration. Richards' minutes are steadily falling and yes, the goal last night was maybe 20% his fault for going after the guy with the puck and leaving the front of the net unguarded. The remainder of the fault lies with the 2 defencemen playing with themselves in the corner who I believe lost the puck to the guy in back.
Overall, I think Sutter has lost complete confidence in Richards, dropping him to 4th line duties with players who have hands of stone and basically relieving him of almost any power play and penalty killing time. However, I think the whole team is a mess right now; they miss Voynov and his offensive upside and I'm not sure what Gaborik has brought to the table overall. Playing him with Kopitar has done absolutely nothing for Kopi's game but Sutter is going to make it work come hell or highwater.
Given where other Western Conference teams are at the moment, the Kings may well be in the fight of their lives just to make the play-offs. Right now, I'm putting them with Calgary and Winnipeg and only one of those three will make it. Anaheim, St Louis and Chicago are shoo-ins, Vancouver and Nashville with the way they're playing, are next in line, you know San Jose will be there and Minnesota and Dallas may make a move at some time also. Its going to be very tough, particularly if the team keeps under-performing the way it is.

Richards played PP last night and you do know Gaborik has been hurt for a majority of the season, right?

 

[Johnny Utah]

Gaborik is always hurt. I thought the contract extension was a little too lengthy for Mr. Brittle.

Good points with Richards', Sutter lost confidence in him last year and looks that way again this year.

Just a matter of time until he is moved...

 

[MynameisKing]

Things to analyze when losing 1-0. Sutter should call out everyone including Mr. "The Big Guys Need To Step Up" Doughty.

The likelihood of the Kings winning a game after scoring 0 goals is 0 percent.

Well, not technically true. They could score zero during gameplay and still win by way of winning the shoot out! So, it's really "They really do have a chance!" at winning after scoring 0 goals.

 

[Reclamation Project]

Likelihood.

 

[MynameisKing]

Likelihood.

Semantics!

 

[MynameisKing]

I've pretty much refrained from giving my opinion on Richards until now. IMHO, he has no offensive chemistry with anyone currently on the roster. Which sucks cuz he still has the vision to make things happen, but no one he can be matched with. Not even our skilled forwards we currently have. He had it with Carts but after that dried up I can't remember any chemistry he had with anyone else. He's not fast enough, strong enough, quick enough, big enough to create his own chances. He needs the chemistry of linemates to synergize his abilities. Sort of an extension of himself.

 

[moosehead81]

I've pretty much refrained from giving my opinion on Richards until now. IMHO, he has no offensive chemistry with anyone currently on the roster. Which sucks cuz he still has the vision to make things happen, but no one he can be matched with. Not even our skilled forwards we currently have. He had it with Carts but after that dried up I can't remember any chemistry he had with anyone else. He's not fast enough, strong enough, quick enough, big enough to create his own chances. He needs the chemistry of linemates to synergize his abilities. Sort of an extension of himself.

You're probably pretty close to the reality of the current situation. With the emergence of Carter as a centre (although I still like him at a winger position with that hard shot coming down the side of the ice), there's just no-body, in Sutter's mind, who he feels Mike can play with. So Richards gets dropped to a 4th line position with whatever stone hands dress that night and plays a little power play and penalty kill to keep him relatively in the game. If one was to actually graph his TOI per game, it'd go from almost 16 minutes at the start of the season to his current 11-12 minutes which tells me you're done with the coach.

Which is really too bad- Richards and Carter have always had some synergy with Carts playing wing and taking some zone face-offs but Carter doesn't like it on wing and Richards loses a lot of effectiveness there, unless of course it's the Olympics and he's playing with Toews and Nash.

My sense is if the slide down the standings continues, Richards will be shopped. Not sure what team might pick up his contract but a young team might find some value in a potential number 2-3 center who knows how to win.

 

[NikF]

I'd try Richards on LW with Kopitar for a prolonged time. I know Kopitar is bad right now but with regular Kopitar that would allow Richards to just focus on what he does best, creating off broken plays and using his smarts and let Kopitar do the heavy lifting in the defensive zone and the puck possession.

 

[Johnny Utah]

They tried Richards' at LW with Kopitar...nothing.

Richards' to Edmonton. Please. It's sad watching this guy fall.

 

[moosehead81]

I'd try Richards on LW with Kopitar for a prolonged time. I know Kopitar is bad right now but with regular Kopitar that would allow Richards to just focus on what he does best, creating off broken plays and using his smarts and let Kopitar do the heavy lifting in the defensive zone and the puck possession.

Well they've tried just about everything else with minimal success so what's the harm. Unfortunately, I don't think Sutter knows the meaning of the word "prolonged".

 

[SFKingshomer]

They tried Richards' at LW with Kopitar...nothing.

Richards' to Edmonton. Please. It's sad watching this guy fall.

Hes been better than Kopitar

 

[Little Psycho]

Hes been better than Kopitar

Agreed.

 

[Jeff18]

They tried Richards' at LW with Kopitar...nothing.

Richards' to Edmonton. Please. It's sad watching this guy fall.

Edmonton? That's pretty harsh punishment to Mike for failing.

 

[Ollie Weeks]

Agreed.

Absolutely. Carter and Kopitar have sucked for like 2 weeks now. And Richards goofs on a penalty kill situation (not even ES lol) and its like we never left. Johnny's using the hyperlink button and the Oilers are being talked about.

I'd like to see Kopitar skate night in night out with Dwight King and Kyle Clifford and try finding the meaning of life. Talk about being put in a position to fail.

The guys' still got game, anybody can see that after last night. I'd be shocked if Sutter had actually lost confidence in him, but what I can buy is that perhaps he favours Stoll, and beyond that its a matter of prioritizing Kopitar's funk over all. Richards, in spite of positive play, will continue on where he is.

 

[The Night King]

Hes been better than Kopitar

Sutter may punish him further for outplaying his #1 center. Healthy scratch?

 

[Herby]

Hes been better than Kopitar

And if you switched their icetime, linemates and defensive responsibilities it would be a complete and utter disaster.

Over the last year Richards has skated with basically every forward on the Kings roster and the only place he has looked good is as the fourth line center. He doesn't score enough to be an effective second line center and his awful defensive play makes it hard to trust him in Stoll's role which often requires checking one of the scoring lines from the other squad.

Every time that Sutter has tried to reward him with a promotion up the lineup it has blown up in his face. Remember when Richards was on the 4th line to end last season, was probably playing the best he has played in months, Sutter decides to start him back with Carter in the SJ series, it is a massive failure. Fast forward to the Ducks series and again for Game 3 after being up 2-0 he moves him back up, again blows up in his face.

Sutter has Richards on the fourth line because in 2014-2015, that is what he is, a fourth line center, and hey, guess what, he has actually looked pretty effective in that role. There is a place on a team for a quality energy line center, and that is what he is, when you try and expand that role is when you get into trouble.

That's not gonna happen , Sutter has his own vision of things. That he was more upset at MR making a mistake and costing the Kings a goal last night and identified him as such and not the other kings, who's total indifference shift in and shift out, game in and game out for most of the season, including last night, go with repercussion. MR played a good game last night, he was one of the few Kings who put it out there every shift, but Sutter , as usual, didn't see that again.

Williams blunder in the Flyers game led the GWG and he wasn't called out. Stoll took 3 bad penalties the game before last, the last 2 in the 3rd period that were costly and not a word or reprimand, no he gets Dustin Brown, a scoring winger and gets to stay on the 3rd line (where he'll remain despite how he plays; Sutter will not demote him) and got the majority of PP time on the 2nd unit PP. Richards has worked harder, played better and given a damn in almost every game and to Sutter he remains totally invisible, he never sees the positive . Maybe if he continues to play as well, work as hard and give a damn, he get promoted to the 5th line.

Kopitar has been indifferent , almost going thru the motions in most games and still gets top wingers and PP time. Carter has been MIA with 2 goals since 10/25 and gets top wingers and PP time and also has skated too many shifts lazy and not caring, turnovers, sloppy play. IT doesn't matter how poorly they play, they know they won't move from where they are, so there is no fear of reprimand.

ANd no changes in the lines today, which means another L tomorrow night.

The 'they will flip a switch' in March and 'turn in on when it counts' is just as blasé an attitude as the team has. There is no switch, and the year is nothing like the prior years. The teams in the divison has changed ,the competition is better.
Last year they played very well thru Jan and then took the nose dive for about 6 weeks but had such a bank of points built up they had a safety net.

They don't have the luxury this year and as a fan I am concerned because they don't care that they're putting themselves in a bad position. HOw many points below the 8 mark do they have to be before they wake up? What if Quick gets an injury? All these points they've thrown away thru the first third of the season will come back to haunt them

They need to be the team that takes a 3-1 lead into the third and maintains it and does it on a regular basis. They need to be motivated, hungry and play like they are in the NHL. And Sutter's got a large hand in the teams inconsistency and lazy play as well. If he's that upset that the 'top guys' aren't scoring, they bench Kopi and Carter for a game and embarrass them. But that will NEVER Happen, for the same reason they never get demoted. He has his whipping boys who do get called and they are not in that elite group.

Well DeeSham, we obviously do not see eye to eye on Mike Richards as a hockey player, but I normally think you argue in a reasonable way, but I think this post is really ridiculous on many levels.

First off if Sutter had it in for Richards he would have scratched him last year when he, on many nights looked like he was struggling to even keep up, yet he never did.

If he had it in for him then I assume he would have pushed for the buy-out when Dean was considering it, I can guarantee you that many teams would have gone the buy out route. But DS was by all indications supportive of Richards and wanted him back despite the disastrous season. Obviously it was ultimately Dean's call, but you better believe DS was consulted on it.

Sutter has been asked before how he feels about Richards and he has said he trusts him, again if Sutter had some kind of vendetta against Richards he would not go out of his way to praise him. I already said I did not agree with him publicly calling him out to the media after the defensive gaffe, DS has eyes, just like all of us he saw one of the worst defensive plays you'll see all year from a Kings player and he thought it was the difference in the game. I would again, rather not see that happen, especially in a game where we scored zero goals, but I don't think it's DS with any kind of vendetta or bias against Richards.