Los Angeles Kings Terminate Mike Richards’ Contract
By Jamaal Artis
Despite missing the playoffs this year the Los Angeles Kings have not stayed quiet during the off-season. In a surprising move the salary-cap strained Kings terminated the contract of forward Mike Richards. After putting Richards on waivers over the weekend it was thought that the Kings would buyout the rest of the contract.
Los Angeles Kings
With a buyout the Kings would have saved $4.53 million against the cap this year, but also would have incurred a cap penalty until the 2024-25 season with the penalty going up each year after the buyout for the five remaining years of the contract and then being capped at $1.47 million for the remaining five years of the penalty.
For Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi the prospect of buying out the contract was proving to be an albatross around any move he could try to make to bring the Kings back into the playoff fold. Having ignored a chance to buyout Richards the summer before without incurring any penalties, Lombardi relented and citing “loyalty” did not use the one-time only buyout. Lombardi called it his “biggest mistake” since becoming the Kings GM.
So with his back against the wall Lombardi decided to terminate the contract. The Kings reason was presented in a statement,
"The Los Angeles Kings today have exercised the team’s right to terminate the contract of Mike Richards for a material breach of the requirements of his Standard Player’s Contract"
As of this writing what the material breach consists of has yet to be reported by the Kings front office. In a report by Katie Strang of ESPN.COM, the Kings found out about an incident approximately an hour after the end of the first round of this years entry draft. While Lombardi was on the draft floor working on trade possibilities with the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, he abruptly stops trying to build a deal informing the league that the Kings will terminate the contract.
Jun 3, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi during media day before game one of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final against the New York Rangers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
With the league’s permission, by voiding the contract the Kings could save up to $10 million dollars toward contracts this postseason while avoiding the growing penalties a simple buyout would have created. By terminating the contract the Kings will still incur a cap recapture penalty of $1.32 million for the remaining life of the contract. Significant but far less than the ten year penalty.
This surprising turn of events will surely be appealed by the National Hockey League Player’s Association (NHLPA), the players arm for league disputes. It’s doubtful the Player’s Association want a precedent set where a team can terminate a contract. When the appeal comes it will be the Kings with the backing of the NHL against Mike Richards contract and the Player’s Association.
With impending trial of Kings defenseman Slava Voynov for domestic violence and the drug arrest of Kings forward Jarrett Stoll, a protracted contract dispute will only further show that the once harmonious Kings team is fraying at the seams. For Kings fans October can’t come soon enough where the only thing worth reading about will be actual games played.