Kings forgo buyout, terminate Richards' contract
- Thread starter CarltonTheBear
- Start date
OrangeBlack
New member
When Richards was with the Flyers, he was known for having more than his share of a good time off ice (to put it mildly), & many think that this affected his training & preparation. Hence, the trade from the Flyers to the Kings which at the time seemingly came out of left field. I suspect that at the very least, it's more of the same during this past season with the Kings.
Guru Tugginmypuddah
Active member
Is this the first time an NHL player has had his contract torn up?
Significantly Insignificant said:
Does anyone know what is included in such training/conduct policies?
Could this be a drug abuse issue?
This is certainly the kind of thing that the NHLPA will be interested in fighting. They don't want teams to simply be able dump contracts of players that are simply under achieving (eg, Clarkson didn't train well enough to make himself into a legit nhl player ...).
OrangeBlack
New member
Exactly. Interesting timing that this coincides with the Stoll investigation.Significantly Insignificant said:
Nik the Trik said:
I guess it depends on what grounds they feel they have. If things went down like Lombardi said, then I get why he is pissed and why they want out of the contract. He didn't buy him out last year because he felt that Richards was going to put in the effort and come back as the player he used to be. So he is probably a little angry and wants out from the deal, and is using this lack of effort as grounds for dismissal.
However, that's a slippery slope and Richards does still have a contract with the team, and if he did train, and the training just wasn't enough to get him back to the level he was at, well then that's on the Kings. They took on the deal, and their only recourse is the buyout.
Should be interesting couple of months.
Sudafederov
New member
Pierre McGuire has some thoughts...
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/pierre-mcguire-indicates-mike-richards-contract-breach-occurred-at-border-crossing-235356704.html
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/pierre-mcguire-indicates-mike-richards-contract-breach-occurred-at-border-crossing-235356704.html
Kin
New member
Significantly Insignificant said:
He also traded for Richards knowing full well that he had the reputation he did. Considering that the deal was already signed when Lombardi traded for him, I really don't think "he lied about his training" constitutes a breach of contract. Players don't have an obligation to train the way a team wants them to.
OrangeBlack
New member
I've heard about this at different sites for the past few hours. Put 2+2 together. What does it tell you that the NHL agreed to the termination so quickly?Sudafederov said:
Nik the Trik said:
Agreed. I think what I posted early about meeting team training requirements is wrong. I went through the CBA, looking for termination clauses. There isn't any in there, at least not that I can find. It does mention that if you want to terminate the contract, then you have to place the player on unconditional waivers, but I can't find details on what the grounds for the termination would be.
WhatIfGodWasALeaf
Active member
I'd imagine he tried to take some herbal refreshments across the border and got caught.
MetalRaven
New member
Patrick said:
That was my gut feeling as well, though maybe not just herbal.
My question on that though is doesn't the NHL have a substance abuse program? And wouldn't they be required/encouraged to enroll the player in one before contract termination?
A couple of new details from Elliotte Friedman: http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/sources-kings-found-out-about-richards-at-draft/
Namely that the Kings only found about out about whatever it is that happened during the 1st round of the draft on Friday. And this:
In a brief filed to the NHL and the NHLPA, the team referenced Section 2(e) of the SPC, which states a player agrees ?to conduct himself on and off the rink according to the highest standards of honesty, morality, fair play and sportsmanship, and to refrain from conduct detrimental to the best interest of the Club, the League or professional hockey generally.?
Namely that the Kings only found about out about whatever it is that happened during the 1st round of the draft on Friday. And this:
In a brief filed to the NHL and the NHLPA, the team referenced Section 2(e) of the SPC, which states a player agrees ?to conduct himself on and off the rink according to the highest standards of honesty, morality, fair play and sportsmanship, and to refrain from conduct detrimental to the best interest of the Club, the League or professional hockey generally.?
Nik the Trik said:
That's really what I can't figure out about this. I'm trying to tip-toe around this a little bit, but if whatever Richards did was enough to legitimately have his contract terminated, odds are it's not really something that could have been swept under the rug by the people at the border or wherever this thing that nobody can talk about happened.
Kin
New member
And, I mean, not to belabor the point too much but I really question how an independent arbitrator might look at a team using a clause like that to selectively get out of a bad contract. The Kings are no stranger to players not conducting themselves in a manner beneficial to the club this year and before Richards they've generally seemed pretty understanding and patient about it.
Guru Tugginmypuddah
Active member
Whatever it is, I'm sure it will make for gripping television on the next Border Security.