On Monday, the NHLPA announcing that it had filed a grievance against the Los Angeles Kings over the team’s decision to terminate the contract of centre Mike Richards:
This decision on the part of the union has been expected since virtually the moment that the Kings announced they were parting ways with Richards. The process now initiated by the NHLPA’s grievance is one that’s going to be watched by every team in the league, because all 30 member clubs of the NHL are going to be affected by the result.
As Eric Macramalla of Forbes wrote back in June, the players’ association had virtually no choice but to fight the Kings on this:
You can bet that the NHLPA will not accept the termination of Richards contract and will challenge it by way of arbitration. For the NHLPA, it simply cannot allow this precedent to stand as it could adversely impact its members. By allowing the termination to go unchallenged, the floodgates risk opening with teams terminating problem contracts. ‘He’s fat, cut him. He’s slow, cut him.’
For NHL teams, the benefits are ob ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis
Breaking Down Potential Ripple Effects of the Mike Richards-LA Kings Dispute
August 10th, 2015 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »
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