On Monday, the Los Angeles Kings placed Mike Richards on unconditional waivers with the intention of buying out his contract. Shortly after the news broke, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston calculated the extent of the damage:
Kings general manager Dean Lombardi could have bought Richards out last year, using one of the compliance buyouts that the league tossed out as life preservers after the new collective bargaining agreement came into effect in 2012-13. Unfortunately for L.A., he chose not do so, which means that the Kings will be on the hook for not only money but also significant cap space for the next decade.
Johnston used the word “loyalty” to describe the ill-considered decision, and understandably so. After all, that’s how Lombardi described the mistake to ESPN.com’s Katie Strang shortly after Los Angeles failed to qualify for the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs.
“It could be the worst decision I ever made, but for all the right reasons,” he told Strang. “In a cap world, you can't have any heart and soul. I struggle with that.”
Richard ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis
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June 28th, 2015 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »
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