Why Waiving Mike Richards Was the Right Move by the Los Angeles Kings

January 29th, 2015 by Vinh Cao Leave a reply »

Producing scant offense to compensate for a slipping defensive game, Mike Richards was placed on waivers by the Los Angeles Kings on Monday. He cleared on Tuesday and will join the AHL's Manchester Monarchs.

No NHL team was ever going to claim him with a $5.75 million salary-cap hit. Sportsnet's Luke Fox noted that demoting him only amounts to $925,00 in cap savings, so the financial benefit is marginal.

Kings general manager Dean Lombardi has merely shuffled the roster in hopes of creating a turning point for his club.

L.A. has looked mediocre virtually all season and is 3-3-4 in its last 10 outings. A major shakeup of this sort could represent just the jolt the players—including Richards—need to deliver more complete performances.

 

Emphatic Statement to the Players



Though Richards’ on-ice impact has waned over the past 120 games or so, he’s a respected veteran with the kind of resume (two Stanley Cups, Calder Cup, Memorial Cup, Olympic gold, World Junior gold) players dream of building. 

As such, his assignment to the AHL shou ...

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