Mike Richards Skating With Kitchener Rangers
By Ryan Ritchie
Mike Richards looks set to attempt an NHL return after news broke earlier today that he is skating with his former junior club, OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. Mike Richards contract was initially terminated back in June when he was arrested at the border for “possession of a controlled substance”, believed to be painkillers.
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It was just over a month ago on October 9th when Mike Richards, Los Angeles Kings, and NHLPA came to a settlement. The Kings will have to pay a “
re-capture penalty” through 2032
, with the bulk of the cap hit coming this season (
), and the next four years (
).
Mike Richards saw his scoring production nearly get cut in half after being traded from Philadelphia to Los Angeles back in 2011. He’s got a career-high of 80 points with Philly, but never exceeded 44 points with the Kings.
At 5’11 199lbs, the 30-year-old center is looking to start a new chapter in his career. Mike Richards should make for a relatively cheap signing, and is more likely to garner a two-way contract after his drop-off stint with AHL Manchester last year. The risk is minimal, and comparable to the Alex Semin situation.
Best Fits for Mike Richards
New Jersey Devils
The Devils have exceeded expectations early into the 2015-16 season, led by a few unsung heroes in Mike Cammalleri, Adam Henrique, and Travis Zajac. New Jersey was expected to be a basement team fighting for Auston Matthews, but Cory Schneider is once again standing on his head for the Devils. This would be Mike Richards best opportunity to re-establish himself and get quality ice-time.
St.Louis Blues
If this were the beginning of 2015-16, St.Louis wouldn’t be likely to make the list, although extended length injuries to Paul Stastny and Jaden Schwartz changes that. We even saw St.Louis invite Martin Havlat and Dainius Zubrus on try-out contracts, in which they signed Havlat, and he scored in his first game. The veteran depth of bringing in Mike Richards could be useful come injuries or playoff time.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay is having epic goal scoring issues early into 2015-16, which saw the break-up of the “triplets” line. Truth is, beyond Steven Stamkos and Tyler Johnson, the center depth isn’t all that impressive, or at least not so far. A recent injury to Ondrej Palat leaves a gaping hole in the Lightning’s roster that’ll be difficult to address. This could be an interesting fit for Mike Richards.
Toronto Maple Leafs
This could be a tough sell to the Toronto fan base, but the Leafs would have very different intentions from the rest of teams. The goal would be to help re-establish Mike Richards, in hopes that he could be flipped on the trade market. Freebies don’t get handed out too often in the NHL, making this an easy call for Shanahan and company.
Next: 2017 NHL Draft: DiPietro Best Goalie Available
Are there any other teams that should be considered top contenders to acquire Mike Richards? Will he even be able to re-establish himself as an every day NHL’er? Will he eventually work his way back into a top-six role, or is he destined to be a bottom-six for the rest of his NHL days? Let us know what you think below.