|Mike Richards put on waivers

[Jasmine]

The L.A. Kings have waived Mike Richards. 5 years left on his contract at $5.75 million per.

[Matt the Aussie]

Re: |Mike Richards put on waivers

...you know, he wouldn't be half bad as a Senator. Not like we're about to spring that much cash though.

[thedaigle1]

Re: |Mike Richards put on waivers

I think the money is the obvious reason why he would never play in Ottawa but I wouldn't disregard culture as a factor. If I'm Lazar/Pageau/Zibanejad and I've busted my ass to establish myself a centre for the Sens and then I lose minutes to some bum like Richards, I'd be mighty pissed. I'd hate to see Ottawa's locker room go all rockstar again like it was with heatley/emery/redden.

[Josh]

Re: |Mike Richards put on waivers

Yeah, REALLY hope the SENS organization has no interest in him.

[Alfie11]

Re: |Mike Richards put on waivers

Yeah, he's still a decent enough player. But he has a massive contract attached to him that pays him way too much now. Plus, as thedaigle pointed out, it would be taking away a roster spot from a young and deserving player.

I can't see the Sens having any interest. Claiming him could affect the teams ability to sign a Zibanejad, or a Lazar, or a Ceci down the road. He's not a good enough player to risk that for. I really doubt he gets claimed.

[Matt the Aussie]

Re: |Mike Richards put on waivers

He's better than Legwand, no? I understand the salary differential but if you could have Richards at a Legwand contract, I'd do it.

[thedaigle1]

Re: |Mike Richards put on waivers

I think Legwand was just a backup signing in case Lazar or Pageau scuffled. I could see Legwand getting benched down the stretch or phased out like Corvo was on D. Although he does have a second year on his contract. Either way, money more no want spend Melnyk does.

Especially if the team really plans on buying out Greening's contract. Craziness.

[Jasmine]

Re: |Mike Richards put on waivers

Any hope Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi had of a rival club plucking Mike Richards off waivers came to naught Tuesday. The 29-year-old veteran center cleared waivers and was demoted to the Kings’ AHL affiliate in Manchester. It’s the first time Richards has played in the minors since a brief stint with the Philadelphia Phantoms during the 2005 AHL playoffs.

It was a bold move by Lombardi, though one which shouldn’t be surprising. While Richards helped the Kings win two Stanley Cups, his performance since 2011-12 has been in steady decline. His numbers prior to his demotion (15 points through 47 games) put the center on pace for a career-low 26 points. He was seeing reduced ice time centering the Kings’ fourth line.

In recent weeks there was speculation Lombardi was trying to trade Richards, with most linking the center to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes a swap of Richards for Leafs’ captain Dion Phaneuf was “seriously considered”, but fell through because the Kings refused to include either Tanner Pearson or Tyler Toffoli in the deal.

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/rumor ... -interest/

[Josh]

Re: |Mike Richards put on waivers

Huh, interesting. If the Kings could have had neon Dion for Pearson + Richards, they should have taken that and ran like bandits.

[Alfie11]

Re: |Mike Richards put on waivers

The cap could be a problem. Since CapGeek is down and I don't know what the Kings' situation is, they'd probably be making a trade where they trade two roster players for one and taking on a little more money (especially considering they'd need a replacement for Pearson). Pearson is a young, cheap bottom six forward who can play in the top six when need be. That's extremely valuable for teams such as LA.

Phaneuf and Richards are kind of similar. They're both decent enough players, they just make way too much money for the role they provide. Richards is probably a bottom six forward at this point, or maybe a weak second line centre. Phaneuf is probably a top four defenseman who should probably be playing on your second pairing.

[Victor]

Re: |Mike Richards put on waivers

Speaking of capgeek being down, remember when this site was all the jam? http://nhlnumbers.com/

Well I guess it's your one sourse now.

[Alfie11]

Re: |Mike Richards put on waivers

Speaking of capgeek being down, remember when this site was all the jam? http://nhlnumbers.com/

Well I guess it's your one sourse now.

Haha, great. It's not a bad website, though.

Nothing will ever replace CapGeek. It's a real shame it shut down. I've heard that GMs would even use the site if they needed information quick.

[Alfie11]

Re: |Mike Richards put on waivers

He's better than Legwand, no? I understand the salary differential but if you could have Richards at a Legwand contract, I'd do it.

Absolutely.

I'd imagine the only reason Legwand is a Senator is because of experience + face-offs. The makeup of the centre depth chart going into the season was Turris (25), Zibanejad (21), Smith (26) and Lazar (19). That's a really young group of guys.

However, Richards is just a better player than Legwand. Period.