Report: Mike Richards could be in very hot water

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Los Angeles Kings were trying to trade Mike Richards on draft day, but broke it down when they heard of an incident involving the former star player. According to the report, the incident, which made the Kings terminate Richards contract, would have happened on June 17th as Richards was trying to cross the border. The Kings apparently contacted the league to inform them of their intention, which means the league had no objection to it and the Kings probably have a strong case. Per Elliotte Friedman:

In their release, the Kings announced they “exercised the team’s right to terminate the contract of Mike Richards for a material breach of the requirements of his Standard Player’s Contract” and would not have any further comment. In a brief filed to the NHL and the NHLPA, the team referenced Section 2(e) of the SPC, which states a player agrees “to conduct himself on and off the rink according to the highest standards of honesty, morality, fair play and sportsmanship, and to refrain from conduct detrimental to the best interest of the Club, the League or professional hockey generally.”

Kings' general manager Dean Lombardi, who had discussions with the Flames and the Oilers about the center, stood up to go tell them personally of what had just happened. Of course, Richards is expected to appeal the Kings decision. He has 60 days to do so. Pierre McGuire of NBCSN said yesterday on TSN 690 in Montreal that he has a good idea of what happened but doesn't want to say anything until it goes public. Which means it could be very serious. If the "Richards incident" ends up being true, he would be the third L.A. player to have such off-ice problems in the past year. Former King and now free agent Jarrett Stoll saw an accusation of cocaine possession being dropped in Las Vegas last week, but pleaded guilty to two smaller accusations. Defenseman Slava Voynov is set to go to court next week in a domestic violence case.