LGR4GM Posted June 29, 2015 Report Posted June 29, 2015 Mark Spector @SportsnetSpec 2m2 minutes ago Kings terminate Richards deal "for a material breach of the requirements of his Standard Player’s Contract." NOT a buy-out. Quote
Brawndo Posted June 29, 2015 Report Posted June 29, 2015 Mark Spector @SportsnetSpec 2m2 minutes ago Kings terminate Richards deal "for a material breach of the requirements of his Standard Player’s Contract." NOT a buy-out. Is this going to get ugly really quick? Quote
LGR4GM Posted June 29, 2015 Author Report Posted June 29, 2015 Is this going to get ugly really quick? unless the Kings can prove to the NHLPA that Richards was in breach of contract One of the lawyers around here want to comment? Chz, don't you do something with contract law or something? Quote
Eleven Posted June 29, 2015 Report Posted June 29, 2015 unless the Kings can prove to the NHLPA that Richards was in breach of contract One of the lawyers around here want to comment? Chz, don't you do something with contract law or something? We're going to have to wait to see what the alleged breach is. My guess--and really only a guess--is some sort of failure to use best efforts. Quote
LGR4GM Posted June 29, 2015 Author Report Posted June 29, 2015 We're going to have to wait to see what the alleged breach is. My guess--and really only a guess--is some sort of failure to use best efforts. Thank you. Wonder how likely this is. Quote
TrueBlueGED Posted June 29, 2015 Report Posted June 29, 2015 Guessing based purely on cynicism: this strikes me as a last-ditch effort by LA to get out from under that contract without a penalty. Will be interesting to see what the exact claim is and what evidence they can produce. Quote
Trettioåtta Posted June 29, 2015 Report Posted June 29, 2015 Do players go through any physicals at the beginning of pre-season? Like body fat % or VO2 max tests? Quote
shrader Posted June 29, 2015 Report Posted June 29, 2015 Guessing based purely on cynicism: this strikes me as a last-ditch effort by LA to get out from under that contract without a penalty. Will be interesting to see what the exact claim is and what evidence they can produce. The timing is odd though. If this whole thing goes to court and the judge backs Richards, they will have missed their chance at the buyout. Quote
Hoss Posted June 29, 2015 Report Posted June 29, 2015 The timing is odd though. If this whole thing goes to court and the judge backs Richards, they will have missed their chance at the buyout. It won't go to court. It'll go to Bettman. Richards, the NHLPA and Richards' agency vs the Kings. Bettman is the arbitrator. Quote
That Aud Smell Posted June 29, 2015 Report Posted June 29, 2015 This dovetails with the interview I read -- someone here posted it -- about how the L.A. GM got burned, felt burned by Richards -- that he went to see Richards and looked him in the eye, took him at his word, etc. and did not cut him as a result when he had the chance to do so on more favorable terms. Quote
Brawndo Posted June 29, 2015 Report Posted June 29, 2015 If the Kings decision gets reversed, they have missed the buyout window and are stuck with Richards Contract another year https://twitter.com/kingskoolaid/status/615602958772797440 Quote
bunomatic Posted June 30, 2015 Report Posted June 30, 2015 Guessing based purely on cynicism: this strikes me as a last-ditch effort by LA to get out from under that contract without a penalty. Will be interesting to see what the exact claim is and what evidence they can produce. Ray Ferraro was on 1040 out of Vancouver a little over an hour ago and he said from what he had been hearing over the last 4 or 5 hours it wasn't anything anyone would think of but he didn't want to say exactly what it was basically so as not to set himself up to be sued . Could be he isn't sure whatever it is is true or he just doesn't believe it and doesn't want to open himself up to a slander suit ? The way he told it it sounding shocking. ?? Non hockey related ? I listened to the man and I am absolutely clueless. Maybe I heard him wrong ? Anyways. If anyone wants to do a little digging. Quote
Hoss Posted June 30, 2015 Report Posted June 30, 2015 Ray Ferraro was on 1040 out of Vancouver a little over an hour ago and he said from what he had been hearing over the last 4 or 5 hours it wasn't anything anyone would think of but he didn't want to say exactly what it was basically so as not to set himself up to be sued . Could be he isn't sure whatever it is is true or he just doesn't believe it and doesn't want to open himself up to a slander suit ? The way he told it it sounding shocking. ?? Non hockey related ? I listened to the man and I am absolutely clueless. Maybe I heard him wrong ? Anyways. If anyone wants to do a little digging. Ferraro, Stang, Buccigross and Rosen have all said that they heard what it is the Kings are using to get out of this but won't say what... It must be something bad. Like ruin somebody's entire image type of bad. And I think that there's a solid chance that Lombardi's comment about regretting giving him a second chance may end up biting him in the ass. If whatever happened was before this season started and he decided to continue paying/playing him then it might be hard to claim that it's the reason you're terminating his contract. Quote
tom webster Posted June 30, 2015 Report Posted June 30, 2015 Ferraro, Stang, Buccigross and Rosen have all said that they heard what it is the Kings are using to get out of this but won't say what... It must be something bad. Like ruin somebody's entire image type of bad. And I think that there's a solid chance that Lombardi's comment about regretting giving him a second chance may end up biting him in the ass. If whatever happened was before this season started and he decided to continue paying/playing him then it might be hard to claim that it's the reason you're terminating his contract. I have heard it implied that something illegal that as of yet has not involved charges. And because Richards people are still hoping it doesn't result in charges, there is a good chance they may be forced to accept termination. Quote
Hoss Posted June 30, 2015 Report Posted June 30, 2015 I have heard it implied that something illegal that as of yet has not involved charges. And because Richards people are still hoping it doesn't result in charges, there is a good chance they may be forced to accept termination. Would be an interesting situation to be in... But wouldn't the Kings be in some trouble if they knew of illegal actions and decided to ignore them for a year without reporting? I'm certain there have been plenty of situations where teams were aware of illegal actions by their employees and never reported them, but it's different if you're going to ignore it until it conventionality gets you out of millions of dollars. There had also been some Philly fans who threw out some hard drug allegations after Richards and Carter left. Some fans, if I remember correctly, claimed to have witnessed both doing drugs. If Richards fights this I have a hard time seeing LA getting out of it unless this is something that happened this season. If it happened a year or more ago and they continued to pay him until this offseason then I don't think there's any chance they get out of his contract like this. Quote
Weave Posted June 30, 2015 Report Posted June 30, 2015 I don't think an employer has any obligation to report any illegal activities to authorities unless you are in an industry where it is specifically legislated. So, LA shouldn't be in any trouble for not reporting known illegal actions. Obviously, being an accessory to it is altogether different. Quote
tom webster Posted June 30, 2015 Report Posted June 30, 2015 (edited) Would be an interesting situation to be in... But wouldn't the Kings be in some trouble if they knew of illegal actions and decided to ignore them for a year without reporting? I'm certain there have been plenty of situations where teams were aware of illegal actions by their employees and never reported them, but it's different if you're going to ignore it until it conventionality gets you out of millions of dollars. There had also been some Philly fans who threw out some hard drug allegations after Richards and Carter left. Some fans, if I remember correctly, claimed to have witnessed both doing drugs. If Richards fights this I have a hard time seeing LA getting out of it unless this is something that happened this season. If it happened a year or more ago and they continued to pay him until this offseason then I don't think there's any chance they get out of his contract like this. I don't think The Kings are covering anything up. The implication was that the authorities know what happened but they may not press charges. However, if Richards fights termination the accusations would become public record.Also, Lombardi in admitting his mistake implied that Richards lied to him when he looked him in the eye and told him he was committed to working his ass off to report to camp in the kind of shape the team expected. Maybe they found out something that would contradict that commitment. Edited June 30, 2015 by tom webster Quote
dudacek Posted June 30, 2015 Report Posted June 30, 2015 ESPN reporting Kings found out about whatever Richards did during the draft on Friday and immediately cancelled trade talks with Edmonton and Calgary on the draft floor. It's a strange one and will probably set precedent as to what a guaranteed contract means. Quote
French Collection Posted June 30, 2015 Report Posted June 30, 2015 Was Richards celebrating the fact that he was gonna get money for the next 10 years in a buyout? This hints of an illegal activity and could open up a messy legal battle. If he is guilty he bites his tongue and takes the minimum. Did Lombardi have someone watching? Quote
IKnowPhysics Posted June 30, 2015 Report Posted June 30, 2015 Pierre McGuire says an off ice incident occured at a border crossing. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/pierre-mcguire-indicates-mike-richards-contract-breach-occurred-at-border-crossing-235356704.html I'm going to go ahead and speculate that Richards' long rumored drug habit, which may have gotten him ousted from Philly to a forgiving Lombardi, was caught with possession at the border, exposing him to Lombardi as a failed promise and to the public as a potential criminal. Quote
X. Benedict Posted June 30, 2015 Report Posted June 30, 2015 ESPN reporting Kings found out about whatever Richards did during the draft on Friday and immediately cancelled trade talks with Edmonton and Calgary on the draft floor. It's a strange one and will probably set precedent as to what a guaranteed contract means. Stoll and Richards. Sounds like a team with a drug problem. Quote
Trettioåtta Posted June 30, 2015 Report Posted June 30, 2015 Stoll and Richards. Sounds like a team with a drug problem. It is a team based in LA. The Las Vegas team will be awful :p Quote
shrader Posted June 30, 2015 Report Posted June 30, 2015 Given the Slava Voynov stuff, it will be very interesting to see what this incident was. There's already the built in "well you didn't terminate his contract" defense. Quote
GoPre Posted June 30, 2015 Report Posted June 30, 2015 (edited) LA has terminated Mike Richards contract due to a breach of contract. Supposedly they were in the process of buying him out and possibly in talks of trading his services to the Oilers. Rumored reason for termination, something reporters are being rather tight lip about, involves an incident at the U.S./Canadian border. Sports law expert, Michael McCann, said providing material breach is generally high threshold. The NHLPA is in the process of reviewing this termination. Edited June 30, 2015 by Thanes16 Quote
Courier-Express Posted June 30, 2015 Report Posted June 30, 2015 I think this is already in Around the NHL: 2015-2016 Quote
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