The LA Kings terminated Mike Richards’ contract with the team and so far details have been difficult to find. It was easy to speculate that the termination was due to an off-ice incident, but the specifics have been kept under wraps. Pierre McGuire suggested the incident occurred at the Canadian border and now TMZ suggests it involved the drug oxycodone.
Via TMZ:
NHL officials have been notified that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigation into ex-L.A. Kings player Mike Richards involves the prescription drug oxycodone … multiple sources tell TMZ Sports.
Our sources say Richards was stopped while crossing from the United States into Canada on June 17th … and we’re told he was questioned about oxycodone pills, a powerful painkiller. For the record, Richards has NOT been charged with a crime.
However, he has since been cut from the team for “a material breach of the requirements of his Standard Player’s Contract.”
It’s important to consider the source – TMZ is well … TMZ – but this closely aligns with the brief report from Pierre McGuire. If true, this would represent yet another troubling drug issue with the Kings as it closely follows the Jarret Stoll situation.
The other question this situation brings to the surface is the fact the Kings terminated Richards’ contract – a deal which placed them in an extremely difficult situation – but haven’t terminated Slava Voynov’s contract – a deal which hasn’t had a significant impact on the cap – despite the troubling details involving that case. Is there some sort of double standard?
The Kings have a clear issue within their ranks. Voynov, Stoll and now Richards have all been involved in legal incidents and that’s an insane number of infractions on just one club. The organization has reportedly stated they’ll have someone come in to talk to the team about drugs during training camp, but there might be a more serious issue here.
