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Arlington, Va. • Mike Richards was supposed to be the Los Angeles Kings' Derek Jeter and represent the pivotal piece to winning championships. He won two Stanley Cups, yet was shown the door last summer.
Richards hit two highs and many more lows in four seasons with the Kings, who terminated his contract last summer. He had been sent to the minor leagues after his play and production dropped off and was arrested at the Canadian border in June for possession of a controlled substance.
The 31-year-old eventually settled a grievance with Los Angeles but was out of the NHL until the Washington Capitals signed him in January. Richards faces the Kings on Tuesday for the first time since his departure and insists there are no hard feelings toward the organization or Los Angeles general manager Dean Lombardi.
"He had to do things that he probably didn't want to do at the end of the day, but I didn't make it easy on him, either, to keep me around," Richards said. "I want to say fault on both parts, but it's probably more so on me, and he had to do what he had to do (for) what he thought benefited the L.A. Kings."
Lombardi could have bought out Richards with no salary-cap ramifications in the summer of 2014 after the Kings' second Cup but let the two-way forward and former Philadelphia Flyers captain convince him to keep him around. The GM adored Richards and still praises him for setting the tempo in the first playoff series in 2012 against Vancouver, the first sign Los Angeles was title-bound.
Acquired from Philadelphia at the 2011 draft, Richards had 15 points in the 20 games during 2012's Cup run and was his usual penalty-killing, defensive-minded self for the first two seasons before he became a fourth-liner and was a bit part of the 2014 championship. The Kings waived him and sent him to the American Hockey League for a stint a year ago with the hope Richards would get his game together, but that didn't happen and his 16 points were a career low.
NHL standings
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Florida 57 33 18 6 72 160 134
Detroit 57 29 19 9 67 146 147
Boston 56 30 20 6 66 172 157
Tampa Bay 55 30 21 4 64 147 135
Montreal 57 27 26 4 58 157 158
Ottawa 57 25 26 6 56 163 181
Buffalo 57 23 28 6 52 136 160
Toronto 55 20 26 9 49 134 163
Metropolitan Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Washington 54 40 10 4 84 181 125
N.Y. Rangers 56 32 18 6 70 163 143
N.Y. Islanders 55 30 19 6 66 161 141
New Jersey 57 29 21 7 65 127 130
Pittsburgh 55 28 19 8 64 142 141
Carolina 56 25 21 10 60 137 149
Philadelphia 55 24 21 10 58 131 148
Columbus 57 23 28 6 52 148 178
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Dallas 57 37 15 5 79 187 154
Chicago 60 37 18 5 79 170 139
St. Louis 58 32 17 9 73 143 138
Nashville 57 26 21 10 62 151 152
Colorado 59 29 26 4 62 158 164
Minnesota 55 23 22 10 56 135 140
Winnipeg 55 25 27 3 53 142 160
Pacific Division
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Los Angeles 55 33 19 3 69 153 131
Anaheim 55 28 19 8 64 131 134
San Jose 54 29 20 5 63 160 146
Arizona 56 26 24 6 58 151 171
Vancouver 55 22 21 12 56 131 152
Calgary 55 25 27 3 53 150 168
Edmonton 57 22 29 6 50 143 171
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for overtime loss.
Monday's games
Florida 2, Pittsburgh 1, SO
N.Y. Islanders 4, Detroit 1
Anaheim 6, Calgary 4
Dallas 3, Nashville 2, OT
Chicago 7, Toronto 2
Arizona 6, Montreal 2
Minnesota at Vancouver, late
Tuesday's games
Philadelphia at New Jersey, 5 p.m.
Los Angeles at Washington, 5 p.m.
Winnipeg at Carolina, 5 p.m.
Boston at Columbus, 5 p.m.
Buffalo at Ottawa, 5:30 p.m.
San Jose at Tampa Bay, 5:30 p.m.
Dallas at St. Louis, 6 p.m.
Anaheim at Edmonton, 7 p.m.