Mike Richards was set to become the face of the Los Angeles Kings after captaining the Kings to Stanley Cup titles in 2012 and 2014. However Richards' relationship with the Kings ended abruptly last summer when the team terminated his contract. Richards will face the Kings for the first time as a member of the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. Richards made it clear he holds no grudges against the Kings.
"I don't hold grudges," the Ontario native said after a recent Capitals practice. "I'm happy to be here now and I'm a true believer that everything happens for a reason. We'll see how this plays out," Richards said, according to the Associated Press.
Kings GM Dean Lombardi was close to buying out Richards in 2014, due to a sharp decline in production. While Richards remained in L.A., Lombardi ultimately regretting keeping Richards when a 2015 run-in with the RCMP put Lomabrdi in a tough spot.
"The only thing I can think of that would be worse would be suspecting your wife of cheating on you for five years and then finding out in fact it was true," Lombardi said, according to the Washington Post.
Richards was caught at the Canadian boarder with oxycodone on June 17, 2015, according to Washington Post, and it was the final straw for the Kings. The club terminated the remaining five years of his contract citing "material breach" of contract. Richards took responsibility for the way things ended with the Kings on Monday.
"[Lombardi] 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." Richards said, according to the Associated Press.
Despite the baggage, Richards' history of winning interested the Capitals.
"I think one of the things Mike brings is he brings a winning culture, that's first and foremost," former Kings and current Capitals teammate Justin Williams said, according to Yahoo. "He's been successful in almost every team he's been on and also he's a team guy. "
Richards has been held pointless since joining the Capitals on Jan. 6, however, Richards has the perfect opportunity to get on the score sheet against his former team.
"It's frustrating not getting the success, but I think in the last three or four games I've been getting a lot more chances and making a lot more plays." Richards said, according to the Associated Press.
