Kings, M. Richards reach contract settlement

A child born this afternoon will be 16 years old when Mike Richards’ contract comes off the Los Angeles Kings salary cap, the team announced today.

Richards’ contract was terminated June 29 for what the team called a “material breach”, according to Josh Cooper of Yahoo Sports.

The Los Angeles Kings have reportedly reached a settlement with Mike Richards over the team’s decision to void his contract earlier this year, according to a report from Rick Westhead of TSN.

Richards is now officially an unrestricted free agent, and the Kings will face a long-term salary-cap penalty, the total cost of which was not immediately known.

The National Hockey League Players’ Association filed a grievance on Richards’ behalf, and the matter seemed headed for resolution by an independent arbitrator before Richards and the Kings reached a settlement. The Kings issued a brief statement declaring the settlement “agreeable to all parties”.

At the time of termination, Richards’ contract still carried five-years and $22 million.

Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed by the union or the team. The 30-year-old was questioned and held at the United States-Canada border in mid-June and was charged with possession of a controlled substances while attempting to enter Canada on August. 25. Richards will be appearing in Emerson Provincial Court on September 10th, 2015.

Richards is a free agent, but his hockey future is uncertain. We will not be commenting further on the terms.