UPDATE: Tuesday June 30th, 5:00 pm
TMZ is reporting that Mike Richards was being questioned by RCMP at the Canadian Border regarding the painkiller Oxycodone. He has not been charged with a crime at this time.
Earlier today, the Los Angeles Kings announced they had terminated the contract of Mike Richards a day after he cleared unconditional waivers with what we thought was the purpose of a buyout.
According to Katie Strang of ESPN, they terminated him for violating his contract due to an "off-ice incident" and it is still unknown as to what exactly occurred. None the less, the Kings were informed of said violation about an hour into Friday's NHL Entry Draft. TSN's Legal Analyst Eric Macramalla suggested a border incident may have been involved.
A bunch of lawyers will probably have to figure this one out.
Strang also noted the following:
Several sources told ESPN.com the Kings were made aware of the situation Friday, approximately an hour after the first round of the 2015 NHL draft had begun.
The team was already in the process of trying to trade him -- discussions were in place with both the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames -- but Kings general manager Dean Lombardi immediately informed both teams upon learning about the situation that he had no prior knowledge of the incident and halted those talks, according to a source.
No you don't need to read it twice, there isn't a typo. The Oilers were in talks with the Kings regarding a trade to send the grizzled, overpaid, Stanley Cup and Gold Medal Winner to Edmonton.
Strang noted on Twitter this afternoon that Richards wouldn't of been the only thing coming back:
@travisyost my understanding is LA would've had to add some very enticing elements as the carrot for taking on that contract
— Katie Strang (@KatieStrangESPN) June 29, 2015
Certainly, this entire incident is just straight up weird. What happened off the ice? When did it happen? Why did the Kings find out at the draft?
But really, why would the Oilers be trying to trade for Mike Richards? He is still due $5.75 million a year until 2020, and his game has nearly fallen off a cliff prior to getting sent down to the AHL last season. If the Oilers had the Kings eat half the salary, we would still be paying him $2.875 a year. Where would he fit in?
Who knows, maybe there was a Kings Ransom coming alongside Richards and that's why the Oilers were chatting.
The truth behind the situation has yet to come out, but needless to say I am very intrigued to see what happens now.