We’re starting to finally get some understanding of what happened with Mike Richards. We still don’t have all the details of the incident, naturally, but there’s more info than there was yesterday thanks to reporters who are trying to figure out just why the Los Angeles Kings terminated Richards’ contract.
First off: the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are involved. Mitch Melnick and Pierre McGuire on TSN Radio were the first people to report that the as-yet-unknown incident occurred at the border crossing, which we could safely assume was the Canada-USA crossing. There wasn’t much else to be shared at that point — McGuire said he was “not gonna talk about it until it’s made public” — but Katie Strang’s update confirms that both the Canadian Border Services and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are involved. Strang cites an RCMP spokesperson who confirms that there is an ongoing investigation.
No charges have been brought, and McGuire isn’t the only person being extremely tight-lipped. Elliotte Friedman, for example, revealed that the incident occurred on or around June 17 but was not “willing to speculate” on the reason for the termination. As nice as it would be to know, that aspect of things doesn’t really matter until Richards and his agents (along with the NHLPA) decide to appeal to an arbitrator. Which they will, I’m sure. And oh, by the way, here’s who that arbitrator would be…
@FriedgeHNIC Also relevant text: Mike Richards can only challenge via arbitration + Bettman would be the arbitrator. pic.twitter.com/q8Vefd7kpY
— Michael McCann (@McCannSportsLaw) June 29, 2015
Finally, Quisp over at McSorley’s Stick has a really good piece on why the widely reported cap recapture penalty might not apply to the Kings after all if this termination sticks. It’s worth a read.
UPDATE (June 30, 3:55 PM): TMZ reports that Mike Richards was stopped at the border and questioned about oxycodone pills. It bears repeating that Richards was not and has not been charged with a crime.
As always, we’ll continue to update this ever-evolving story.
UPDATE (July 1): Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun reports that Richards was, in fact, arrested on June 17. As we mentioned above, this has not led to any charges as of yet.
Source says Mike Richards was formally arrested at border crossing, not merely detained for questioning. Investigation now at two-week mark.
— Paul Friesen (@friesensunmedia) July 1, 2015