Mike Richards

On June 29, 2015, the Kings announced that they had terminated Richards for being in violation of his contract, "for a material breach of the requirements" of his Standard Player\'s Contract. The National Hockey League Players\' Association filed a grievance on August 10 disputing the termination which was settled on October 9, 2015 thereby making Richards an unrestricted free agent.\n', ' Richards was a member of two Stanley Cup-winning teams with Los Angeles, in 2012 and 2014, also being a part of numerous championship teams at various levels, including the Stanley Cup (Los Angeles Kings - NHL), Memorial Cup (Kitchener Rangers – OHL), World Juniors (Canada – IIHF), Calder Cup (Philadelphia Phantoms – AHL) and Olympic Gold (Canada).\n', ' Richards grew up playing minor league hockey in his hometown of Kenora, Ontario. He played level A rep hockey for the Kenora Thistles until being drafted fourth overall in the 2001 OHL Priority Selection by the Kitchener Rangers. Richards was not a noted prospect prior to the selection. After receiving a tip from a friend in Kenora, Rangers general manager Jamie MacDonald traveled to see Richards play on two occasions.\n', '