The Los Angeles Kings on Monday terminated the contract of former Flyers captain Mike Richards for what the team called a “material breach.”
The team issued the following statement, noting it would have no further comment:
“The Los Angeles Kings today have exercised the team's right to terminate the contract of Mike Richards for a material breach of the requirements of his Standard Player's Contract. We are not prepared to provide any more detail or to discuss the underlying grounds for the contract termination at this time.”
The termination came a day after Richards was placed on waivers in the precursor to a likely buyout.
Richards had a rocky tenure in Los Angeles. He was a member of the Kings’ two Stanley Cup championship teams but was waived and sent to the minors during the past season.
Richards played the first six seasons of his career in Philadelphia after the Flyers made him the 24th overall selection in the 2003 entry draft. He scored 133 of his 179 career goals and 349 of his 482 career points as a member of the Orange & Black.
He was traded on June 23, 2011 to the Kings in the deal that brought Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds to the Flyers.