For the first time since releasing Mike Richards, the Kings GM Dean Lombardi spoke for the first time in detail about the termination of Richards' contract. He called the situation "a tragedy" and he detailed about Richards's "destructive spiral" into release and free agency.
He told the Los Angeles Times "I think that I will never recover from it. It is difficult to trust anyone right now and you begin to question whether you can trust your own judgement. The only thing I can think of that would be worse would be suspecting your wife of cheating on you for five years and then finding it out in fact it was true.
Wow. What a powerful message that Dean Lombardi would be sending to both the Kings and to Mike Richards. It sounds like the relationship should've been over long ago even before this whole episode began.
Lombardi has also said he would like to help other players like Richards, ones that have had their once-promising careers diminished by problems both on and off-the-ice.
I like the Kings a lot and I especially like Dean Lombardi, after he's won two Stanley Cups for a team that desperately needed some championship magic. But now it seems like the magic is already starting to dissolve. I went to the Kings' first game of the season against the San Jose Sharks and they just looked out of it. They weren't in sync, they weren't playing well, and their goaltender Jonathan Quick looked like a shell. Now you could say it's because of the off-ice issues or you could say it's because of the coach, but either way, I think that this whole off-season and not making the playoffs has really taken its toll on the LA Kings.
As for Dean Lombardi, he could be truthful and he might not be truthful, but it seems like he's trying to send the right message. He thinks that the Richards saga could've been handled in the right way, and Richards chose to ignore that. On the other hands, Lombardi could've been lying and Richards didn't want to go along with something that the GM didn't like. I would really like to hear what Richards's take is on all of this and so far I haven't heard from him.
Because Lombardi's calls this situation a "tragedy" it makes me feel bad for both sides. Richards wanted a long promising career that ended up with these issues this past off-season and the Kings had to let go of players because of off-ice problems, like Jarret Stoll or Slava Voynov. The Kings, to me, don't seem like a team that can produce well when there's issues involving their players. Now that they've gotten rid of them, it is not hurting them even worse.
I do hope the Kings can recover this season and make the playoffs again. They're 0-2 and even though the season is early, I don't like the fact that they're in this hole. Hopefully, Jonathan Quick can turn this around and turn into an elite goaltender for the rest of this season. Maybe the defense can improve and help Quick out, but for right now, it doesn't look good. And Lombardi is gonna have to move on from this and try to find a way to fix a team that's already struggling through the first two games of the season.
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