Mike Richards Finds Himself in Trouble

Looks like former LA Kings forward Mike Richards has found himself in some hot water.

He has been charged with possession of a controlled substance after being stopped entering Canada on Thursday morning, tweeted by the Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He is due to appear in court on Sept. 10.

Back on June 29, the Kings terminated Richard's contract because of what they say "a material breach of his requirements of his Standard Player's Contract." We don't know what the requirements were or what he did that might have set them off but it required the Kings to let him go. The NHLPA had also filed a grievance contesting that termination but no word on its process so far. Right now, Richards is a free agent.

In terms of his playing time, Richards has seemed to fall off the mark. He appeared in 53 games last season for the NHL but couldn't do much damage for the Kings and was sent down to their AHL affiliate where he was a bit better, with 14 points in 16 games. Sending Richards down might've been the smartest move for the Kings when they were trying to contest for a playoff berth, but now that he has walked as a result of the termination, as well as this new legal issue, it'll be hard for him to find a new team anytime soon.

I respect Mike Richards as a player. He plays hard, he gets people to follow him, he's a good team player, and he played well alongside former Flyer teammate Jeff Carter. Now he's walking and trying to find a new team and this arrest can't look good for him or any team that might want to pick him up.

We will have to see how the legal process takes its course and I don't know what Canada's laws and punishments are regarding controlled substance but if it's similar to the US, he might only need to pay a fine and do community service, but again, I don't know what the system is up there, so we will wait and see.

Hopefully, Mike Richards finds a new team and has a productive season coming up. But given that he's sort-of past his prime, the way he went out with the LA Kings, as well as this latest arrest, it'll be hard for him to find a new team anytime soon.

Lou Lamoriello Moves On

It seems to be an end of an era for one general manager.

Lou Lamoriello has resigned as general manager of the New Jersey Devils to become the new GM of the so-far-depressing Toronto Maple Leafs. Lamoriello had stepped down from the Devils after the team missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season. For some of us, this move might mean that he is transitioning towards retirement. Ray Shero has been hired on to replace Lamoriello as GM of the Devils.

Lamoriello is one of the more well-respected figures in the game, and he is described as a strong personality and has helped the Devils win the Stanley Cup several times. His hiring by the Maple Leafs also signals that the guy he drafted, Leafs President Brendan Shanahan, doesn't want to be the one calling the management shots.

Lamoriello is inheriting the team that has had poor defense in recent years. The Leafs are hoping his winning ways in Jersey with a strong defensive play with transition over with the Maple Leafs.

Look at what the Leafs have done. They've hired Mike Babcock as the coach, Brendan Shanahan as the President, and now Lou Lamoriello as the general manager. It would not surprise me if the expectations are already high for these three.

I think Lamoriello knew that the Devils were not going to get any better. They didn't really make a splash in free agency and they only acquired a few good players in trades, like Kyle Palmeiri from the Ducks. The one question I have is: Why do this now and not before the draft or free agency? This move seems a little late, but maybe there was something behind the scenes on that team that Lamoriello felt wouldn't translate to a winning team. I am sort of stunned it's right now, but I didn't really think the Devils were going to get better while Lamoriello was still there. I do respect his style of play and how he makes management decisions, but I think the time has come for him to move on, and he's moving on to a team that might have the chance to get into the playoffs.

Now Lamoriello is inheriting a team that has very poor defensive play in the past couple seasons, and a team that just traded Phil Kessel to the Maple Leafs. You know, part of me wonders if the Leafs were actually trying to get him all along and were just waiting for him to hand the GM mantle of the Devils over to someone. We don't know. But Lamoriello's gonna have to figure out how to best work with the defense he has now. Does he make a trade to try to acquire someone who has a better defensive mindset? Or does he go with the team he has now and try to fit the pieces into place? Either way, Lamoriello's gonna have to do some damage control if he wants the Leafs to get better in their defensive play.

Lou Lamoriello's time in New Jersey has come to an end after 27 years of being the Devils' general manager. Now he moves on to a team that has a lot of work to do and Lamoriello will be the one to figure out where they go and what they do with that defense this season. And if anybody knows strong defensive play, you can bet it's him.

NHL Expansion City: Vegas or Quebec City?

Looks like the NHL is now in the business of expanding to even more cities across North America.

According to the AP, Bill Foley is putting his money down on a chance to put an NHL team in Las Vegas, while Quebec City is seemingly in the hunt to get an NHL team to its market.

This move put the two cities closer to becoming a part of the NHL after the league itself announced Tuesday that is has received bids from prospective groups about NHL bids in their markets.

Bill Foley, a billionaire businessman who has explored the level of interest of having an NHL team in Vegas, has submitted the bid for an NHL team in the gambling mecca. And Canadian-based Quebecor, a media and telecommunications giant, has submitted the bid for Quebec City. Quebecor also has ties to the NHL for its network, TVA Sports, which broadcasts the French-language broadcasts of NHL games.

I won't go into the financial specifics of each deal and their markets, but the better question I have is: What city makes more sense for an NHL franchise? We've all heard about having a team in Las Vegas for so long, and the Kings and the Avs play a game at the MGM Grand Garden Arena every year. That game is called the Frozen Fury played in the preseason, generally the last game for these two teams before the regular season begins.

I'm not sure if Vegas makes the most sense. Some leagues have tried to get teams in there in the past, but have subsequently failed. If you don't remember, the Canadian Football League has tried to expand into the US in 1994 and did that with Vegas, but that team only lasted a year before it left. I did hear that a new arena was being built there, so maybe it helps the Vegas bid a little bit, but again it remains to be seen if the gambling mecca is ready to introduce a major North American sport into its city. The other positive for Vegas is that it would play in the Western Conference, which would be reasonable, because that conference is two teams smaller and would probably make more sense to expand in Western cities.

As for Quebec City, there is a lot of rich history there and it's Canada, so they love hockey like it's part of their blood. Heck, it is part of their blood. The Quebec Nordiques were placed there before it left for Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche, so there's some history there. The Quebec City bid makes a lot more sense because of that history, its location, and the fact that it's Canada, so they'll welcome it with open arms, like what Winnipeg did when the Jets came back. The only concern I have is more teams playing in the Eastern Conference. If the Quebec City does get a team and is put in the Eastern Conference, that would probably mean one or two teams from the current Eastern Conference would have to move West and it just wouldn't make much sense, since all of them in that conference do play in the Eastern Time Zone.

These two bids have potential positives and negatives that could impact the league and where they decide to expand to. The West would make a lot more sense because there would be business in Vegas, but if you're looking for history and a place where they would welcome it back, I would probably say Quebec City. We'll find out what the league decides, but they have a lot to weigh and a lot to figure out before they decide which bids they want to go forward with.

Patrick Sharp Is A Star

I'm sure you've all heard the news about Patrick Sharp. But in case, you haven't, I'll bring you up-to-speed.

After spending nearly a decade within the Chicago Blackhawks ranks, the Hawks have recently traded Patrick Sharp to the Dallas Stars. The Stars made it official Monday when Sharp was set forward in front of the Dallas media. Here's what Sharp had to say about the trade to the Stars:

"I knew it was coming. When I was traded from Philadelphia to Chicago (back in 2005), I knew that was coming also, and it still comes as a shock. When it actually happens, there are a lot of different things going on. You are trying to take care of your family, your friends, and your personal situation. I can't say anything bad about the Blackhawks. I really enjoyed my time with the Hawks. I've grown into the person I am today because of that organization."

Sharp goes on to say that he is thrilled about joining the Stars and more thrilled about playing the game because he was traded to them.

I've got no ill will towards Patrick Sharp. I think he's a very young and very grateful player and I think he will flourish with the Stars. The Stars have talent going up, with Jamie Benn as the captain and Tyler Seguin into that up-and-coming role. The Stars made a step forward last year by going to the playoffs. They missed this year, but there were a lot of good teams in the West that kept them from getting in, but I believe Sharp is what the Stars need to actually get them over the hump again and back to the playoffs.

The Blackhawks were dumping salary, no doubt about that. They traded away Brandon Saad to the Blue Jackets and now Patrick Sharp is sent to the Stars. The Blackhawks franchise revolves around Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane and Saad and Sharp seem to have been the combined third-wheel. I felt this was the necessary move by the Blackhawks to show that Sharp needs to be in a place where he can flourish and he can be a star. In Chicago, he couldn't be that star because Kane and Toews take that role and always wants to have those roles.

I say good luck to Patrick Sharp. I think the Stars need him and I think he needs a place to flourish a lot. In Chicago, it would've been tough with Kane and Toews leading the team but with the Stars, I think he has the chance to prove himself to take that next step and to take this team to the playoffs and eventually the Stanley Cup. Look for the Stars to get a heck of a lot better thanks to Patrick Sharp.

Reid's NHL Insight Is Back

Hello puckheads,

It's been a while since I last did a post. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I did a post. I apologize for being away for so long and for not telling you how long I would be away. So here's the reason why I had to get off the air for a while:

I had recently just finished college and before that, I was going through some trouble of trying to finish my classes so that I could graduate. Because of that, I had to spend less time focusing on hockey and more time focusing on my academics. It wasn't easy to get through four and a half years of getting a degree without focusing solely on my academics sometimes. There were times that I did come back and post some things about hockey but not much. College is not the easiest thing for me and even though I thought I could get through it easily, I was dead wrong and found it harder than I ever could imagined.

Being an English major too was also hard, having to work on different writings and stories and poems and all that being an English major required. Although I could've improved these skills as much developing blog posts and posting them on this site, I felt it best to put more blogging on hold until I finished out my degree and ultimately graduated. And I did. And I believe that by putting this aside, I was able to get through this and feeling a lot better about it.

I know that things have gone through lately in the NHL with stories and headlines, such as Patrick Sharp being a member of the Dallas Stars or even other players in new places, so I'll try to get up-to-speed and figure out exactly what has been going on in the NHL lately. But thanks to taking a break from this to focus on my degree and graduating, I have never felt better and more at ease with myself.

Again, I am truly sorry for being off-the-pad for so long, but hopefully, I will be able to make that up by telling you stories and accounts of what has happened lately in the NHL and bring you some headlines and my thoughts about what has happened in the NHL.

It may be in the offseason but I am fresh and ready to go. Let's make some news, puck heads!