Get a bit more specific...what part of section 2C did he violate that would justify a material breach of contract? At this point, I can't even think of how the Kings were actually harmed by anything we know about.
Kings terminating Mike Richards contract for material breach [upd: grievance filed]
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Get a bit more specific...what part of section 2C did he violate that would justify a material breach of contract? At this point, I can't even think of how the Kings were actually harmed by anything we know about.
kdb209
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It's not completely comparable, but Mark Bell:
- September 2006 - arrested & charged with felony DUI and Hit & Run
- Played '06-'07 season with the Sharks (and I use the word played loosely).
- June 2007 - traded on Draft Day to the Leafs
- August 2007 - he plead No Contest and was sentenced to 6 months in jail (to be served in the '08 & '09 offseasons)
- Sept 2007 - suspended by the NHL w/o pay for 15 games, and entered into Stage 2 of the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse Program.
- After the suspension played '07-'08 season with the Leafs
- June-August 2008 - spent 2 1/2 months in jail and sentence was then reduced to time served
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That's because 2C doesn't hold up as a way to say that the player can't hold up to his end of the contract and justify termination. Trying to use 2C as a reason to terminate the contract in this situation is laughable.
- 2c to conduct himself on and off the rink according to the highest standards of honesty, morality, fair play and sportsmanship, and to refrain from conduct detrimental to the best interest of the Club, the League or professional hockey generally.
So you're trying to suggest that him getting arrested for a drug charge was poor conduct and/or that wasn't meeting the morality that the LA Kings require of him? Yeah good luck getting an arbitrator to agree with that. He wasn't trying to smuggle drugs across the boarder (that we know of), he wasn't selling them to kids or beating up his wife. He was arrested and charged for having a prescription narcotic (one that the LA Kings quite likely proscribed and/or gave to him on more than one occasion) without the proper prescription (assumption). So unless there's something else that was going on that we're not aware of, he's going to win this and LA is going to get their pee pee slapped.
Interesting... has the arbitrator even been appointed? did you have lunch with him/her yesterday?
Your story doesn't seem very plausible. I highly doubt that an arbitrator would get to the stage in career that he/she is at, when they regularly decide cases before they've even been heard.
No, they'll decide them based on the facts of what happened and based on what Richards' SPC says and on the CBA. Which means unless LA has some smoking gun, they're going to lose.
Yes, and what Richards SPC says is that he is a hockey player. The kings will argue (likely successfully) that the responsibility to inform the team of things which could impact his ability to play is an implicit part of being a hockey player.
Yes. It's George Nicolau. Notable for his history in siding with MLB players in drug cases.
From here
And depending on how they found out and what sort of timeline happened, it's likely not going to matter. If Richards says "I informed you right after I talked to my lawyer", then it's not likely going to matter what LA says.
Also as has been said many times, there's no way an arbitrator is going to void a 22 million dollar contract based on 9 days in the offseason. LA found out before the draft and before free agency. There's no way they can cry that they were irrevocably harmed by Richards not telling them sooner.
Well... we know that it was approximately an 8-9 day timeline.
My suspicion -- the arbitrator will deem that to be too long (and therefore a breach of contract), however find it short of material breach.
How about Ondrej Pavelec, who, in 2012 was arrested, charged and convicted of DUI and didn't tell the Winnipeg Jets, even though he was convicted during negotiations of his contract extension. The Jets didn't find out until over a month after his conviction, which was also after he signed his extension. I'll bet a lot of Jets fans wish they had tried to treat Pavelec's actions as a material breach, but alas...
http://www.winnipegsun.com/2013/01/09/jets-goalie-ondrej-pavelec-admits-he-was-stupid-in-dui-crash-coverup
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TheFinalWord
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So your suspicion is that the Kings are wasting everyone's time since it isn't a material breach? At least most fans can agree on that.
Also, at the 8 day mark, Richards hadn't been charged with a crime...so why would he have to report being detained? Many people are detained at the border and many people are arrested and then released without charge. James Blake (tennis player) was arrested last week...and then released without charge. If he was a hockey player, would he have to report it?
You're really grasping at straws. Unless there is a smoking gun that hasn't been mentioned at all in the press, then this is a very transparent move to eliminate Richard's cap hit and contract because he's not very good anymore.
If there is no further evidence that what has been speculated on in the media, then I hope LA get's spanked in this hearing. I think if there is nothing more that we don't know, then I hope Richards is reinstated and the Kings have to take his cap hit for this year and don't get a chance to buy him out until next year.
If there is a smoking gun or some critical piece of evidence we don't know about, then let's hope it is quite significant and that Richards deserves to have his contract voided.
I have nothing (or had nothing) against the Kings before this attempt to get out of what they owe Richards. On the surface, it seems slimy. I hope that DL has more than what we've heard for him to try to pull this stunt.
Yes and yes. Try to keep up with the news of this if you're going to discuss it. Those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it.
Dr Johnny Fever
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With that guy in Richards' corner, the Kings will be lucky if they come out of this hearing not owing Richards an extension. LoL!
Ducks Nation*
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Not from the arbitrator. He can only rule on whether Richards' was in breach of his contract and if so, whether it was significant enough to be considered a material breach, and thus have his contract voided.
And I doubt the NHL (Bettman) would penalize the Kings for attempting this. I do not think there's anyone else out there who can. If/when Richards' wins, the next stage will be what happens to him (I don't see him wanting to go back onto that roster nor do I see LA really wanting him back). But that's not something that this arbitration can rule on. All he can do is agree with LA or re-instate Richards' contract.
tsanuri
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So many people have asked this but don't understand that the Kings are doing nothing wrong. They have followed the procedures. Even if the case doesn't live up to the material breach standard doesn't mean the case was without merit.
And it's been pointed out it's a very difficult thing to win. And many seem to think that if the Kings lose they must have done something wrong. And that isn't the case.
Generally agree but it will be interesting to see if Mike Richards and his lawyers find some reason to sue the Kings once this is over if the contract is reinstated. One could dream up several reasons starting with wrongful termination all the way to privacy violations. Going to be interesting either way.
tsanuri
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I highly doubt it. His career might already be over, but I suspect a team will pay him around or just under $1M to see if he can play. He starts a suit like that he is done. I doubt he would even have the support of the NHLPA at that point.
And what exact privacy violations has the team done? All they did was announce that they terminated the contract. Here is the whole statement by the team. And they haven't provided any details at all. They have kept this a private as possible.
http://lakingsinsider.com/2015/06/29/kings-terminate-richards-contract/
At the end of the day, when a appeal happens, one side will have turned out to "have wasted everyone's time". The Kings are pursuing an avenue that they believe has a chance of working.
Yeah, we all know that this is a thinly veiled attempt to remove Richards cap hit... but it's not like Lombardi is stupid enough to go through this entire mess, only to come into the meeting with the arbitrator to say "he isn't good anymore, I want him gone but don't want to pay him".
Like I've said countless times in this thread, the Kings will argue that reporting his arrest is a bonafide job requirement, due to the probability that the detainment / siezure could lead to charges, which could lead to immigration issues, which could impact his ability to play, and therefore, the Kings ability to plan their roster and give them the opportunity to replace him.
Do I think they'll be ultimately successful? no, I'm simply explaining what's likely going on behind the scenes.
tsanuri
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Once again, pretty much agree but I can see Richards trying to get some revenge if he can.
Regarding my thoughts on the privacy issue, it is more about how the Kings might have gotten the information and whether or not they might have violated Canadian privacy laws which tend to be stricter than in the US. Again, just speculating now that we are waiting for the arbitration hearing.
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