Mike Richards IV: Started From The Bottom, Still Here *MOD WARNING Post #194*

[Herby]

hes also getting thrown around like a rag-doll. I think his lack of physicality plays a big factor in his level of suck, but thats been going on for a lot longer than one or two seasons. it happened early in his tenure here as a King

There were certainly some red flags early on, but Richards did have a strong playoff in 2012.

I still think this is a once in a generation type thing to go from what he was to what he has beome today. Every time the Kings sign or trade for a marquee player people will say "hopefully he doesn't pull a Richards" , Every time a star player struggles people will say "I hope this isn't the start of a Richards situation"

And it's nothing personal against Richards, this obviously must be tough and extremely embarrassing for him to end up in the AHL. You know it was talked about in the 29 other locker rooms among the players.

I wonder if/when MR is bought out this summer that we get some answers from him or DL if there was truly one key factor that lead to his game falling off.

 

[moosehead81]

Mike looks to be heading towards "healthy scratch" tonight with the return of Stoll.

 

[tsanuri]

Mike looks to be heading towards "healthy scratch" tonight with the return of Stoll.

And the first one of his NHL career.

 

[damacles1156]

Once again the Center Depth sucks for the Kings. Sutter's hands are tied pretty much. He has to play someone that won't kill the Kings everywhere on the ice.

It's pick your poison with Andy/Richards/Stoll.

 

[theMajor]

Once again the Center Depth sucks for the Kings. Sutter's hands are tied pretty much. He has to play someone that won't kill the Kings everywhere on the ice.

It's pick your poison with Andy/Richards/Stoll.

its a "lose your man once or twice a shift which might result in a goal against" risk with Richards, vs "take a boneheaded penalty and go down a man+ hope your PK can make up for it" risk with Stoll. lose/lose no matter how you spin it unfortunately

I havent seen enough of Andy to make jokes about him yet

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Once again the Center Depth sucks for the Kings. Sutter's hands are tied pretty much. He has to play someone that won't kill the Kings everywhere on the ice.

It's pick your poison with Andy/Richards/Stoll.

Not that they've been helping themselves at all, but I have to applaud Shore for picking up the NHL game quickly and surpassing everyone but Kopi/Carter.

Really hope Richards, for this team but mostly for his own health and career, can figure things out this offseason.

 

[417th]

I wonder if Richards concussions have just left too much damage to his reaction time and also caused him to pull up where he used to throttle through.

 

[Reclamation Project]

He's done. Excited to see how the roster looks next year on opening night.

 

[AlphaBravo]

I am a big Richards fan and followed him since his days in Philly. But I think he needs to retire. So does Stoll. They have had several concussions during their careers and should not risk permanently damaging their health just to make more money or continue playing. If they love hockey, they can be involved in other ways, e.g., coaching, scouting, player development etc.

 

[scramble91]

I wonder if Richards concussions have just left too much damage to his reaction time and also caused him to pull up where he used to throttle through.

This is my view. I've had numerous concussions ane I didn't notice anything when I was younger, but I had a few in my 30's and the lingering impacts were significant.

I don't think he is ruined yet, it's a matter of regaining confidence in his body. What tells the story is the way he is turning his body around before trying to hit someone, that to me means he is hesitating. At that level, if you hesitate, you are a step slower than everyone. This happens frequently in pro sports whether it's a head or any other injury.

I said in the past, I hope the fog clears in his mind similar to Rick Nash (he was garbage for over a full season after his head injury). From the human side, I hope he recovers because it's sad to see a proud, tough, gritty lion turn into a kitty cat in a season and a half.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I'm pretty certain Mike Richards was a healthy scratch earlier this season.

 

[tsanuri]

I'm pretty certain Mike Richards was a healthy scratch earlier this season.

Before being sent down he was the iron man on the team I thought.

 

[kingsfan]

You dont think there are players out there who have been productive but just arent very good ?

Players who work hard, have the luxury to play topline minutes because of that and have a more than solid shot ? Players like Brown, Burrows, Moulson and so.

Yet those specific players you should keep an eye on, before you give them a big fat contract.

If it was all just work ethic, then GM's like Lombardi wouldn't resign guys like Brown for $5.8 mill cap hits, they let them go UFA and sign another hardworking guy whose coming up for much less.

Brown has skill. He's not a 1st line guy but he has skill. You can get one or two decent offensive seasons on just hardwork but you can't get several, ask Clarkson.

 

[kingsfan28]

There were certainly some red flags early on, but Richards did have a strong playoff in 2012.

I still think this is a once in a generation type thing to go from what he was to what he has beome today. Every time the Kings sign or trade for a marquee player people will say "hopefully he doesn't pull a Richards" , Every time a star player struggles people will say "I hope this isn't the start of a Richards situation"

And it's nothing personal against Richards, this obviously must be tough and extremely embarrassing for him to end up in the AHL. You know it was talked about in the 29 other locker rooms among the players.

I wonder if/when MR is bought out this summer that we get some answers from him or DL if there was truly one key factor that lead to his game falling off.

We may have to wait for that book Lombardi says he'll write some day.

 

[The Tikkanen]

We may have to wait for that book Lombardi says he'll write some day.

I'm still shocked hockey fans never even mention the possibility of PED usage. In baseball when a players stats fall off a cliff it's due to one thing and one thing only-PED's. You go from feeling like the man every day to feeling weak and worn down when you're clean. You don't recover, you don't work out as hard, you lose muscle quicker, your estrogen levels go up and this is not a guy who was shy about what he consumed as a young man. You guys are suggesting that he is playing with post concussion syndrome which would be a huge lawsuit against the Kings and the NHL. This guy is healthy and has been cleared by doctors, that's a fact. And please don't give me the "he was never jacked" argument. Lance Armstrong was a tiny little man who used PED's regularly, it's not just for size it's for increased performance day to day and much quicker recovery time which would be crucial to NHL players.

 

[kingsfan]

I'm still shocked hockey fans never even mention the possibility of PED usage. In baseball when a players stats fall off a cliff it's due to one thing and one thing only-PED's. You go from feeling like the man every day to feeling weak and worn down when you're clean. You don't recover, you don't work out as hard, you lose muscle quicker, your estrogen levels go up and this is not a guy who was shy about what he consumed as a young man. You guys are suggesting that he is playing with post concussion syndrome which would be a huge lawsuit against the Kings and the NHL. This guy is healthy and has been cleared by doctors, that's a fact. And please don't give me the "he was never jacked" argument. Lance Armstrong was a tiny little man who used PED's regularly, it's not just for size it's for increased performance day to day and much quicker recovery time which would be crucial to NHL players.

Who is saying he has post concussion syndrome? I know I've said consucssion may have impacted him performance, not that he's playing while still possible suffering from a concussion, big difference? It's like a guy that shatters his knee and comes back. He can still play on the knee, just not as well as he was before. Same thing with Richards, not to mention he doesn't get involved in contact near as much as before, maybe for fear of getting hit hard again. They say you are more concussion prone after getting concussed after all.

Now, on what basis are you suggesting PEDs, besides the fact his play has dropped off? No one ever has had their performance decline early without PEDs involved?

 

[Bandit]

I'm still shocked hockey fans never even mention the possibility of PED usage. In baseball when a players stats fall off a cliff it's due to one thing and one thing only-PED's. You go from feeling like the man every day to feeling weak and worn down when you're clean. You don't recover, you don't work out as hard, you lose muscle quicker, your estrogen levels go up and this is not a guy who was shy about what he consumed as a young man. You guys are suggesting that he is playing with post concussion syndrome which would be a huge lawsuit against the Kings and the NHL. This guy is healthy and has been cleared by doctors, that's a fact. And please don't give me the "he was never jacked" argument. Lance Armstrong was a tiny little man who used PED's regularly, it's not just for size it's for increased performance day to day and much quicker recovery time which would be crucial to NHL players.

I don't think anyone is really suggesting that, just that concussions have slowed his reaction time/trust in his physical abilities, same way something like weed slows your mind after prolonged use even when you're not stoned. PED's are certainly a possibility, but I guess my question would be that if he was using them, why would he have stopped now?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I'm still shocked hockey fans never even mention the possibility of PED usage. In baseball when a players stats fall off a cliff it's due to one thing and one thing only-PED's. You go from feeling like the man every day to feeling weak and worn down when you're clean. You don't recover, you don't work out as hard, you lose muscle quicker, your estrogen levels go up and this is not a guy who was shy about what he consumed as a young man. You guys are suggesting that he is playing with post concussion syndrome which would be a huge lawsuit against the Kings and the NHL. This guy is healthy and has been cleared by doctors, that's a fact. And please don't give me the "he was never jacked" argument. Lance Armstrong was a tiny little man who used PED's regularly, it's not just for size it's for increased performance day to day and much quicker recovery time which would be crucial to NHL players.

To be fair it was mentioned very early in part I of this thread, IIRC...it's been a while But a few folks moved quickly from mentioning them to forming a theory that PEDs were likely the reason, and then we're approaching libel, which won't stay on the forums.

 

[BigBrown]

I don't think anyone is really suggesting that, just that concussions have slowed his reaction time/trust in his physical abilities, same way something like weed slows your mind after prolonged use even when you're not stoned. PED's are certainly a possibility, but I guess my question would be that if he was using them, why would he have stopped now?

Not that I believe it but one reason would be that he's now on a lifetime contract. But even then I'd like to think he has too much pride to willingly let his game fall apart just because he's financially set.

Honestly we can only speculate. Some men have their testosterone production go in the toilet for no reason even in their 20's. Concussions can be a big factor in that too.

 

[Herby]

Just add it to the theories for the collapse...

Concussions
PED's
Wear and tear from games
Shoulder Injury
Ankle Injury
Conditioning
Viral Infection
Sutter
Partying
Fishing

It's a good thing MR is engaged to a Doctor.

 

[kingsfan]

Just add it to the theories for the collapse...

Concussions
PED's
Wear and tear from games
Shoulder Injury
Ankle Injury
Conditioning
Viral Infection
Sutter
Partying
Fishing

It's a good thing MR is engaged to a Doctor.

 

[Reclamation Project]

The weight of three threads collapsed his spine.

 

[Reclamation Project]

LOL four! I thought this was part three.

 

[Little Psycho]

LOL four! I thought this was part three.

I hope we continue to have these threads when he leaves the Kings.

 

[Reclamation Project]

I hope we continue to have these threads when he leaves the Kings.

Mike Richards X: Doesn't Tip WAITRESS *MOD WARNING Post #1*