The Time May Have Come for Los Angeles Kings to Trade Mike Richards

After Tuesday night’s 1-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings head coach Darryl Sutter singled out Mike Richards for his lapse on the lone goal of the game.

This is noteworthy for two reasons.

Firstly, L.A.’s bench boss usually speaks in general terms, seldom isolating one player to praise or criticize.

Secondly, gaffe aside, Richards was probably the best player on the ice for either club in that contest. He won puck battles, controlled play and generated myriad chances that were flubbed by fourth-line partners Dwight King and Jordan Nolan.

That Sutter saw it fit to bag on No. 10 when he was among the few Kings players with a pulse on Tuesday suggests Richards isn’t likely to leave the coach’s doghouse any time soon.

At this point, a trade might be best for both player and team.

The Team’s Perspective

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Since general manager Dean Lombardi didn’t use a compliance buyout on Richards to get his $5.75 million salary-cap hit off the books in the offseason, the Kings were clearly expecting him to regain his form in 2014-15. 

At least production-wise, that hasn’t been the case thus far. 

The 29-year-old has racked up 10 points in 28 games, and Hockey-Reference.com indicates he is on pace for the lowest point-per-game mark of his career. Not coincidentally, his average ice time is also lower than it’s ever been.

Sutter appears content to play Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter and Jarret Stoll above Richards on the depth chart, continually offering those pivots a greater share of even-strength and special teams action regardless of their performance.

At even strength and on the penalty kill, Richards ranks last among regular Kings centers (Kopitar, Carter, Stoll, Richards) in time on ice.

His lack of short-handed minutes is particularly curious, as he’s been a top-tier penalty-killer throughout his entire career. When actually on the ice, his performance hasn't dropped off in this department:

	TOI	GA60	CA60	SA60
Jarret Stoll	53:07	6.78	107.31	50.83
Anze Kopitar	47:41	8.81	104.44	50.33
Jeff Carter	44:56	4.01	76.11	45.40
Mike Richards	26:31	4.53	70.14	36.20

A player who allows the fewest shot attempts, fewest shots and second-fewest goals should log a decent chunk of short-handed ice time, right? Not under Sutter's watch.

Richards' current usage turns him into an awfully expensive fourth-line center.

For a club with so little wiggle room—it would have essentially no cap space if Slava Voynov were to return from his indefinite suspension—this situation is obviously far from ideal.

With Kopitar locked into the first-line role, Carter more comfortable in the middle and Sutter’s steadfast loyalty to Stoll, Richards can only slot into one center spot.

Even when Sutter does tender Richards a crack at quality minutes, he swiftly demotes him at the first sign of trouble.

This is puzzling when one considers that Stoll’s first 15 games were positively disastrous, but he was nonetheless a fixture on the third line.

There’s no reason to believe a shake-up is on the horizon.

Sutter has mishandled Richards, but the higher-ups would surely side with the man at the helm of a two-time Stanley Cup champion if this matter came to a head.

As such, the Kings would be better off moving Richards for some cap relief and bringing in—or calling up—a more traditional bottom-sixer to fill the void. Letting him rot on the fourth line could prevent the team from acquiring help in its pursuit of a third Stanley Cup in four years.

He’s just not worth his price tag under these circumstances.

The Player’s Perspective

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The circumstances represent the root of the issue, though.

Over the summer, Richards dedicated himself to his conditioning and told ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun that he was not happy on the fourth line. Lombardi displayed faith in him by retaining his services.

“You’re loath to ever give up on that kind of player, it’s very difficult to find that special ingredient,” Lombardi told LeBrun in June. “There’s no question that the loyalty to him and what he’s done is significant.”

Sutter didn’t get that memo.

On October 8, the Kings opened their season with a 4-0 loss. Richards, King and Justin Williams formed the most promising L.A. trio by a country mile, yet LA Kings Insider indicates the center was relegated to the bottom unit for the team's October 11 tilt against the Arizona Coyotes.

Richards' third-line audition lasted all of one game.

Despite visible boosts in fitness and overall play, he has remained buried on the fourth group for much of the season. Grinders Jordan Nolan and Kyle Clifford are two of his most frequent linemates. 

How could anyone—let alone a pass-first center—produce consistently with stone-handed wingers to the left and right?

Here’s how much of an albatross Nolan has been in 2014-15:

	Points	GF20	GA20	GF%	CF%
With Nolan	0	0.000	0.935	0.0	50.9
Without Nolan	7	0.859	0.859	50.0	51.2

What’s worse, Richards has outperformed both Kopitar and Stoll, competing hard and creating scoring opportunities on a nightly basis while these two sleepwalk through the start of the season.

Where executing the game plan of driving play toward the opposition's end is concerned, no center has been more effective than Richards:

	Off Zone Start	Off Zone Finish	Differential
Anze Kopitar	51.4%	52.3%	+0.9%
Jeff Carter	48.9%	55.3%	+6.4%
Jarret Stoll	55.6%	53.4%	-2.2%
Mike Richards	47.3%	55.3%	+8.0%

Now keep in mind that Stoll has enjoyed better linemates and lower competition than Richards, he’s posted those numbers...and he’s still somehow the third-line center.

Last season, a sluggish Richards started in the offensive zone more frequently than he finished there—a sign that he wasn't conducting the flow of traffic.

He's remedied that and then some this year, pushing play toward the attack like no other Kings pivot through 28 games. That's impressive and closely tied to his fitness, as the additional spring in his step has permitted him to dictate play in the neutral zone.

Granted, Richards is definitely not where he’d like to be in terms of black-and-white production. Looking at the averages, though, provides a measure of context:

	5-on-5 Points/60	5-on-4 Points/60	4-on-5 GA60
Performance	1.31 (6th)	4.03 (4th)	4.53 (4th)
TOI/G	11:54 (8th)	1:43 (7th)	0:57 (8th)

In a nutshell, his usage has not been commensurate with his performance. He’s returned from a dismal season in much better shape and looked solid early, but he can’t catch a break with his coach.

He’s expected to bounce back while being put in a position to fail.

Outlook

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This isn’t an about-face. Richards is markedly improved over last season and can still contribute to the Kings’ success in a major way. In fact, he should be doing so.

However, it’s becoming clearer by the game that Sutter won’t budge.

Even though Richards has the edge in all-around play and puck possession over Stoll, the coach seems hell-bent on leaving the latter on the third forward unit, wasting the former's potential alongside wingers who can’t receive a pass.

The 10-year veteran may enjoy the occasional breath of fresh air higher in the lineup, but odds are the bottom line will remain his home for as long as Sutter's tenure lasts.

In that case, he’s not worth his cap hit.

With no end to the mismanagement in sight, a deal for draft picks or cheaper parts would be a wise—if reluctant—move by Lombardi.

As it stands, the Kings will never get enough bang for their buck.

Advanced statistics courtesy of Behind the Net, Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com and hockeystats.ca. Contract and salary-cap information courtesy of CapGeek.com.