- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Kings Dean Lombardi on Mike Richards trade talks and then placing him on waivers.
“There were a few things but I don’t think they were attractive,” Lombardi told ESPN.com on Monday.
“I don’t expect him to get picked up on waivers,” Lombardi said. “But, there’s still time here. He knows what he has to do. That part I am not questioning. The way the schedule is down there, it allows him to get his innings in and conceivably he could be back here. That’s the way we’re approaching this.”
- Mike Johnston of Sportsnet: Five teams that should consider putting a claim on Richards.Predators – The Preds have four centers who will be UFA at the end of the season: Mike Fisher, Mike Ribeiro, Matt Cullen and Olli Jokinen.
Senators – The Senators are thin down the middle. Richards would take some pressure off of Kyle Turris and would be an upgrade over David Legwand.
Coyotes – Antoine Vermette’s future with the team is uncertain. Richards would support Sam Gagner and potentially Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel.
Sabres – they are not good at even strength, on the power-play and killing penalties. They have about $11 million in cap space.
Oilers – They need more structure in their play. If they trade one of their skilled players, it would create more cap room. They currently have some expensive salaries on the books with Nikita Nikitin ($4.5 million), Teddy Purcell ($4.5 million) and Benoit Pouliot ($4 million) that aren’t exactly working out.
- John Shannon: When asked if they would have interest in Mike Richards, the Oilers said “No.”
- John Shannon: The Leafs and Flames are not interested in claiming Richards. His salary and term are scaring teams off.
- Sam Carchidi: Flyers GM Ron Hextall said they have no cap room for Richards.