Mike Richards
“The long and winding road that leads to your door
Will never disappear.
I've seen that road before it always leads me here;
Leads me to your door.”
-- Paul McCartney
Maybe it was the day. The 13th. On December 13, 2007, Mike Richards signed at 12-year, $69 million
contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.
At the time he said, "I want to be here, I love the city, I love
the organization and when I was given the opportunity I was excited to be here
over the next twelve years." Less
than five years later, he was gone, traded to the Los Angeles Kings with Rob
Bordson in June 2011 for Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds and a second-round draft
pick in the 2012 Entry Draft.
It was the start of a literal and figurative journey for
Richards that had its high points – two Stanley Cups with the Kings – and its
lows. It did not get any lower for
Richards than what happened in June 2015 and the weeks that followed. Stopped at the U.S.-Canada border for alleged possession of a controlled
substance, having his contract terminated by the Kings, charged by authorities
in Canada, the Kings and the NHL Players Association coming to agreement on a
settlement in which Richards would receive roughly half of the remaining value
of his contract, playing hockey was not on the program for Richards.
As the end game of this low drama was playing out, though, theCapitals were pondering whether to act on their interest in Richards. After a long dance that lasted from October
to early January, the Capitals signed Richards to a one-year pro-rated $1
million contract. Ten days later, 282
days after he last stepped on an NHL rink for a game, he was in the Caps’
lineup.
It would make for a happy story to say that Richards
returned to the NHL and was successful in resuming his career, but to be
charitable the jury is still out on that question. Richards appeared in 39 regular season games
for the Caps, not missing a contest once he joined the lineup, perhaps more a
testimony to his desire to get back into the game than his stamina. In fact, he was a shell of his former
self. In those 39 games he managed just
two goals and five points while averaging just over 12 minutes of ice time a
game, primarily as a fourth liner, the lowest average ice time of his 11-year
career.
Fearless’ Take… Richards’ numbers were poor, there is no
denying that. But he did provide some
value. He was 50 percent or better on
faceoffs in 21 of the 39 games in which he played. The Caps won all five games in which he
recorded a point. They only lost one
game in regulation in which he logged at least 13 minutes of ice time. His Corsi-for at 5-on-5 was a respectable
51.78, and his Corsi-for/Relative of minus-0.12 was hardly poor for a fourth
liner. He even showed signs of
contributing more offense in the latter stages of the season. Three points in his last ten-game segment
(actually 12 games) is a modest total, but it was the best of his four ten-game
segments.
Cheerless’ Take… You’re diggin’ pretty deep to find a gold
nugget there, cuz. He had five points in
39 games. The guy he pretty much
replaced – Mickael Latta – had seven points in 43 games. Richards was a minus-2, Latta was even. Richards had a 49.5 percent faceoff winning
percentage on 475 faceoffs, Latta was 51.5 percent on 198 draws. Richards had a score-adjusted Corsi-for at
5-on-5 of 51.77, Latta had a 52.62. If
you didn’t know who they were, who would you have said was more productive?
Odd Richards Fact… The Caps were 6-6-0 in games in which
Richards’ Corsi-for at 5-on-5 was 60.0 percent or better; they were 9-1-3 in
games where he was 40.0 percent or worse (numbers from war-on-ice.com).
Game to Remember… February 22nd versus Arizona
February was a good month over its first three weeks for the
Caps, who built an 8-2-0 record through the 21st. On the 22nd the Caps hosted the
Arizona Coyotes, a team not having much success of their own in February with a
3-5-1 record heading into their game against the Caps. After a scoreless first period, the Coyotes
broke on top with a Kevin Connauton goal early in the second period. The Caps tied the game on a power play goal
by Evgeny Kuznetsov less than three minutes after the Connauton strike, then
took a lead mid-way through the third period on a goal by Alex Ovechkin. The sound of the goal horn had barely faded
away when the Caps struck again. It started
with a Tom Wilson drive from the right wing circle than was flagged down by
goalie Louis Domingue. However,
Domingue’s attempt to smother the puck with his glove was stifled by teammate
Brad Richardson, who came it to try to move the puck away from danger. That gave Wilson a chance to follow up his
own shot, and he poked the puck free of both Domingue and Richardson. Mike Richards curled in behind Wilson to get
to the loose puck and whip it past Domingue’s glove to make it a 3-1 lead for
the Caps and set Domingue off in search of an official to complain to that he
covered the puck. When Connor Murphy
scored later in the period for the Coyotes, Richards’ goal was not only his
first as a Capital but the game-winning goal as well, his first game-winning
goal since recording one with the Kings in a 4-0 win over the Minnesota Wild on
November 26, 2014.
Game to Forget… April 5th versus New York
Islanders
By this time in the season, everyone associated with the
Capitals might have been forgiven for just wanting the last couple weeks’ worth
of games over and done with so that they could get on to the playoffs. At times, it showed. It did for the Caps in Game 79 of the season
when they hosted the New York Islanders.
The Caps scored first, a goal by Alex Ovechkin less than five minutes
into the game, and scored often, getting out to a 3-1 lead early in the third
period. By that time, Mike Richards had
been an infrequent participant in the game, logging only 6:23 in ice time. Then, it got worse, both for him and the
Caps. The Islanders scored goals 1:45
apart mid-way through the period to tie the game, then won it 2:13 into
overtime. Over the last 15:17 of the
game, including overtime, Richards skated just one 28-second shift. Oddly enough, he led the Caps’ forwards in
shorthanded ice time in the game (51 seconds), but finished the game with just
6:00 in even strength ice time. His
total of 6:51 was a season low, and adding just one shot on goal while going
minus-1 didn’t help matters.
Postseason: 12 games, 0-0-0, even, 49.5 percent Corsi-for at
5-on-5, minus-2.9 CF%/Relative
Mike Richards has had an odd history as a playoff
performer. Coming into this season he
was 26-61-87 in 124 career postseason games.
That is a rather respectable 17-39-56 scoring pace per 82 games. After the 2016 postseason, Richards how has
136 games on his resume, but the scoring needle didn’t budge. No points in 12 games. And that raises the other, odd aspect of his
postseason career. He has never been
that much of a possession guy. That
might owe itself to tough defensive assignments, but the fact is that in eight
seasons of postseason appearances, Richards was above 50 percent Corsi-for at
5-on-5 just twice. He did not make it
three times, going 49.5 percent for the Caps in what was actually his
third-best result in his career. His “relative”
numbers have been even worse over his career, finishing in minus territory in
each of his eight previous playoff appearances.
In 2016 that number grew to nine (minus-2.9; numbers from war-on-ice.com).
What made this year a bit different for Richards on that
score was the nature of the responsibility he had and how it was reflected in
the playing context. He is, at this
stage of his career it would seem, primarily a defensive forward, and this was
reflected in his numbers (perhaps influenced by the quality of opposition faced). The 57.9 shot attempts against per 60 minutes
on ice at 5-on-5 was the second-lowest of his postseason career. And, in one more odd twist, the 56.7 shot
attempts for on ice per 60 minutes was the second highest of his career. Overall, though, he was one of several Caps among
the bottom nine forwards whose offensive contributions were negligible.
In the end…
Perhaps if Richards did not make his debut until
mid-season. Perhaps if he had a full
training camp to get back into a hockey frame of mind after all of the issues
he had to deal with off the ice. Then
again, without those events and that timeline, he very well would not have been
a Capital. In the obvious indices of
production, Richards was not so much a disappointment (given his circumstances)
as he was unable to effect a “happy ending” sort of story.
From Philadelphia to Los Angeles to personal difficulties to
a return to hockey, the road Richards has traveled over the past five years has
certainly been a winding one. What is
not known is where that road now leads.
Richards is a free agent. Perhaps
with that full training camp and a chance to put his difficulties further
behind him, he would be an asset to the Caps going forward. Or, perhaps the wear and tear on a body that
often played bigger than it is and his time away from the game have robbed him
of whatever edge he could coax out of himself on the ice. As Mike Richards heads into an offseason as a
free agent, he is unlikely to be among the most sought after players, but the
journey he takes will be among the most interesting to follow.
Grade: C
