Friedman: Kings testing Richards' trade value

Elliotte Friedman was on Toronto’s Sportsnet 590 on Friday morning.

On if Mike Richards has more to give somewhere else, or it he’s just broken down:

“I don’t think you ever count him out, because if you’re a team that thinks you can win and needs an extra piece, I think there are teams that look at Mike Richards and say he has value to be that extra piece. Unfortunately in a salary cap world, he carries that contract with him.

“The L.A. Kings – Justin Williams scored another couple of goals last night. He had a really strong game. He was one of the best L.A. players in the loss. They are trying to sign him to an extension. He’s a free agent at the end of this year.

“They’re a year and a half from having to deal with Anze Kopitar, who, by every stretch of the imagination, deserves the same contract that Toews and Kane got, and who knows what he actually wants. But they know it’s going to be a big number. So they are trying to do some things to kind of clear the decks a bit.

“I don’t know how much interest there is. If they trade him, they’re probably going to have to keep a bunch of money in that particular situation. But I do think the Kings are kind of looking around and they’re testing Richards’ value to see, ‘If we do want to do this, what can we get for him.’

“... I have no idea if there’s really that much interest in these particular situations, but I’m sure they’re calling and asking teams like Toronto and Winnipeg, where they think that maybe Richards would be willing to go, to test it. But I don’t think it’s going to be a very easy situation for them.”

Also:

“Like I said, I think people still see value in Richards as a player, particularly if you’re going to play in big games. But because of what he carries with him, it makes it so complex.”

Source: Sportsnet 590/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey