Hopefully Richards has more to smile about coming to L.A.
Mike was kind enough to give me a call this morning from his home in Kenora, Ontario Canada which I learned today is close to Winnipeg and not much else. As you’ll hear from his voice, he’s a nice down to earth guy who just happens to have 9 years remaining on his annual $5.7 million dollar contract (which should afford him to buy huge chunks of Kenora if he ever chooses to?).
Mike Richards with Ted Sobel:
Personally, I will miss what Wayne Simmonds had brought to the ice for the Kings with his pinball machine-like hitting and agressive style of play. But for the past few years the ‘Crowned-ones’ have had less scoring than the 40 year old Virgin so it’s high time they add some proven names on the front line and Richards is a great start! If only Mario Lemieux would consider a comeback…that problem would be solved!;) Actually today is ex-King Bernie Nicholls’ 50th birthday and when wishing him a happy day on his facebook page, I mentioned that he could still help the Kings’ anemic power play. Bernie responded with “I think with all the 5 on 3–I could still do it”. And you know what, I believe him!
PUCK NOTES…
To think that it’s been exactly 30 years since I began interviewing Nicholls as a 4th round pick of the Kings is more than my little brain can fathom! Does anyone remember Bernie’s 70 goal season alongside ‘The Great One’ on the power play? It was like watching a video game.
Did the same person who chose ‘Winnipeg Jets’ as the new name of the long gone Atlanta Thrashers name my blog ‘tedsobel.com’.
F’n BRILLIANT! 🙂
Please remember that comments are always appreciated!
(Photo courtesy of Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
TED SOBEL SPORTS AUDIO VAULT: Your Inside Access to TOUCHING GREATNESS 
Great interview, Ted. This made me even more pumped to have Richie in black and white. We’ve been waiting for this type of deal for a long time, now.
Check out our take on the trade at http://www.CrownedRoyal.com.
Keep up the good work and LET’S GO KINGS!!
Thanks for the comments…he seems like a good guy, now it’s what he does on the ice next that counts. Take care.
Thanks for this very cool interview. =)
So sad to see Richie leave Philly, but it seems like you guys are excited to have him. Hope he dominates like we know he can.
Great interview. Hopefully he’ll get to see movies at the Arclight like I used to. 🙂
God, I’m gonna miss Richie. 😦
Great stuff Ted. I know you remember Bernie Nicholls, but I also know that you were close, personal friends of Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley and Lord Stanley of Preston, as well. 🙂
I was devastated to hear that the one Flyer who meant the most to me over the many years I have been a fan had been swept away so unexpectedly. I will miss him dearly and it just won’t be the same without him. But I must say that your upbeat and encouraging interview with him helped me, and I’m sure, Mike, too. I know that he will be a fan favorite out there and will do everything he can to help make the Kings successful! Thanks, Ted…and thank you Michael for a great six years.
Thanks for the nice words, Carole and I hope you start watching the Kings from afar to see how your guy does his thing Hollywood style?
I think LA will have a lot of Flyer fans watching games on center ice and game center, or as much of each game as we can considering the time difference. This has been a horrible week for a lot of us and we will miss both Richards and Carter. You guys are going to love him, he’s a heart and soul player who is a fantastic defensive forward. I’ll miss him on the PK more than anything, as will the Flyers.
Unfortunatelty Winnie, the way the NHL plays it’s awful schedule, we only get to see the Flyers and other eastern teams once in a blue moon. And after seeing a few videos highlite reels of Richards and his style of play, I can’t wait to see him here on a regular basis. As in all of sport, we should feel priviledged to have a special player on our home team for whatever length of time we get? And I hope you appreciate the time you got to see Richards play on a nightly basis and now it’s L.A.’s turn. And believe me, the loyal Kings fans will take to this guy verrrry quickly! Assuming he plays the way he always did for the Flyers…and after speaking him for a few short minutes, I have no doubt he’s ready to give his all for the remaining 9 long years left on his contract! Thanks for the comments.
Being a die hard Flyers fan for 40 years I’m so sorry to see all our players go. It was a huge disappointment to see Gagne go when that happened. We were just floored! But we are hockey fans — not just Flyers fans, and we are so happy to see you win if we couldn’t. Congrats Richards, Gagne and Carter and Williams. We’re so freaking happy for you! Happy Cup Day!