Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Mike Richards Wants To Move Up The LA Kings Depth Chart

09/16/2014 at 12:56pm EDT

from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

Mike Richards, it sounds like anyway, kept his word to the Mad Professor.

Faced with the possibility of his contract being bought out by the Stanley Cup champions, the 29-year-old Richards vowed to Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi in June that he would be more committed to his workouts this summer to help bring back the Mike Richards of old. He would commit himself to trying to bring back the player that Lombardi traded for in the summer of 2011, the one that help transform the Kings from pretenders into winners.

"This summer, I put in the work," Richards told ESPN.com over the phone Monday. "Of course, injuries can happen, but at least going into the season right now I feel good and I’ve skated a lot more than I have in the past. I feel prepared and I’m excited for the year."

As Richards pointed out, who knows exactly how that translates to his on-ice performance once the season starts, but he says he feels much better at this point than he did a year ago.

continued

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]