Kings GM Dean Lombardi on the Future of Mike Richards

Some of the comments supplied by Kings GM Dean Lombardi during his conference call this afternoon have already been posted in previous articles. This is what he had to share on the salary cap and Mike Richards…

On the difficulty of planning for salaries this summer:

“I think I made it clear that’s it has been very difficult. Its like making those equations, right? Putting the cap number aside and the cap space and whether we look at buyouts or moving players, that’s hard enough. I think it is safe to say, concerning the team; we’ve got it down to four templates. But then each one of those templates has to be run through three cap numbers, which then require some adjustments. That is just the way it is but it is like I told you before, it is probably as big of a science project as we’ve ever had. You’ve got about four templates on the board, but then each one of them is running through three different numbers. Then those three different numbers, depending on how you start moving things around, has its effects. At this stage after the season and all the work we’ve had to put in here, at least we have a working document. It is almost just like having the first draft. Like we know about first drafts, it is very far from the final draft. But at least we have the boundaries we think we’ll be working with then.”

On if there has been a decision concerning the future of Mike Richards:

“No, I don’t think we’ve made a final determination on anything. In terms of dealing with that you have a number of scenarios: a trade, a subsidy, a buyout and all those would probably be reflective on how the other pieces fit. There’s a number of ways to deal with that cap hit, so you can actually throw that into the mix. In terms of three templates out of four, then looking at how that contract is dealt with has its own ramifications. You can figure out for yourself the options that are before us. The thing that’s happening now [and once this week’s Draft Combine] is over, there are only two teams left, at least now I think there’s more dialog. I’ve had more dialog the last two or three days than I did after the end of the season.”

For a detailed look at the off-season roster moves being contemplated by the LA Kings, be sure to check out our recent MayorsManor feature story covering more than a dozen players. Plus, the remainder of Lombardi’s comments are linked below.

MORE MUST-READ LOMBARDI CONTENT:

Lombardi’s on Contracts for Justin Williams and Andrej Sekera

Lombardi on ‘Gut-wrenching’ Meeting with Jarret Stoll

Conference Call: Kings GM Dean Lombardi Talks up Jordan Weal

Lombardi on Jonathan Quick, Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar – ‘The training wheels are off’

Follow @MayorsManor

Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news or interviews from this site please remember to include a link to www.MayorsManor.com