Custance on Kings, Richards, defensemen trade thoughts
/Craig Custance was on Buffalo’s WGR 550 on Wednesday morning.
On if the L.A. Kings – who have been rumored in Tyler Myers and Keith Yandle trade talk - waived Mike Richards to clear some cap space and a roster spot to make a trade:
“I think that move was made for a couple of reasons.
“One, it certainly send a wake-up call to the Kings. I think GM Dean Lombardi has been a little bit frustrated with the way his team has played. And there’s this assumption that, ‘Oh, the Kings are going to be fine. They’re going to make the playoffs. This is what the Kings do.’
“But I know from Dean Lombardi’s perspective, he wants to see some urgency in his team. So when you make a move like that, I think it certainly sends a message.
“It gives his team some cap flexibility. Because when you look at the Kings, why they’re not as successful this year as they were last year is you basically wiped out an entire pair with the Voynov suspension and with Willie Mitchell now playing in Florida. And that means guys like Brayden McNabb and Alec Martinez are getting more minutes and put in situations they probably shouldn’t be in. And that makes a big difference for the Kings.
“So I do believe the Kings are trying to address their defense for that reason. So that certainly was part of the Richards reasoning. But I think it also sends a message to that team.”
Source: WGR 550/ Transcript: Nichols on Hockey
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