Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
They terminated the contract (in June) before Richards was even charged (late August). And he hasn't been convicted yet. But either way, it's the arbitrary nature of the action (it has never been done before, including by the Kings, when other players get arrested or even convicted) which tells an arbitrator that the Kings didn't view the breach of contract as serious - they wanted to avoid the contract.
Would the Flames be justified in terminating Ferland when he was charged? Can the Ducks terminate Stoner's contract? What about Ryan O'Reilly? What about Patrick Kane (at this point he's in the same legal situation as Richards was when he was terminated).
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For me, the answer to all of those situations are "maybe" depending on history of the player and previous instances with the team, and the facts surrounding the arrests and the likelihood that there would be legit charges. In Richards case the evidence surrounding the situation was likely well know to the Kings before the formal charges, but no two situations are the same, so it would depend on what's going on in each case.