There's no requirement for anything to have been proven in court based on the terms of the morality clause.
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Originally Posted by CBA
2. The Player agrees to give his services and to play hockey in all NHL Games, All Star
Games, International Hockey Games and Exhibition Games to the best of his ability under the
direction and control of the Club in accordance with the provisions hereof.
The Player further agrees, [...] (e) to conduct himself on and off the rink according to the highest standards of
honesty, morality, fair play and sportsmanship, and to refrain from conduct detrimental to the
best interest of the Club, the League or professional hockey generally.
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Nothing was proven in court when they did it with Richards, though in his case he was actually charged rather than just under investigation.
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Originally Posted by alan21
Why should the team be punished for his conduct?
Shouldn’t this not affect their cap?
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If they want him off the books, they only have two options under the CBA: buy him out or terminate his contract. For some reason they apparently decided the second one wasn't going to work.
You don't get to change the CBA for particular cases because the results seem unfair... the Canucks learned that with the Luongo recapture. And that was arguably way less fair than this.