Flyers West thriving in L.A. silks
EL SEGUNDO, CALIF.
Mike Richards pays the cleaning lady and walks Arnold, an ice cream-eating black lab.
Jeff Carter’s job is to supply dinner most nights at the beautiful Manhattan Beach house they’ve shared ever since their hockey careers improbably reconnected last winter, just a few months after the Philadelphia Flyers split them apart.
The Flyers traded the good friends in separate deals 30 minutes apart last June, blowing up the core of a Stanley Cup contender.
After a stop in Columbus, Carter reunited with Richards in Los Angeles.
They’re linemates and roommates again, and they’re making playoff history with the surging Kings, who open the Western Conference finals in Phoenix on Sunday night.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Carter said after Friday’s practice in Los Angeles.
“I never thought I’d end up here, especially this quick. Obviously I’m happy with how it turned out, and I love the beach, so it’s a perfect fit.”
And in maybe the sweetest development of all, Carter and Richards are still playing while Philadelphia’s season is over. Flyers West have outlasted Flyers East.
Carter and Richards acknowledge no grudge toward the Flyers or general manager Paul Holmgren, who dumped his playmaking captain and an elite goalscorer in two trades that were widely interpreted as indictments of both players’ character, even while both sides denied it.
“I have a lot of friends there, (and) you always wish your friends the best,” Richards said while wearing a T-shirt advertising a friend’s bar and restaurant in Philadelphia.
“You never want to go against a team especially when you have a lot of friends on there, and a city that’s given me a lot,” Richards continued. “So you always hope the best for them. We still have a long ways before we can get (to the Stanley Cup final), but Carts and I, it would have been a little bit awkward if we had to go back there and play the first year back. It would have been a little bit weird.”
After Richards and Carter led Philadelphia to the Stanley Cup finals in 2010, the Flyers lost in the second round last year. They lost in the second round again this year without the duo, while the Kings reached just the second conference final in the franchise’s 44 seasons.
If there were any bad feelings from the trade, they’ve cooled on both ends of the continent.
“I hope for the best for Mike and Jeff,” Holmgren said. “I hope they do win the Stanley Cup at some point. They’re both good kids. That’s what they’re playing the game of hockey for, to win, so good for them. I’m happy the way it’s worked out for us.”
Kings general manager Dean Lombardi, a former Philadelphia scout, has assembled an array of former Flyers including forward Simon Gagne — likely out for the season with a concussion — along with assistant coach John Stevens and assistant GM Ron Hextall.
“I’ve got a lot of friends there, and I was there for a long time,” Carter said. “The guys I played with, we’d like to see them do well, but I’m definitely happy that we’re still playing.”
Carter and Richards have played on the same line in Los Angeles much more than they did in Philadelphia. They’ve been lining up lately with Dustin Penner.
“I think we complement each other real well,” Carter said.