Kings' Dustin Brown hopes Mike Richards gets help he needs

Former Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings forward Mike Richards has experienced a fall from grace few professional hockey players of his caliber ever have.

Richards, who was a key member of the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup-winning Kings teams, was arrested for allegedly carrying painkilling prescription drugs across the United States-Canadian border in June.

This, coming off of the worst season of his career, was the final straw for the Kings' front office, as L.A. terminated Richards contract following the arrest, citing a "material breach."

Hindsight is always 20/20, but Kings captain Dustin Brown felt the team may have swept Richards' health issues under the rug.

"Easy to say now, right? But we had 20 guys in there, and I think all of us were surprised," Brown said. "But in retrospect, you probably could have looked back at certain scenarios and thought about it. But it's easy in the review mirror."

"It's something we've dealt with internally," Brown added. "I think it's been a hard few months for a lot of guys. At the end of the day, he was a big part of our team and you just hope that he's getting the help he needs and he can get back on his feet. That's ultimately where it stands now."

Richards scored 133 points in his four years with the Kings. He is currently a free agent.