Details are beginning to surface surrounding the curious case of former Flyers captain Mike Richards.
According to TMZ Sports, Richards was stopped while crossing from the United States into Canada on June 17 and was questioned about oxycodone pills.
The report claims Richards has not been charged with any crime, but Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun, citing a source, said the 30-year-old was arrested at the border crossing, not merely detained for questioning.
Friesen also reports the Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigation of Richards has been ongoing for two weeks now.
The Los Angeles Kings terminated Richards' contract on Monday, claiming the underachieving forward committed a "material breach" of its term. He was under contract for five more years and was set to earn $22 million over that span.
Kings general manager Dean Lombardi refused to detail the club's grounds for terminating Richards' deal, which carried a $5.75 million cap hit through 2020. The NHLPA has yet to weigh in on the matter, except to say they are reviewing the situation.
Richards was originally placed on unconditional waivers over the weekend and was expected to be bought out by Los Angeles.
NHL
After struggling mightily through the first few months of the 2014-15 season, Richards was demoted to the AHL back in January. He was later recalled for a playoff push, but he finished the season with a career-low five goals and 16 points in 53 games as the Kings failed to qualify for the postseason.
Richards was selected by the Flyers with the 24th overall pick of the 2003 NHL draft and spent his first six seasons in Philadelphia. The Flyers traded the four-time 20-goal scorer to Los Angeles on June 23, 2011 for Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn and a second-round pick.
He was a member of the Kings' 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup champion teams, but his production has declined drastically over the past two seasons.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.