Michael Richards (born February 11, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Richards played 11 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons, spending time with the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Washington Capitals, winning two Stanley Cups with the Kings. Richards was drafted in the first round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Flyers, 24th overall.
On June 29, 2015, the Kings announced that they had terminated Richards for being in violation of his contract, "for a material breach of the requirements" of his Standard Player's Contract. The National Hockey League Players' Association filed a grievance on August 10 disputing the termination which was settled on October 9, 2015 thereby making Richards an unrestricted free agent.
Richards was a member of two Stanley Cup-winning teams with Los Angeles, in 2012 and 2014, also being a part of numerous championship teams at various levels, including the Stanley Cup (Los Angeles Kings - NHL), Memorial Cup (Kitchener Rangers – OHL), World Juniors (Canada – IIHF), Calder Cup (Philadelphia Phantoms – AHL) and Olympic Gold (Canada).