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On June 23rd, one day before the NHL draft and eight days before the start of free agency, Ron Hextall phoned Terry Murray with great news:

"We got Richards!" Hextall, the Los Angeles Kings' assistant general manager, told Murray, the team's coach.

"Terrific," Murray thought to himself. He knew his team had been interested in obtaining Brad Richards from the Dallas Stars, but had read the reports that the coveted center wouldn't waive his no-trade clause and wanted instead to test the open market. Murray wondered how Hextall and GM Dean Lombardi pulled off trade.

"And after about a minute, minute and a half, I said, 'Hold it, who are we talking about here? Are we talking about the same Richards?'" Murray says.

No. The Richards in question was the 26-year-old captain of the Philadelphia Flyers, Mike Richards.

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Related Topics: NHL, Mike Richards, Los Angeles Kings