Murray wants emotional game for Richards

In past situations, Terry Murray has talked about the need for players to manage themselves in games that potentially have a lot of emotion. For instance, when the Kings play in Toronto, Murray talks about the need for Ontario-born players to not try to “put on a show” in front of friends and family. Along those lines, Murray was asked today whether he needed to have any kind of conversation with Mike Richards about controlling his emotions tomorrow night when he plays against his former team, the Philadelphia Flyers…

MURRAY: “No, I won’t talk to him about that. I think he’s a very emotional player. I think that’s the way he has to play the game, and I want him to go out and do the things that instinctively he does very well. He’s a pro. There’s always the possibility that any player can get traded, and the comfort is that Simon Gagne and Justin Williams are here. Those players were Flyers and have gone through the process, and they’re able to spend some time with him and help him through it. It’s just the next step in the game tomorrow.’’

Question: How has he dealt with the transition to a new team?

MURRAY: “Well, the transition for Mike Richards to come to the L.A. Kings, it’s hard. There’s no two ways around that one. He’s the captain of the Flyers for several years here, and he’s a huge part of the hockey organization. But I think, as time goes on, you make the transition. We have a lot of friendly faces in L.A. He’s very familiar with a lot of people and I think now that he’s been able to get through the training camp and get settled in and get to know his teammates, the transition has been made. He’s now an L.A. King. He feels very good about it and he’s excited and ready to play some hockey.’’