Mike Richards: 'My goal is to get back into the NHL'

Mike Richards is back in Kitchener, Ontario, with a single objective in mind.

"My goal is to get back into the NHL and I'm working out hard to do that," Richards told Josh Brown of The Record on Nov. 12.

The former Los Angeles Kings forward returned to his junior hockey roots, skating with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League, where he was drafted fourth overall as a 16-year-old in 2001.

"It's nice coming back here," Richards said. "I really enjoyed my time here. It really was a good time in my life."

Richards recorded 292 points in 233 regular-season games with the Rangers, en route to a Memorial Cup championship in 2002-03. His impressive numbers made him a first-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2003, before capturing a pair of Stanley Cups with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014.

Those championships are fueling his ongoing comeback effort.

"I don't think it's about having anything to prove but more that burning desire to continue to have success," Richards said. "Winning those Stanley Cups were probably the best times of my life. I think that's what pushes me and keeps me going ... To try and do that again."

The Kings terminated Richards' contract in June shortly after an alleged incident occurred at the border of Emerson, Manitoba, and Pembina, N.D. The RCMP eventually charged him with possession of a controlled substance in August.

The 30-year-old became an unrestricted free agent when a settlement agreement was reached with the Kings in October, putting his troubles behind him in the process.

"Obviously it has been stressful," Richards said. "Everyone says different things but I know who my family and friends are and that's all that really matters, having their support. You can't do anything about it now but push forward and look toward the future and try to learn from your mistakes."

For the time being, those mistakes have found him back on the ice at The Aud in Kitchener, working toward the exact same goal he possessed 15 years ago: to find himself playing in the NHL.