Rich Hammond leaves Lakings.com, LakingsInsider for OC Register

wow. no wonder he left. he wasn't allowed to do his job anymore.

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Since Rich Hammond was technically a Kings employee, the NHL considered him to be a League employee. And League employees are not allowed to have any contact with players. It didn’t matter that Hammond was simply a beat writer that happened to be employed by a team rather than a newspaper, he was still employed by the Kings.

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Hammond was not forced to take the post down or take a pay cut or anything like that. But the fact that NHL was trying to get involved in what he could and could not write made him uncomfortable, and he did not see it ending well. Because of this, he decided to leave his post as the official Kings blogger. And that is why he now covers USC football and basketball for the OC Register."

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Kings Reporter Hammond Told To Stop Interviewing Players During The Lockout - Jewels From The Crown

Kings Reporter Hammond Told To Stop Interviewing Players During The Lockout - Jewels From The Crown

Here fixed that for you. I wouldn't blame Rich at all but good on the Kings for backing him.

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Originally Posted by mmmcammy

wow. no wonder he left. he wasn't allowed to do his job anymore.

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Odd. I don't recall seeing him write about interviewing players. He just did some stuff on the AHL last I checked, I thought that is fair game.

It was his interview with Westy that got Rich in trouble.

And this is complete BS. Rich was told repeatedly that he'd have total editorial control....and when it became clear that the NHL brass wasn't going to allow that, he walked. And who could blame him.

This stinks to high heaven. Rich was terrific in his job, he interacted with us fans repeatedly, and did an all around great job and we lose him over this damn lockout! Curse you Bettman!

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Originally Posted by TooCool

Odd. I don't recall seeing him write about interviewing players. He just did some stuff on the AHL last I checked, I thought that is fair game.

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this interview is what the NHL didn't like: Westgarth discusses lockout, negotiations « LA Kings Insider

the AHL stuff is fine.

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Originally Posted by CBGB

John (The Mayor) is being "considered" but I would be surprised if he got the gig - I love him dearly but imagine him with Bob Miller?

I think its too chummy, and a "fan" getting the gig? Granted, he's been absolutely brilliant at what he's done but from a corporate standpoint it probably winds up someone more hawkish like J.P. Hoonstra who is (gulp) a "reporter", has had long term ties to the club and is... pansy like.

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According to statements quoted over at hf boards, whoever they hire better be liked by the NHL. Seems they didn't like him interviewing players during this lockout. There idea was that being a reporter and employed by the Kings, he therefore was considered to be one of the team.

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Originally Posted by KINGS17

USC has fans that can read?

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What's the over / under on when Kiffin kicks him out of a practice?

WOW, the NHL needs to seriously back off on the controlling of teams.
This really puts the NHL and owners in a BAD light and I'm tired of the BS from the NHL not moving on the proposals.
As we all know, not all the owners agree on the stance the NHL is taking and they are all losing money with the lock out, even the the Kings who won the cup declared a 2 mil loss so it must be tough on some of the less fortunate teams.

Since this is an independent site of the Kings, I would like to see player interviews posted here.

Buttman and the owners will now be checking to make sure the guy who sells Dippin' Dots at the arena isn't getting too cozy with any of the players.

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Originally Posted by empire

WOW, the NHL needs to seriously back off on the controlling of teams.
This really puts the NHL and owners in a BAD light and I'm tired of the BS from the NHL not moving on the proposals.
As we all know, not all the owners agree on the stance the NHL is taking and they are all losing money with the lock out, even the the Kings who won the cup declared a 2 mil loss so it must be tough on some of the less fortunate teams.

Since this is an independent site of the Kings, I would like to see player interviews posted here.

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It sucks for Hammond when he was just trying to do his job. It really does. Hopefully this new gig at the Register isn't going to hurt him financially or anything like that.

But if you're the NHL, do you want technically an NHL employee, publishing player comments that might be critical of the league during a labor dispute, on websites run by an NHL owned team? No. I don't agree with the NHL's stance, but at least I understand it. The NHL was afraid Hammond's blog could be manipulated by the NHLPA at the NHL's expense.

If you worked for a company and were going online and posting negative reviews of the place you worked, how the business was run, etc, and your bosses found out you were doing it, do you think you'd still have a job?

Why does the NHL need to back off on controlling the teams at this time? If you're the NHL, you want to do everything to appear unified in your stance so the NHLPA doesn't think you have any weaknesses. I've said all along the NHLPA needs to do a better job in controlling what the players say because they often come across as sounding like unsympathetic figures.