The Los Angeles Kings have terminated the contract of Mike Richards.
They said in a statement it was because of "a material breach of the requirements of his standard player's contract."
"We are not prepared to provide any more detail or to discuss the underlying grounds for the contract termination at this time," the Kings added.
Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, a team can terminate a player's contract if he fails, refuses or neglects to "obey the club's rules governing training and conduct."
It was not immediately clear whether the NHL Players' Association would attempt to fight the termination of Richards' contract.