Kings issue epic jersey foul, while ‘Gretkzy’ sweater hits eBay

Jersey Fouls is our ongoing exploration of the rules and etiquette for proper hockey jersey creation and exhibition. If you spot what you think may be a foul in your arena, e-mail a photo to us at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com for inclusion in future installments.

The first few times we were sent this image from the Los Angeles Kings/Ottawa Senators game earlier this week, our crap detector went off because it almost looked fan-created; because the game wasn't televised in Los Angeles, reducing the number of people who may have caught it live; and because it remains one of the NHL's great mysteries how something like this Brad Richardson Jersey Foul would be allowed to leave the equipment bag.

Silly us: The Kings equipment staff actually is that inept! From Jim Fox in the LA Times:

It appears that Kings winger Brad Richardson is missing something from his game: it is actually the "D" from the name on his jersey. For tonight's game he is a little lighter as his name reads "Richarson."

Puck Daddy reader "wtfk" sent it over first, and claims that "this was spotted by a Senators fan last night who called in while the Kings were playing in Ottawa." Sure enough, Richardson was given a new, corrected sweater by the third period.

How does something like this happen, exactly? And by that we mean, "How did Michael Cammalleri skate five years without incident while Brad Richardson gets fouled 12 games into his Kings career?"

As is puckhead tradition, any post about a team-initiated misspelling must reference the infamous "Wayne Gretkzy" incident, when the New York Rangers issued the most famous name in hockey history a jersey foul in 1997.