With the new season less than a month away, Nottingham Panthers have been rocked by the news that forward Chris Richards will not be joining the club.

The Canadian has secured a job outside of the sport which will allow him to carry on playing back home.

General Manager Gary Moran said: "Everyone at the club is disappointed and it came as a real shock.

"It's only one place on the roster and we're getting emails on a daily basis from guys who want to play for us."

Richardson had spent the last three seasons playing for Youngstown in the Central Hockey League in America. He scored 270 points in 190 matches and also became team captain.

His first taste of professional hockey came in Germany in 1999/2000 as he scored 38 goals in 47 matches for Hassfurt.