Stéphane Richer (ice hockey forward)

Stéphane Joseph Jean-Jacques Richer (French pronunciation: [stefan ʁiʃe]; born June 7, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger.

Stéphane Richer
Richer in 2010
Born (1966-06-07) June 7, 1966
Ripon, Quebec, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 218 lb (99 kg; 15 st 8 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for New Jersey Devils
Montreal Canadiens
Tampa Bay Lightning
St. Louis Blues
Pittsburgh Penguins
NHL Draft 29th overall, 1984
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 19842005

Playing career

Richer was drafted 29th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. He played in 1,054 career NHL games, scoring 421 goals and 398 assists for 819 points. Richer won the Calder Cup in 1985. He won the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1986 and with the New Jersey Devils in 1995.

After his Stanley Cup run in New Jersey, he found himself bouncing from team to team through trades including Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, a second stint in Montreal, and even a trip back to the minors before ultimately retiring.

Richer is among the all-time leaders (tied in second with six other players) in playoff overtime goals, with four:

  • April 8, 1989 – At 5:01 of overtime, the Canadiens defeat the Hartford Whalers in Game 3 of the Adams Division Semifinals
  • April 19, 1991 – A mere 27 seconds into overtime, Richer ends Game 2 of the Adams Division Finals with a 4–3 win over the Boston Bruins.
  • May 7, 1994 – At 14:19 of overtime, Game 4 ends of the Eastern Conference Semifinals ends with a 5–4 Devils victory over the Bruins.
  • May 15, 1994 – Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals concludes with a 4–3 New Jersey win over the New York Rangers at 15:23 of the second overtime.

Richer scored 50 goals for the Montreal Canadiens in 1987–88 and 51 in 1989–90, becoming the only player to do so since Guy Lafleur's heyday. To this date, Richer is the last player to have scored 50 goals in one season for the Montreal Canadiens.

The ensuing year after winning the Cup, New Jersey missed the playoffs, and Richer was traded back to the Montreal Canadiens in 1996.[1]

Richer confirmed during the 2001–02 season that he has been battling depression during the majority of his career.

Playing style

Richer was known to have one of the hardest shots in the NHL during his playing days, coupled with an extremely quick release. Unlike many other players, Richer only had to wind up his stick to about waist height to achieve full power on his shot. Recognition of his hard shot was noticed even more when Fleer trading cards included Richer in their "Slapshot Artists" limited set for the 1994–95 season.[2] During the 1994 New Jersey Devils team-only skills competition prior to the All-Star Game, Richer recorded multiple slapshots that exceeded the 100 mph mark.

In a well documented legend, during one pre-game warm up session in New Jersey, Richer fired a slapshot at his own goalie, Martin Brodeur, which shattered the cup in Brodeur's jock strap, leaving him bruised and nauseated. Brodeur had to leave the ice and change equipment moments before the game started.

A fast skater with a big body (approx. 6'3", 225 lbs.), Richer used skill and his shot to beat opponents as opposed to a hard-hitting power forward style which was prototypical of an NHL player of his proportions.

Scouting reports frequently criticized Richer for not squeezing more production out of his talent, given his physical gifts (size, skill, skating ability). He was sometimes described as "coasting" during the regular season and playing hard only when the playoffs began, although his statistics do not support this perception (his career regular-season points per game of 0.78 is higher than his 0.73 average in the playoffs).[3]

Retirement

In October 2009, Richer began competing as a pairs figure skater on the CBC Television reality show Battle of the Blades with Marie-France Dubreuil.

On February 8, 2011, Richer appeared along with Darryl Strawberry on a documentary by Michael Landsberg to talk about his past battle with depression.[4]

Records and achievements

  • Youngest Montreal Canadiens player to score 50 goals in a season- 21 years old[5]
  • Youngest Montreal Canadiens player to score 100 goals in his career- 22 years, 205 days[6]
  • One of only two Montreal Canadiens players to have two 50 goal seasons with the team (Guy Lafleur did it six times)
  • 2x Stanley Cup Champion (1986 and 1995)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1982–83Laval InsulairesQMAAA48475410186
1983–84Granby BisonsQMJHL673937766231124
1984–85Granby BisonsQMJHL3030275731
1984–85Chicoutimi SaguenéensQMJHL27313263401213132625
1984–85Montreal CanadiensNHL10000
1984–85Sherbrooke CanadiensAHL936910
1985–86Montreal CanadiensNHL65211637501641523
1986–87Sherbrooke CanadiensAHL121041411
1986–87Montreal CanadiensNHL572019398053250
1987–88Montreal CanadiensNHL7250287872875126
1988–89Montreal CanadiensNHL682535606121651114
1989–90Montreal CanadiensNHL7551409146973102
1990–91Montreal CanadiensNHL75313061531395146
1991–92New Jersey DevilsNHL742935642571230
1992–93New Jersey DevilsNHL783835734452242
1993–94New Jersey DevilsNHL80363672162075126
1994–95New Jersey DevilsNHL452316391019615212
1995–96New Jersey DevilsNHL7320123230
1996–97Montreal CanadiensNHL632224463250000
1997–98Montreal CanadiensNHL145495
1997–98Tampa Bay LightningNHL269112036
1998–99Tampa Bay LightningNHL6412213322
1999–2000Tampa Bay LightningNHL2075124
1999–2000Detroit VipersIHL20000
1999–2000St. Louis BluesNHL36817251431010
2001–02Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL5813122514
2001–02New Jersey DevilsNHL10123030000
2004–05Sorel-Tracy MissionLNAH82680
NHL totals 1,054 421 398 819 614 134 53 45 98 61

International

Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  Canada
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place1985 Finland[7]Ice hockey
Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
1985 Canada WJC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 7 4 3 7 2
Junior totals 7 4 3 7 2

See also

References

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