Henri Richard
Won 11 Stanley Cups, most in NHL history.
Last updated
He spent his entire 20-season NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens.[1] With 11 Stanley Cup victories during his playing career, Henri Richard holds the NHL record for the most championships won by a single player.[2][3] Because Henri was shorter than his brother Maurice, who was called "Rocket Richard," the younger sibling acquired the moniker "Pocket Rocket" while still a junior player.[1][4]
Life and work
Henri joined the junior Montreal Canadiens at age 15 and led the Quebec junior league in scoring for two consecutive seasons.[5] After an injury forced them to play together, Henri assisted Maurice on a goal, and Blake then kept them on a line.[6] Montreal's coach, Toe Blake, originally separated the Richard brothers during games because he worried that Maurice would pass up his own scoring chances to set up his younger sibling.[6] In the 1966 Stanley Cup Final, Henri netted the championship-winning goal at 2:20 of the first overtime period in Game 6 against Detroit.[7][1]
From 1971 until he retired on July 14, 1975, Henri Richard wore the captain's "C" for the Canadiens.[3] Complications from Alzheimer's disease caused Henri Richard's death on March 6, 2020, when he was 84 years old.[8]
What the cited sources add
The Globe and Mail account notes that Henri Richard was known for his fluid skating and clairvoyant playmaking.[1] The same source reports that Richard scored against Gump Worsley in his professional debut.[1] The Gazette article states that Maurice Richard walked Henri into general manager Frank Selke's office in 1955 to sign his first contract.[9] NHL.com reports that Richard was named an NHL First-Team All-Star in 1957–58 and a Second-Team All-Star in three of the next five seasons.[2]
The NHL.com account also states that Richard's 1,258 games played are a Montreal record.[2] The 100 Greatest NHL Players article by Coffey notes that Toe Blake said Henri was the better all-around player compared to Maurice.[10]
References
- Hawthorn, "Montreal Canadiens great Henri Richard won a record 11 Cups", The Globe and Mail, March 6, 2020. facts only, no text reused. theglobeandmail.com
- "Henri Richard dies at 84, won NHL-record 11 Cup titles with Canadiens", NHL.com, March 6, 2020. facts only, no text reused. nhl.com
- Wikipedia, "Henri Richard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Strachan, "With trembling hand, he passes the torch", The Gazette, 15 July 1975, p. 17; Sports Ref Staff, "Henri Richard", Hockey Reference, 2025; Lindeman, "Canadiens legend Henri Richard dies at 84", CBC News, March 6, 2020; Strachan, "With trembling hand, he passes the torch", The Gazette, 15 July 1975, p. 17; "Bill Russell, Henri Richard – Famous Elevens Gallery", ESPN; "Henri Richard dies at 84, won NHL-record 11 Cup titles with Canadiens", NHL.com, March 6, 2020 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Henri Richard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Postmedia Staff, "Habs icon Henri Richard was a fierce competitor who won record 11 Cups", The Gazette, March 6, 2020; Hunt, "Being the Pocket Rocket has its drawbacks", The Toronto Daily Star, January 29, 1954, p. 16 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Henri Richard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lindeman, "Canadiens legend Henri Richard dies at 84", CBC News, March 6, 2020; Postmedia Staff, "Habs icon Henri Richard was a fierce competitor who won record 11 Cups", The Gazette, March 6, 2020 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Henri Richard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Frayne, "How the "Pocket Rocket" beat his kid-brother jinx", macleans.ca, March 29, 1958; Hawthorn, "Montreal Canadiens great Henri Richard won a record 11 Cups", The Globe and Mail, March 6, 2020 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Henri Richard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hawthorn, "Montreal Canadiens great Henri Richard won a record 11 Cups", The Globe and Mail, March 6, 2020; "Henri Richard dies at 84, won NHL-record 11 Cup titles with Canadiens", NHL.com, March 6, 2020; Fisher, "Richard's luck-tinged overtime goal brings Canadiens Stanley Cup Victory", Montreal Star, 6 May 1966, p. 15; Blackman, "Our Cup (Stanley) runneth over", The Gazette, May 19, 1971, p. 1 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Henri Richard" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Durocher, "Une pensée pour Henri Richard", Le Journal de Montréal, August 29, 2015; "Henri Richard, legendary Montreal Canadiens hockey star, dead at 84", Global News; "Canadiens legend Richard found to have had CTE", ESPN.com, 2023-06-14 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Postmedia Staff, "Habs icon Henri Richard was a fierce competitor who won record 11 Cups", The Gazette, March 6, 2020. facts only, no text reused. montrealgazette.com
- Coffey, "Henri Richard: 100 Greatest NHL Players", 100 Greatest NHL Players, January 1, 2017. facts only, no text reused. nhl.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Henri Richard (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
Career statistics and honours
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1951–52 | Montreal Nationale | QJHL | 49 | 23 | 32 | 55 | 35 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1952–53 | Montreal Nationale | QJHL | 46 | 27 | 36 | 63 | 55 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 4 |
| 1952–53 | Montreal Royals | QSHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1953–54 | Montreal Jr. Canadiens | QJHL | 54 | 56 | 53 | 109 | 85 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 6 |
| 1954–55 | Montreal Jr. Canadiens | QJHL | 44 | 33 | 33 | 66 | 65 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| 1955–56 | Montreal Canadiens | 64 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 46 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 21 | |
| 1956–57 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 63 | 18 | 36 | 54 | 71 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 67 | 28 | 52 | 80 | 56 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 11 | |
| 1958–59 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 63 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 33 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 13 |
| 1959–60 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 30 | 43 | 73 | 66 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 9 |
| Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 24 | 44 | 68 | 91 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 22 | |
| Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 54 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 67 | 23 | 50 | 73 | 57 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |
| Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 66 | 14 | 39 | 53 | 73 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | |
| 1964–65 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 53 | 23 | 29 | 52 | 43 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 24 |
| 1965–66 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 62 | 22 | 39 | 61 | 47 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 65 | 21 | 34 | 55 | 28 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 2 | |
| 1967–68 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 54 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 16 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| 1968–69 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 64 | 15 | 37 | 52 | 45 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 |
| 1969–70 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 62 | 16 | 36 | 52 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1970–71 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 75 | 12 | 37 | 49 | 46 | 20 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 20 |
| 1971–72 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 75 | 12 | 32 | 44 | 48 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 1972–73 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 71 | 8 | 35 | 43 | 21 | 17 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 14 |
| 1973–74 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 75 | 19 | 36 | 55 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 1974–75 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 16 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| NHL totals | 1,256 | 358 | 688 | 1,046 | 928 | 180 | 49 | 80 | 129 | 181 | ||
Awards and honours
| NHL | |
|---|---|
| Award | Year(s) |
| All-Star Game | 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1967, 1974 |
| 1974 | |
| 1959, 1961, 1963 | |
| Stanley Cup champion | 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973 |
Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Henri Richard (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.
More in Hockey Hall of Fame Centres
Test yourself
Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.
Answers checked against the source article
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Henri Richard (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Statistics, medals and awards: the tables of the source article.
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced