Brad Richards

Lore & Background

Richards is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, having won in 2004 with the Lightning, where he was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player during the playoffs. He also won in 2015 as a member of the Blackhawks. One of eight players to play in a game seven of a Stanley Cup playoff eight times (the most in the league history), Richards was on the winning side of each game, a feat matched by no other player.

In Their Own Story

The Coliseum was half-full on a cold February night, the kind of game where the crowd had stopped counting losses and started counting hope. Richards came down the left wing, stick tight, the ice spraying from his skates in a fine white mist. He didn't look up. He never needed to. A quick deke, a sharp cut inside, and the puck was already on its way—a low, hard wrist shot that kissed the ice and slid under the goalie's glove. The net rippled. For a half-second the arena was silent, then the roar hit like a wave. Richards skated back on defense, already resetting, already watching the play develop behind him. That was the thing about Brad: the celebration lasted two seconds, and then he was back to work, checking a winger at the blue line, never letting the momentum die. The fans who'd been sitting in the upper deck, arms crossed, finally uncrossed them. Something had shifted. The rebuild wasn't a slogan anymore. It was a guy in a blue-and-orange jersey, skating hard both ways, making the future feel inevitable.

Reader's Guide

Richards was born and raised in Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island. Since age 14, he has been friends with Vincent Lecavalier after they met at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame. He played for the Rimouski Océanic of the QMJHL, winning numerous junior honors. In the NHL, he played for the Tampa Bay Lightning (2000–2008), Dallas Stars (2008–2011), New York Rangers (2011–2014), Chicago Blackhawks (2014–2015), and Detroit Red Wings (2015–2016). He signed a nine-year, $60 million contract with the Rangers in 2011, was bought out in 2014, and later signed one-year deals with Chicago and Detroit.

Did You Know?

• Richards set the Dallas Stars' franchise record for most assists in a player's team debut game with five.
• He tied an NHL record by scoring four points in a single period in a 2008 playoff game against the San Jose Sharks.
• Richards scored his first career NHL hat-trick on April 19, 2013, against the Buffalo Sabres.
• He played his 1,000th career NHL game on November 16, 2014, against the Dallas Stars.