Stephane Richer
Encyclopedia
Stéphane Jean-Jacques Richer (stefan ʁiʃe; born June 7, 1966) is a retired professional ice hockey
left winger
.
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 also 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.
He was openly criticized by other players for his comments during the NHL lockout of 1995 leading to 1/2 the normal season when he stated "...we should be playing hockey", when asked about the strike and his feelings about the negotiations.
Richer is among the all time leaders (tied in second with six other players) in playoff overtime goals, with four:
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 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.
Richer confirmed during the 2001-02 season that he has been battling depression
during the majority of his career.
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). http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/r/richest02.html
reality show Battle of the Blades
with Marie-France Dubreuil
.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
left winger
Winger (ice hockey)
Winger, in the game of hockey, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flanking the centre forward. Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink...
.
Playing career
Richer was drafted 29th overall by the Montreal CanadiensMontreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft
1984 NHL Entry Draft
The 1984 NHL Entry Draft took place on June 9, 1984, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec.The 1984 Entry Draft was noted for the unusually high number of future Hall of Famers picked, particularly in lower rounds. In addition to Mario Lemieux being taken first overall, Patrick Roy was chosen...
. He played in 1,054 career NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
games, scoring 421 goals and 398 assists for 819 points. Richer won the Calder Cup
Calder Cup
The Calder Cup is awarded annually to the playoff champion of the American Hockey League. The trophy is the world's second oldest continuous professional ice hockey championship, having first been awarded in 1937 following the 1936-37 AHL season, and continuously being awarded every year.The cup...
in 1985. He also won the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
with the Montreal Canadiens in 1986 and with the New Jersey Devils
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
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.
He was openly criticized by other players for his comments during the NHL lockout of 1995 leading to 1/2 the normal season when he stated "...we should be playing hockey", when asked about the strike and his feelings about the negotiations.
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 WhalersHartford WhalersThe Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97...
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 BruinsBoston BruinsThe Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
. - 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 RangersNew York RangersThe New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
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 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.
Richer confirmed during the 2001-02 season that he has been battling depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
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. 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
Power forward (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, power forward is a loosely applied characterization of a forward who is big and strong, equally capable of playing physically or scoring goals and would most likely have high totals in both points and penalties...
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). http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/r/richest02.html
Retirement
In October 2009, Richer began competing as a pairs figure skater on the CBC TelevisionCBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
reality show Battle of the Blades
Battle of the Blades
Battle of the Blades is a Canadian figure skating reality show and competition that airs on CBC Television. It was first broadcast before a live audience at the historic Maple Leaf Gardens. With Maple Leaf Gardens under renovation however, the show was filmed at Pinewood Toronto Studios in season two...
with Marie-France Dubreuil
Marie-France Dubreuil
Marie-France Dubreuil is a Canadian ice dancer. With partner and husband Patrice Lauzon, she is the 2006 & 2007 World silver medalist.-Biography:...
.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1983–84 1983–84 QMJHL season The 1983–84 QMJHL season was the 15th season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Eleven teams played 70 games each in the regular season.... |
Granby Bisons Granby Bisons The Granby Bisons were a junior ice hockey team founded in 1981 after the team moved from Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, where they had previously been known as the Sorel Éperviers. The Bisons played at Arena Leonard Grondin in Granby, Quebec. In 1995 they were renamed the Granby Prédateurs. Today they are... |
QMJHL Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League... |
67 | 39 | 37 | 76 | 62 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1984–85 1984–85 QMJHL season The 1984–85 QMJHL season was the 16th season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The league experimented for season, awarding one point for an overtime loss. Points for an overtime loss would not be awarded again until the 1999–2000 QMJHL season... |
Granby Bisons | QMJHL | 30 | 30 | 27 | 57 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Chicoutimi Saguenéens Chicoutimi Saguenéens The Chicoutimi Saguenéens are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The team is based out of Chicoutimi, Quebec . The team plays its home games at the Centre Georges-Vézina.-History:... |
QMJHL | 27 | 31 | 32 | 63 | 40 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 25 | ||
| 1984–85 | Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 1984–85 AHL season The 1984–85 AHL season was the 49th season of the American Hockey League. Thirteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Binghamton Whalers finished first overall in the regular season... |
Sherbrooke Canadiens Sherbrooke Canadiens The Sherbrooke Canadiens were a professional ice hockey team in Sherbrooke, Quebec. They played their home games at the Palais des Sports. They were a member of the American Hockey League from 1984 to 1990, and were a farm team of the Montreal Canadiens.... |
AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
— | — | — | — | — | 9 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | ||
| 1985–86 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 65 | 21 | 16 | 37 | 50 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 23 | ||
| 1986–87 1986–87 AHL season The 1986–87 AHL season was the 51st season of the American Hockey League. Thirteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The league institutes awarding one point in the standings, for an overtime loss... |
Sherbrooke Canadiens | AHL | 12 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 57 | 20 | 19 | 39 | 80 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1987–88 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 72 | 50 | 28 | 78 | 72 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 6 | ||
| 1988–89 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 68 | 25 | 35 | 60 | 61 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 14 | ||
| 1989–90 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 75 | 51 | 40 | 91 | 46 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 2 | ||
| 1990–91 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 75 | 31 | 30 | 61 | 53 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 6 | ||
| 1991–92 | New Jersey Devils New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL | 74 | 29 | 35 | 64 | 25 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1992–93 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 78 | 38 | 35 | 73 | 44 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1993–94 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 80 | 36 | 36 | 72 | 16 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 6 | ||
| 1994–95 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 45 | 23 | 16 | 39 | 10 | 19 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 2 | ||
| 1995–96 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 73 | 20 | 12 | 32 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 63 | 22 | 24 | 46 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1997–98 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 14 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Tampa Bay Lightning Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They have one Stanley Cup championship in their history, in 2003–04. They are often referred to as the... |
NHL | 26 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 64 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 20 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Detroit Vipers Detroit Vipers The Detroit Vipers was an International Hockey League team. The team was founded in 1994, and played at The Palace of Auburn Hills.-Beginning:... |
IHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | St. Louis Blues St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues", and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade... |
NHL | 36 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original... |
NHL | 58 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05 | Sorel-Tracy Mission | LNAH | 8 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1054 | 421 | 398 | 819 | 614 | 134 | 53 | 45 | 98 | 61 | ||||
See also
- List of NHL players with 50-goal seasons
- List of NHL players with 1000 games played