Brad Richards

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Not to be confused with Brad Richardson.

<templatestyles src="Module:Infobox/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Brad Richards
255px
Richards warming up with his former team, the Chicago Blackhawks in December 2014
Born (1980-05-02) May 2, 1980 (age 44)
Murray Harbour, P.E.I, CAN
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 198 lb (90 kg; 14 st 2 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Detroit Red Wings
Tampa Bay Lightning
Dallas Stars
New York Rangers
Chicago Blackhawks
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 64th overall, 1998
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career 2000–present
Website www.brichards19.com

Bradley Glenn "Brad" Richards (born May 2, 1980) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre currently playing for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Richards was drafted in the third round, 64th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and has previously played for the Lightning, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, and Chicago Blackhawks.

Richards won the Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Lightning, where he was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player during the playoffs. In 2015, he won the second Stanley Cup of his career with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Early career

Richards was born and raised in Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island. Since the age of 14, Richards has been friends with Vincent Lecavalier when they met at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, a boarding school with a renowned hockey program in Wilcox, Saskatchewan. They were roommates and soon became good friends as they were both the youngest players on their hockey team. Since then, they have gone on to being teammates for the Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and Tampa Bay Lightning. Lecavalier was also responsible for suggesting to the Lightning management after they had drafted him to draft Richards.[1][2]

In his final season with Rimouski, Richards won nearly every honour possible for a Canadian junior player in the QMJHL: he earned the Jean Béliveau Trophy after leading the League with 186 points, as well as the Telus Cup, given to the League's best offensive player; he won the QMJHL and Canadian Hockey League Plus/Minus Awards with a plus-80 mark, and was a First-Team All-Star in both the Quebec circuit and the CHL, as well as the CHL Player of the Year and Leading Scorer. In the post-season, Richards took home both the Guy Lafleur Trophy as MVP of the QMJHL playoffs, then the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as MVP of the 2000 Memorial Cup, as the Océanic won both the QMJHL playoff title and the CHL national championship.

Playing career

Tampa Bay Lightning

Richards with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2007

Richards was drafted in the third round, 64th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, having recorded 82 assists and 115 points in his draft year. During that same draft, the Lightning selected Vincent Lecavalier, Richards' teammate at both the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame and Rimouski, with the first overall pick. During the 2003–04 NHL season, the Lightning would win their first Stanley Cup, with Richards' contributions during the playoffs earning him the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the postseason, which included a record seven game-winning goals, overtaking Joe Sakic's and Joe Nieuwendyk's record of six. He also won the Lady Byng Trophy that season.[3] Later that same year, he won the World Cup of Hockey Championship playing on Team Canada.[4]

On September 26, 2004 the Rimouski Océanic of the QMJHL retired Richards' jersey.[5]

Richards played for Ak Bars Kazan in the Russian Superleague (RSL) during the 2004–05 NHL lock-out on a team with fellow NHLers Ilya Kovalchuk, Alexei Kovalev, Vincent Lecavalier, Michael Nylander, Alexei Zhitnik, Dany Heatley and Nikolai Khabibulin. Richards played for Team Canada at the 2006 Olympics. After the team was eliminated from the 2006 playoffs, the Lightning signed Richards to a five-year, US$39 million contract extension.[6]

Dallas Stars

On February 26, 2008, roughly three hours before the NHL trade deadline, Richards was traded to the Dallas Stars in a blockbuster deal along with goaltender Johan Holmqvist in exchange for goaltender Mike Smith, centre Jeff Halpern, winger Jussi Jokinen and a 2009 fourth-round draft pick. Richards set the Stars' franchise record of most assists in a player's team debut game with five; the record is also a career high for Richards. In the game, Dallas defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 7–4, and Richards was named the first star of the game.[7]

In the 2008 playoffs, Richards tied an NHL record by scoring four points in a single period in a game against the San Jose Sharks.[8]

During the 2008–09 season, Richards tallied 16 goals and 48 points in 55 games before sustaining a broken right wrist following a check from Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jakub Voracek on February 16, 2009. Richards met with a specialist the following day and missed 15 games.[9] Richards returned to the Stars' line-up on March 21, but he then broke his other hand in the third period of Dallas' loss to San Jose. He would not return for the rest of the season, and the Stars missed the playoffs.[10]

In the 2009–10 off-season, the team removed general managers Brett Hull and Les Jackson, who had traded for Richards, and fired Head Coach Dave Tippett, replacing the latter with Marc Crawford. Despite the new regime and the team's woeful finish in the standings for the second-straight season, Richards enjoyed a career year, matching a personal high with 91 points scored, playing mainly alongside Loui Eriksson and roommate James Neal. Richards finished seventh in the NHL points standings that year, just behind former Lightning teammate Martin St. Louis. He also finished fourth in the League in total assists and second in powerplay points. The Stars, however, failed to reach 2010 playoffs. After the season, Richards was named a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy.[11]

New York Rangers

File:Brad Richards Rangers.png
Richards with the New York Rangers in 2011

After becoming an unrestricted free agent, Richards signed a nine-year, $60 million contract with the New York Rangers on July 2, 2011, reuniting him with John Tortorella, his coach from the 2004 Lightning team that won the Stanley Cup, and another member of that 2004 team, Ruslan Fedotenko. He was also approached by the Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning.[12][13]

On October 8, 2011, Richards scored his first goal as a Ranger in a 2–1 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks. The game was played at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden.[14] He would go on to record 25 goals along with 41 assists during his first season with the Rangers, as well as six goals and nine assists in 20 playoff games, as the Rangers were ultimately eliminated from the 2012 playoffs by the New Jersey Devils.

On April 19, 2013, Richards scored his first career NHL hat-trick in a game against the Buffalo Sabres.[15]

On June 20, 2014, the remainder of Richards' contract was bought out by the Rangers to increase salary cap space, rendering him an unrestricted free agent.[16]

Chicago Blackhawks

On July 1, 2014, Richards signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks.[17] He wore number 91 for the Blackhawks, the first player in team history to do so.[18] Richards played in his 1,000th career NHL game on November 17, 2014, against his former team, the Dallas Stars.[19]

The Blackhawks, with Richards, later faced one of his former teams, the Lightning, in the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals, winning the Stanley Cup in six games.

Detroit Red Wings

On July 1, 2015, Richards signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings, worth up to $4 million with playoff bonuses.[20]

Personal life

During the off-season, he goes back to Prince Edward Island, his childhood province.[7] Richards has hosted the Brad Richards PEI Celebrity Golf Classic for the past six years. The event supports two charities:[21] Children’s Wish Foundation, Prince Edward Island Chapter and Autism Society of Prince Edward Island. He is friends with Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean,[22] who spends a lot of time in PEI. During his time with the Rangers, he lived in an apartment in Manhattan.[23]

Richards rented a suite at the St. Pete Times Forum (now called Amalie Arena) for several Tampa Bay Lightning hockey games and invited families dealing with various forms of pediatric cancer to use it. After each game he would go and visit the children who had come to watch the game. It began during the 2002–03 season and ended in 2008. When he was traded to the Dallas Stars, he continued his charity work with the Children’s Medical Center’s Oncology Department, supplying tickets for sick children. He also donates tickets to every home game to men and women in the military.[24]

Richards underwent arthoscopic hip surgery on April 23, 2010, to repair a small labrum tear.[25] In September 2010, he donated $500,000 to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.[26]

Richards and his wife Rechelle have one son Luca, born October 7, 2014.

Awards

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1996–97 Notre Dame Hounds SJHL 63 39 48 87 73 — — — — —
1997–98 Rimouski Océanic QMJHL 68 33 82 115 44 19 8 24 32 2
1998–99 Rimouski Oceanic QMJHL 59 39 92 131 55 11 9 12 21 6
1999–00 Rimouski Oceanic QMJHL 63 71 115 186 69 12 13 24 37 16
2000–01 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 82 21 41 62 14 — — — — —
2001–02 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 82 20 42 62 13 — — — — —
2002–03 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 80 17 57 74 24 11 0 5 5 12
2003–04 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 82 26 53 79 12 23 12 14 26 4
2004–05 Ak Bars Kazan RSL 6 2 5 7 16 — — — — —
2005–06 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 82 23 68 91 32 5 3 5 8 6
2006–07 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 82 25 45 70 23 6 3 5 8 6
2007–08 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 62 18 33 51 15 — — — — —
2007–08 Dallas Stars NHL 12 2 9 11 0 18 3 12 15 8
2008–09 Dallas Stars NHL 56 16 32 48 6 — — — — —
2009–10 Dallas Stars NHL 80 24 67 91 14 — — — — —
2010–11 Dallas Stars NHL 72 28 49 77 24 — — — — —
2011–12 New York Rangers NHL 82 25 41 66 22 20 6 9 15 8
2012–13 New York Rangers NHL 46 11 23 34 14 10 1 0 1 2
2013–14 New York Rangers NHL 82 20 31 51 18 25 5 7 12 4
2014–15 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 76 12 25 37 12 23 3 11 14 8
NHL totals 1058 288 616 904 243 118 33 57 90 50

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2000 Canada WJC 3rd 7 1 1 2 0
2001 Canada WC 5th 7 3 3 6 0
2004 Canada WCH 1st 6 1 3 4 0
2006 Canada Oly 7th 6 2 2 4 6
Junior totals 7 1 1 2 0
Senior totals 19 6 8 14 6

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Foundation
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ [1] Archived May 22, 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Preceded by CHL Player of the Year
2000		 Succeeded by
Simon Gamache
Preceded by Conn Smythe Trophy winner
2004		 Succeeded by
Cam Ward
Preceded by Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner
2004		 Succeeded by
Pavel Datsyuk

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Brad_Richards&oldid=1346187"