Stéphane Richer


Stéphane Joseph Jean-Jacques Richer is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger.

Playing career

Richer was drafted 29th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 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; Richer scored four goals and one assist in the 16 games in which he participated that playoff season.
Montreal traded Stephane Richer and Tom Chorske to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Kirk Muller and Roland Melanson on September 20, 1991. Richer won the Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995; Richer scored six goals and 15 assists in the 19 games that he played in during that playoff season. The ensuing year after winning the Cup, New Jersey missed the playoffs, and the New Jersey Devils traded Richer to Montreal for Lyle Odelein on August 22, 1996. Montreal traded Richer, Darcy Tucker, and David Wilkie to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Igor Ulanov, Patrick Poulin, and Mick Vukota on January 15, 1998.
Richer also played for the St. Louis Blues, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and a second stint in New Jersey before retiring.
Richer is among the all-time leaders in playoff overtime goals, with four:
Richer scored 50 goals for the Montreal Canadiens in 1987–88 and 51 in 1989–90, joining Guy Lafleur as the only Canadiens players to score 50 or more goals during a season more than once in their career. To this date, Richer is the last player to have scored 50 or more goals during a season for the Montreal Canadiens.

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, 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. 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.

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.

Personal life and mental health struggles

Following his retirement, Richer and his wife Lisa moved to Naples, Florida. He later disclosed that he had been battling clinical depression during the majority of his career. After winning the 1995 Stanley Cup with New Jersey, he attempted to commit suicide while driving his car. On February 8, 2012, Richer appeared along with Darryl Strawberry on a documentary by Michael Landsberg to talk about his past battle with depression.

Records and achievements

  • Youngest Montreal Canadiens player to score 50 goals in a season- 21 years old
  • Youngest Montreal Canadiens player to score 100 goals in his career- 22 years, 205 days
  • One of only two Montreal Canadiens players to have two 50 goal seasons with the team
  • 2x Stanley Cup Champion