Brad Richards

At 44 years old, Brad Richards has this physical status:

Bradley Glenn Richards (born May 2, 1980) is a retired professional ice hockey centre in Canada.

Richards was drafted in the third round, 64th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and spent time with the Lightning, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Detroit Red Wings during his National Hockey League (NHL) career. Richards won the Stanley Cup in 2004 with the Lightning, where he was named the Most Valuable Player during the playoffs.

He won his second Stanley Cup of his career in 2015 with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Personal life

Richards returns to Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island, for the off-season. Richards has been a host of the Brad Richards Preferred Golf Classic for the past six years. The annual fundraiser supports two charities: the Children's Wish Foundation, Prince Edward Island Chapter, and the Autism Society of Prince Edward Island. Ron MacLean, the host of Hockey Night in Canada, is a fan of PEI's, who spends a lot of time in PEI. Richards lived in a Manhattan apartment during his time with the Rangers.

Richards rented a suite at the St. Pete Times Forum (now called the Amalie Arena) for several Tampa Bay Lightning hockey games, as well as invited families living with various forms of pediatric cancer. After each game, he'd go to visit the children who had attended the game. It began during the 2002–03 season and ended in 2008. He continued his charitable work with the Children's Medical Center's Oncology Department, selling tickets for sick children when he was traded to the Dallas Stars. He also gives tickets to every home game to both men and women in the military.

Richards underwent arthroscopic hip surgery on April 23, 2010 to repair a small labrum tear. In September 2010, he donated $500,000 to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown, PEI.

Richards and his partner Rechelle have two children. Richards is both a French and an English speaker.

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Early career

Richards was born and raised in Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island. Since being students at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, a boarding school with a well-known hockey program in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, Richards has been friends with Vincent Lecavalier since they met. They were roommates and quickly became good friends as they were both the youngest players on their hockey team. Since then, they have been teammates for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL) and the Tampa Bay Lightning. After Lightning's decision to draft Richards, Lecavalier was also responsible for advising Lightning management.

Richards won almost every award for a Canadian junior player in the QMJHL, as well as the Telus Cup, which was awarded to the league's best offensive player (CHL), as well as the CHL Player of the Year and Leading Scorer in his last season with Rimouski; he received the Jean Béliveau Trophy for the league's best offensive player (CHL). Richards received both the Guy Lafleur Trophy as MVP of the QMJHL playoffs and the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy as MVP of the 2000 Memorial Cup, as the Océanic took home both the QMJHL playoff title and the CHL Memorial Cup.

Playing career

Richards was drafted in the third round, 64th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1998, scoring 82 assists and 115 points in his draft year. The Lightning selected Vincent Lecavalier, Richards' teammate at both Athol Murray College of Notre Dame and Rimouski, with the first overall pick in the first draft. The Lightning's first Stanley Cup appearance in the 2003–04 season will be won by Richards' contribution during the playoffs, earning him the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the season, beating Joe Sakic's and Joe Nieuwendyk's record of six. He also won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy earlier this year. He won the World Cup of Hockey Championships while representing Team Canada later this year.

The Rimouski Océanic of the QMJHL retired Richards' jersey on September 26, 2004.

During the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Richards played for Ak Bars Kazan, Alexei Kovalev, Vincent Lecavalier, Michael Nylander, Dany Heatley, and Nikolai Khabibulin. Richards appeared for Team Canada in the 2006 Olympics.

Since the Lightning were barred from the 2006 playoffs, the Lightning re-signed Richards to a five-year, US$39 million contract extension.

Richards was traded to the Dallas Stars in a blockbuster trade on February 26, 2008, just three hours before the NHL trade deadline, 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 a new franchise record of most assists in a player's debut game with five, but the milestone is also a career high for Richards. Dallas defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 7–4, and Richards was named the game's first star.

Richards tied for the first time in the NBA by scoring four points in a single period in a game against the San Jose Sharks in the 2008 playoffs.

Richards scored 16 goals and 48 points in 55 games before suffering a fractured right wrist after a check by Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jakub Vorátek on February 16, 2009. Richards consulted with a consultant the next day and missed 15 games. Richards returned to the Stars' lineup on March 21, but he broke his other hand in the third period of Dallas' loss to San Jose. He will not be back for the remainder of the season, and the Stars didn't make the playoffs.

The team's general manager Brett Hull and Les Jackson, who had worked for Richards, and fired head coach Dave Tippett, who had been fired by Richards, was fired, and fired head coach Dave Tippett, who had been fired by Marc Crawford in the 2009–10 offseason, the former's replacing the latter with Marc Crawford. Richards enjoyed a good year despite the new regime's poor results in the second straight season, with 91 points scored, mostly alongside Loui Eriksson and roommate James Neal. Richards finished seventh in the NHL points standings this year, just behind former Lightning teammate Martin St. Louis. He also ranked fourth in total assists and second in powerplay points in the NHL. However, the Stars were unable to qualify for the 2010 playoffs. Richards was selected a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy at the end of the season.

Richards signed a nine-year, $60 million deal with the New York Rangers on July 2, 2011, reuniting him with John Tortorella, his head coach from the 2004 Lightning team that won the Stanley Cup, and Ruslan Fedotenko, another member of the 2004 team. The Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Tampa Bay Lightning had him visit him.

In a 2–1 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks on October 8, 2011, Richards scored his first goal as a Ranger. The game was held at the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm. As the Rangers were ultimately barred from the 2012 playoffs by the New Jersey Devils, he would post 25 goals and 41 assists in his first season with the Rangers, as well as six goals and nine assists in 20 playoff games.

Richards scored his first NHL hat-trick in a game against the Buffalo Sabres on April 19, 2013.

The Rangers bought Martin St. Louis on March 5, 2014, reuniting the two teams, who were previously teammates when the Lightning captured the cup in 2004. Both St. Louis and Richards played significant roles in the Rangers' 2014 Stanley Cup Finals bid, losing in five games to the Los Angeles Kings.

In an attempt to increase salary cap space, the Rangers used a compliance buyout on the remaining seven years of Richards' contract on June 20, 2014. He was made an unrestricted free agent, bringing an end to his brief visit to St. Louis.

Richards signed the Chicago Blackhawks one-year, $2 million deal on July 1, 2014. In his 1,000th game against his former team, the Dallas Stars, he wore number 91 for the Blackhawks, the first player in team history to do so. Richards scored 12 goals with 25 assists in 76 regular season games with the Blackhawks.

In the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals, the Blackhawks, with Richards, met one of his old clubs, the Lightning. Chicago will win in six games for Richards' second Stanley Cup title. In Game 6 at the United Center, Patrick Kane scored late in the game deciding Game 6, bringing the victory.

Richards signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Detroit Red Wings, worth up to $4 million in playoff bonuses. Richards opted for #19 in Detroit for Steve Yzerman and #91 not to be worn by anyone since Sergei Fedorov, making him the 3rd Prince Edward Island native to wear the jersey number with the club since Forbes Kennedy in 1958-60 and Gerard Gallant in 1985-93.

For the 25th straight season, the Red Wings barely made the playoffs. Richards' late-season performances included a game-tying goal against his former Rangers teammates on March 12 with 32 seconds remaining (the Red Wings later won the game 2–1 in overtime), as well as a two-point game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 2. In 68 games, he had 10 goals and 18 assists.

Richards scored one goal as the Red Wings were eliminated in five games by the Lightning in Round 1. Richards was due a $250,000 bonus as a result of his selection in the second round as well.

Richards announced his retirement from professional hockey on July 20, 2016. Richards reflected on his Cup victories: "Winning the Stanley Cups in Tampa Bay and Chicago was the best part of my career, and I will never forget those moments." Nothing compares to spending the night with your team and knowing what you've achieved together."

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