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Luke Richardson

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This article is about the Canadian hockey coach. For the British powerlifter, see Luke Richardson (strength athlete).
Luke Richardson
MSC
Richardson at the 2013 AHL All-Star Skills Competition
Born (1969-03-26) March 26, 1969 (age 55)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
Edmonton Oilers
Philadelphia Flyers
Columbus Blue Jackets
Tampa Bay Lightning
Ottawa Senators
Current NHL coach Chicago Blackhawks
National team  Canada
NHL draft 7th overall, 1987
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 1987–2008
Coaching career 2009–present
Medal record
Representing  Canada
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1994 Italy
Silver medal – second place 1996 Austria

Luke Glen Richardson MSC (born March 26, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, seventh overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1987 NHL entry draft. Richardson has also played for the Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Ottawa Senators.

Playing career

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Richardson was selected seventh overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1987 NHL entry draft after two successful seasons with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Midway through his rookie NHL season, on January 6, 1988, Richardson was the victim of an infamous attack from Dino Ciccarelli of the Minnesota North Stars, who clubbed him over the head several times with his stick. Ciccarelli was later convicted of assault, serving one day in jail and paying a fine of C$1,000. However, the assault had no discernible effects on the play of Richardson. He remained a regular on the Toronto blueline until 1991 when he was involved in a blockbuster trade, moving to the Edmonton Oilers (along with Vincent Damphousse, Scott Thornton, Peter Ing, future considerations and cash) in exchange for Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson and Craig Berube.

Though not a great point producer, Richardson developed a reputation as an aggressive, stay-at-home blueliner. He would be consistent in that regard during stops with the Oilers, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was with the Flyers that Richardson came the closest to a Stanley Cup appearance in 2000, when the Flyers lost 4–3 in the Eastern Conference Finals to the New Jersey Devils.

During the 2005–06 season, his last as captain of the Blue Jackets, Richardson was traded back to Toronto on March 8, 2006. Richardson continued playing in the 2006–07 season when he signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, playing in 27 games and registering 3 assists and 16 penalty minutes. Richardson was a healthy scratch by the end of the 2006–07 season and playoffs, and became an unrestricted free agent that summer.

On August 7, 2007, Richardson signed a one-year, $500,000 two-way contract with his hometown Ottawa Senators, amid the speculation he would soon announce his retirement from the NHL. On February 15, 2008, Richardson was named the Senators' nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, though the award went to Jason Blake of the Toronto Maple Leafs.[1]

On September 27, 2008, Richardson re-signed with Ottawa to a one-year, two-way contract. During the 2008–09 season and, being used primarily as a reserve defenceman, Richardson announced his retirement as a player on November 27, 2008, having played in just two games that season, with the intention of pursuing a coaching career.[2] He was hired as an assistant coach by the Senators later that season.

Coaching career

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Ottawa Senators

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Richardson began his coaching career during the 2009–10 season behind the bench of the Ottawa Senators, as an assistant coach to head coach Cory Clouston. During the two years under Clouston, the Senators struggled to establish themselves as playoff contenders, enduring setbacks caused by injuries, changes from the Senators' usual defensive strategy to an unsuccessful offensive play style, and communication issues between Clouston and the Senators roster. Clouston was fired by general manager Bryan Murray in Richardson's second year. Richardson then served under new head coach Paul MacLean during the 2011–12 season in his last year as an assistant coach with the team. During his time behind the Senators' bench, the Senators posted a 117–103–26 record over three seasons, making the Stanley Cup playoffs twice but never progressing past the first round, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games, and falling one game short to the New York Rangers.

Binghamton Senators

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After three seasons as an assistant coach in Ottawa, Richardson joined the Binghamton Senators, Ottawa's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate at the time, as head coach. During his rookie season as head coach, Richardson led an inexperienced Binghamton team to a 44–24–1–7 record, finishing fourth in the AHL's Eastern Conference.[3] He was named coach of the AHL Eastern Conference all-star team in 2012–13 after guiding the Senators to the conference's best record at the all-star break.[3] The Senators' organization subsequently rewarded Richardson with a contract extension through the 2014–15 season.[3]

Richardson signed another one-year contract for 2015–16. In so doing, he turned down an assistant position with Ottawa, seeking to stay as head coach of Binghamton, with an end to pursuing a future NHL head coaching opportunity. At the end of the season, after the Ottawa Senators had fired head coach Dave Cameron, Richardson opted to leave the Senators' organization to pursue other opportunities. Richardson had asked to be considered for the Ottawa head coach position but was turned down by new general manager Pierre Dorion.[4]

New York Islanders

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On May 18, 2017, Richardson was hired by the New York Islanders as an assistant coach.[5]

Montreal Canadiens

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On July 7, 2018, Richardson joined the Montreal Canadiens as an assistant coach to Claude Julien.[6] On June 19, 2021, he temporarily served as head coach in game 3 through the remainder of the Stanley Cup Semifinals against the Vegas Golden Knights when interim head coach Dominique Ducharme entered isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.[7] With Ducharme participating virtually, Richardson led the team to win the series and move forward to the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals.[8]

Chicago Blackhawks

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On June 27, 2022, Richardson was named by the Chicago Blackhawks as their 40th head coach in franchise history.[9] Despite a challenging first two seasons as head coach in which the team went a combined 49-102-13, Richardson has been praised for his managerial abilities despite working with a weak roster.[10]

International

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On October 7, 2016, Richardson was named assistant coach for Canada at the Deutschland-Cup.[11] In December 2016, he served as head coach of Canada at the Spengler Cup in Switzerland,[12] leading Canada to its 14th title at the event.[13]

International play

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Before he started his NHL career, Richardson played for Canada national junior team in 1987 and was involved in the infamous Punch-up in Piestany brawl.

Personal life

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Richardson and his wife Stephanie raised two daughters, Daron and Morgan. On November 13, 2010, Daron died by suicide at the family home in Ottawa. Five days later, 5,600 mourners attended a celebration of life ceremony for her at Scotiabank Place.[14] The Philadelphia Flyers, one of Richardson's former teams, held a moment of silence before their game against the Senators on November 15.[15] On February 2, 2011, the Richardsons, the Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health, the Sens Foundation and the Ottawa Senators announced the creation of a program to inspire conversations about youth mental health. Known as "Do it for Daron", the hope was to honour her memory while raising money to prevent teenage suicide.[16] Luke and Stephanie Richardson were decorated with the Meritorious Service Cross for their efforts in 2018.[17][18]

During the 2011–12 Canada women's national ice hockey team season, Richardson's daughter Morgan was a member of the Canadian National Under-18 team that participated in a three-game series against the United States in August 2011.[19]

Richardson is the uncle of Washington Capitals defenceman Jakob Chychrun.[20]

Awards

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Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1985–86 Peterborough Petes OHL 63 6 18 24 57 16 2 1 3 50
1986–87 Peterborough Petes OHL 59 13 42 55 70 12 0 5 5 24
1987–88 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 78 4 6 10 90 2 0 0 0 0
1988–89 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 55 2 7 9 106 — — — — —
1989–90 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 67 4 14 18 122 5 0 0 0 22
1990–91 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 78 1 9 10 238 — — — — —
1991–92 Edmonton Oilers NHL 75 2 19 21 118 16 0 5 5 45
1992–93 Edmonton Oilers NHL 82 3 10 13 142 — — — — —
1993–94 Edmonton Oilers NHL 69 2 6 8 131 — — — — —
1994–95 Edmonton Oilers NHL 46 3 10 13 40 — — — — —
1995–96 Edmonton Oilers NHL 82 2 9 11 108 — — — — —
1996–97 Edmonton Oilers NHL 82 1 11 12 91 12 0 2 2 14
1997–98 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 81 2 3 5 139 5 0 0 0 0
1998–99 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 78 0 6 6 106 — — — — —
1999–2000 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 74 2 5 7 140 18 0 1 1 41
2000–01 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 2 6 8 131 6 0 0 0 4
2001–02 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 72 1 8 9 102 5 0 0 0 4
2002–03 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 82 0 13 13 73 — — — — —
2003–04 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 64 1 5 6 48 — — — — —
2005–06 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 44 1 6 7 30 — — — — —
2005–06 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 21 0 3 3 41 — — — — —
2006–07 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 27 0 3 3 16 — — — — —
2007–08 Ottawa Senators NHL 76 2 7 9 41 — — — — —
2008–09 Ottawa Senators NHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
NHL totals 1,417 35 166 201 2,014 69 0 8 8 130

International

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Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
1987 Canada WJC DQ 6 0 0 0 0
1994 Canada WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 8 0 1 1 6
1996 Canada WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 8 0 0 0 12
Senior totals 16 0 1 1 18

Head coaching record

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Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L OTL Pts Finish W L Win % Result
CHI 2022–23 82 26 49 7 59 8th in Central — — — Missed playoffs
CHI 2023–24 82 23 53 6 52 8th in Central — — — Missed playoffs
Total 164 49 102 13     — — —  

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Richardson named Sen's Masterton nominee". TSN. 2008-02-15. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
  2. ^ "Richardson retires from NHL, eyes coaching role". TSN.ca. Retrieved 2008-11-28.
  3. ^ a b c Baines, Tim (July 18, 2009). "Ottawa Senators re-sign Bingo coach Luke Richardson". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
  4. ^ "Luke Richardson leaves Binghamton Sens bench". CBC News. April 18, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  5. ^ "Islanders Name Richardson Assistant Coach". NHL.com. May 18, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  6. ^ "Luke Richardson joins the Canadiens as assistant coach". canadiens.com. July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  7. ^ Engels, Eric (June 18, 2021). "Further testing confirms positive COVID-19 result for Canadiens' Ducharme". Sportsnet.ca. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  8. ^ "Richardson Set to Hand Habs Coaching Duties Back to Ducharme". The Hockey News. July 2, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
  9. ^ "RELEASE: Luke Richardson Named 40th Head Coach in Blackhawks History". NHL.com. June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  10. ^ Pope, Ben (March 29, 2024). "Evaluating Luke Richardson's first two seasons as Blackhawks coach requires looking beyond the losses". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  11. ^ "Dave King returns to Team Canada as head coach for 2016 Deutschland Cup". www.hockeycanada.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-20.
  12. ^ "Luke Richardson named head coach for 2016 Spengler Cup". www.hockeycanada.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
  13. ^ "14. Triumph für das Team Canada". www.spenglercup.ch. Archived from the original on 2016-12-31. Retrieved 2016-12-31.
  14. ^ "Daron Richardson Obituary - Ottawa, ON | Ottawa Citizen". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  15. ^ "Game file: Senators at Flyers | Senators Extra". Archived from the original on November 17, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
  16. ^ "Daron Richardson honoured at Ottawa school". CBC News. February 8, 2011.
  17. ^ "Mr. Luke Glen Richardson | The Governor General of Canada". Retrieved 2021-06-18.
  18. ^ "Stephanie Ann Richardson | The Governor General of Canada".
  19. ^ "The Official Website Of Hockey Canada". Hockeycanada.ca. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  20. ^ "NHL draft hopeful Chychrun proud of Florida hockey roots". sportsnet.ca. February 11, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2018. Chychrun is also the nephew of former NHL defenceman Luke Richardson,
[edit]
Preceded by Toronto Maple Leafs first round draft pick
1987 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Columbus Blue Jackets captain
2003–2005 		Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Derek King
(interim)
 Head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks
2022–present 		Incumbent
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