In Memoriam Henri Richard

In Memoriam (The Pocket Rocket) Henri Richard

In Memoriam Henri Richard the younger brother of NHL legend Maurice Richard was an NHL superstar. Henri played 20 season’s in the NHL from 1955-1975, all with the Montreal Canadians. Henri along with his brother Maurice are both Hockey Hall of Famer’s. He was dubbed “The Pocket Rocket” because of his diminutive stature, being 5 ft 7 in and weighing only 160 lb. Richard is in a class by himself, as he is the only player to ever win 11 Stanley Cups as a player. In 2017 Richard was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players’ in history. Richard played Centre on a line with his brother Maurice and Hall-of-Famer Dickie Moore.

In Game Six of the 1966 Stanley Cup Finals, Henri scored the Cup-clinching goal at the 2:20 mark of the first overtime against the Detroit Red Wings. In 1971 Richard scored not only the tying goal but the Stanley Cup-winning goal in Game 7 against the Chicago Black Hawks. The Pocket Rocket was benched in Game 5 of the 1971 Finals by coach Al MacNeil, for alleging that MacNeil was discriminating against French players on the team. Henri later commented that MacNeil “was the worst coach I ever played for”. Henri would later become the new Captain of the storied Habs after the retirement of the legendary Jean Beliveau. Eventually, MacNeil and Richard reconciled.

Henri Richard finished his impressive NHL career with 1256 Games Played, 358 Goals, 688 Assists for 1046 points. Henri wore the #16 for his entire career, which was retired on December 10, 1975. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of fame in 1979. In 1988 he was ranked #29 on The Hockey News‘ list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. Henri Richard share’s his record of 11 Championship’s with only one other North American professional athlete; Bill Russell of the NBA’s Boston Celtics.

in 2015 it was revealed that Richard had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He passed away on March 6, 2020, at the age of 84, in Laval Quebec.