Stéphane Richer (ice hockey forward)
Stéphane Jean -Jacques Richer ( born June 7, 1966 in Ripon, Quebec ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player ( left wing ), who from 1984 to 2002 for the Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins played in the National Hockey League.
Career
Richer made it in spite of many obstacles in his youth time to get a place in the squad of the Granby Bisons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. NHL Entry Draft 1984, he was selected in the second round as 29 of the Montreal Canadiens. The following season he started in Granby, moved within the league to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens before he played at the Junior World Championships in 1985 for Canada. Then he came to his first in the NHL, but was shortly afterwards sent to the American Hockey League to the Sherbrooke Canadiens.
The 1985/86 season he began in Sherbrooke, but soon he managed in the NHL breakthrough. At the end of this season, he won the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens. The actual breakthrough to stardom he achieved in the 1987/88 season when he scored 50 goals in a season the first player since the Canadiens Guy Lafleur. As much as he was able to inspire the fans with his speed and his goals, so he was always in the criticism. It has often been rumored that he would not give everything. Even minor injuries plagued him in the early 1990s.
For the 1991/92 season he was delivered by Tom Chorske to the New Jersey Devils. In return, the Canadiens Kirk Muller and Roland Melanson received. With his offensive skills, he also played for the Devils a strong role and helped in the 1994/95 season, as the team could win the Stanley Cup for the first time. After another year in New Jersey, he moved to Lyle Odelein back to the Canadiens.
After a year with the Canadiens, he moved to the middle of the season 1997/98 with Darcy Tucker and David Wilkie, who sent, among others, Patrick Poulin to Montreal, to the Tampa Bay Lightning. In Florida, he was unable to repeat his previous performance. Once you no longer built with the Lightning on him, he moved in January 2000 to the St. Louis Blues, the Parent for Richard and Chris McAlpine sent to Tampa.
He signed as a free agent with the Washington Capitals, but decided to end his career before the season starts. For the season 2001 /02 he made his comeback with the Pittsburgh Penguins. There he played his 1,000 NHL game. Shortly before the end of the season he returned to the New Jersey Devils. After ten games in the regular season and three playoff games, he finally ended his active career.