Luke Richardson

Luke Richardson (born 26 March, 1969 in Ottawa, Ontario) is a retired Canadian defenceman who played for 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens.

Playing career
Luke Richardson was selected 7th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. He had come off of two stellar seasons with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL. Halfway through his rookie season, on January 6, 1988 he was the victim of a vicious attack when Dino Ciccarelli of the Minnesota North Stars clubbed him in the head several times with his stick (Ciccarelli was convicted of assault, serving one day in jail and paying a fine of $1000 [Canadian]). However, the assault had no discernible effects on the play of Richardson, who lasted four years in Toronto, until in the summer of 1991, when he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers with Vincent Damphousse, Scott Thornton, Peter Ing, future considerations and cash for Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson and Craig Berube.

Richardson never became a spectacular defenceman, he was just a tough stay-at-home blueliner who was quite aggressive. He would be consistent in that regard, with Edmonton, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Columbus Blue Jackets. He was traded back to Toronto on March 8, 2006, and spent the 2006–07 NHL season with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Richardson didn't rack up that many points in 2006–07, but he still did fairly well in the 27 games he played while getting 3 assists and only 16 penalty minutes. Richardson was a healthy scratch for 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 the Ottawa Senators after most of the hockey world thought he would 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 eventually went to Jason Blake of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The closest he came to a Cup Finals appearance was in 2000, when the Flyers lost 4–3 in the Eastern Conference Finals to the New Jersey Devils. On September 27, 2008, Richardson re-signed with Ottawa to a one year, two-way contract.



Retirement
On November 27, 2008, however, Richardson announced that he would retire from NHL play. He joined the Senators' staff on February 3, 2009 as an assistant. On February 28, 2009, the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs paid tribute to him in a retirement ceremony before their game at Scotiabank Place. He was joined on the ice by his wife, and his children Daron and Morgan, and received gifts from both teams.

Personal


On November 13, 2010, his daughter Daron committed suicide at the Richardson family home in Ottawa, Ontario. On November 18, 2010, 5,600 mourners attended a celebration of life ceremony for Daron at Scotiabank Place. Of note, the Philadelphia Flyers (one of Luke Richardson's former team) held a moment of silence for Daron before their game on November 16. On Thursday, February 17th, 2011, the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association Canada Winter Games team played a group of Team OWHA selects (birth years 1994 and 1995) at the Westwood Arena in Toronto. All players wore a purple heart with the letters “D.I.F.D.” on their left shoulder. Richardson coached the OWHA select team, with his daughter Morgan Richardson playing for the selects.

During the 2011–12 Canada women's national ice hockey team season, his daugther Morgan Richardson was a member of the Canadian National Under 18 team that participated in a three game series vs. the USA in August 2011.

Awards

 * 1999–2000: Pelle Lindbergh Memorial (Philadelphia Flyers)

International play

 * Played for Team Canada in the 1987 World Junior Championships.
 * Played for Team Canada in the 1994 World Championships.
 * Played for Team Canada in the 1999 World Championships.

International Statistics

Trivia
In his youth, Luke played for the Ottawa West Golden Knights Junior B hockey team. Fellow blueliner Dan Boyle also played for the team.