Henri Richard

Joseph Henri Richard (born February 29, 1936 in Montreal, Quebec, died March 6, 2020 in Laval, Quebec) is a former professional player who played centre with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1955 to 1975. Although 15 years younger, he was the brother of hockey legend Maurice 'The Rocket' Richard and consequently, because he was smaller at 5 ft 7 in and 160 lb (73 kg), he was given the nickname The Pocket-Rocket. His younger brother, Claude, who also played hockey but not with the Canadiens, was given the nickname Vest Pocket Rocket.



Playing Career
He joined the Canadiens in 1955-56 and was with the team as it won five straight Stanley Cups. Henri usually played on a line with his brother and Dickie Moore.

Henri led the league in assists in 1957–58 and 1962–63, a feat never matched by his famous brother.

He was named to the First All Star team in 1958 and he was named to the Second All-Star team in 1959, 1961, and 1963.

Henri won 11 Stanley Cups, which is more than any other player in all of NHL history as a player (teammate Jean Béliveau has 17 Stanley Cup titles, but only 10 of them were earned as a player; the other 7 were as an executive). Only one other athlete in North American professional sports has achieved winning eleven championships in his respective league -Bill Russell of the National Basketball Association Boston Celtics.

Despite all these accomplishments, Henri was mostly overshadowed on the Canadiens by players such as his brother, Jean Beliveau, and Bernie Geoffrion. This was unfair, since Henri was a real leader on the team and was one of the best centres of his time. He scored two Stanley Cup winning goals - in 1966 and 1971.

In his career, he scored 358 goals and earned 688 assists in 1256 games.

He was named captain of the Canadiens in 1971 after Jean Beliveau retired. He always wore the number 16 which was retired December 10, 1975 by the Canadiens in his honour. Henri retired in 1975 and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979. In 1998, he was ranked number 29 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. He currently serves as an ambassador in the Canadiens' organization.

Career Statistics

 * Stanley Cup Champions
 * Stanley Cup Champions

Video
Over ten minutes of silent clips from the 1964-65 season featuring Reg Fleming. The Bruins-Rangers game on December 5, 1964, in which a goal by #12 Wayne Maxner is shown, on #23 Marcel Paille. Next, the Bruins-Black Hawks game on December 10, 1964. Lastly, the Bruins-Canadiens game on December 13, 1964 in which Fleming fights with Henri Richard.