Henri Richard, the great Montreal Canadiens player and captain, died on March 6, 2020. He will be remembered for two things: (1) he was the brother to Maurice Richard, the legendary Canadiens player whose 544 goals are the most scored in Canadiens’ history and (2) for those who truly follow the game, a player who filled a tiny body (was he really as tall as 5-foot-seven inches?) with fury and tenacity and was himself a great team player and leader.
Sadly, for Canadiens fans, the former team captain died on March 6 at age 84 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. As sadly, his funeral was a private service that was held last week in Laval, Quebec, and attended by only family and a few friends. It should have been a larger affair that drew the hockey world together in a tribute to one if its NHL great players.
That said, perhaps a quiet memorial is what Henri would have wanted. When he retired after the 1974-75 season, he had played 20 seasons with the Canadiens and had served as the team’s captain for four seasons after taking over from Jean Béliveau as captain in 1971. His retirement ended a streak of 33 straight seasons in which the team had one of the Richard brothers on their roster.
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At his retirement, a night of tribute was planned, but Henri first balked when a night in his honor was proposed. His reason? “My father worked for 48 years in the Angus Shops. He never missed a day at work in all that time and they never held a night for him.” (from “Montreal Canadiens great Henri Richard won a record 11 Cups,” by Tom Hawthorn, The Globe and Mail, 03/06/20)
Henri only relented and the 1974 celebration proceeded on one condition: all the proceeds would go towards a gymnasium at the St. Arsène Orphanage. More than $100,000 was raised.
Henri Richard’s Career
Henri Richard shares the Canadiens’ record of playing 20 seasons with Jean Beliveau. During those 20 seasons, Henri set the team record for playing in 1,256 regular-season games. In those games, he scored 358 goals and 1,046 points. That point total is third in team history (Guy Lafleur ranks first with 1,246 points, and Beliveau ranks second with 1,219 points.
Even better for the team, Henri wasn’t just a regular-season scorer. He also scored 129 points in 180 playoff games. He’s one of the several reasons the Canadiens were a dynasty for so many seasons.
Although Henri was smaller than big brother Maurice (The Rocket) and Maurice was a much better goal scorer than his younger brother, in many other ways Henri was the better player. He was a face-off circle specialist; he was a faster skater; he was a better stick handler; and, he was better on the defensive side of the ice.
Henri’s Record with the Canadiens
Henri came to the Canadiens at the beginning their five Stanley Cup-winning seasons in a row; and, by the time his twenty-season career was over, he’d played on an amazing 11 Stanley Cup-winning teams. That personal record of 11 Stanley Cups are only two fewer than the Toronto Maple Leafs have won as a team in their entire franchise history and the same number as the Detroit Red Wings have won it that team’s history (these two other teams rank second and third in NHL history behind the Canadiens, who have won 24 Cups).
Henri was selected to the NHL First All-Star Team in 1958 and three times was selected to the Second All-Star Team (1959, 1961, and 1963). He played in 10 NHL All-Star Games. Finally, he only won a single individual award: that was the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance and sportsmanship. He was presented that award the season before he retired.
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In Summary
The Montreal Canadiens retired his No. 16 jersey in a special ceremony at the Montreal Forum in 1975. In his first year of eligibility in 1979, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2017, the NHL named him one of the “100 Greatest NHL Players” as part of the league’s centennial-year celebrations.
Henri Richard was one of the finest players ever to lace up skates for the Montreal Canadiens. Because big-brother Maurice was named “Rocket Richard,” his much younger (nine years) and smaller brother Henri became known as the Pocket Rocket.
While big-brother Maurice was a flashy player and the NHL trophy for goal scoring was named after him, Henri was quiet, determined, and almost always spent his career in the background. Playing with a team of hockey star/celebrities – in a hotbed of hockey support like Montreal – such as Boom Boom (Bernie Geoffrion) and the Roadrunner (Yvan Serge Cournoyer), Henri simply went about his business.
As Henri noted, “I was kind of shy as a kid. I never wanted to say that my brother was Maurice, but everywhere I went – ‘That’s Maurice’s brother.’ But I was hiding. I didn’t want anyone to know, eh. That was my way.”
Congratulations to Henri Richard for a hockey life well-played.
