Henri Richard

Joseph Henri Richard (February 29, 1936 – March 6, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played centre with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1955 to 1975. He was the brother of Canadiens legend and fellow Hockey Hall of Famer Maurice Richard.

Fifteen years younger and three inches shorter, he was given the nickname "The Pocket Rocket". Henri won 11 Stanley Cups as a player, the most in NHL history. In 2017 Richard was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.

Playing career

The two Richard brothers' style of play was quite different. While Maurice shot left (left hand lower on the stick), Henri shot right. Maurice played right wing and Henri played centre. Henri led the league in assists in 1957–58 and 1962–63, a feat never matched by Maurice though the latter had led the league in goals five times. Lastly, Henri totaled over 1,000 points, a mark never reached by Maurice.

Henri won 11 Stanley Cups as a player, the most in NHL history. Former teammate and predecessor as team captain Jean Béliveau has 17 Stanley Cup titles, but only 10 as a player (the other 7 as an executive). Yvan Cournoyer also has 10 Stanley Cup titles. Only one other athlete in North American professional sports has achieved winning eleven championships in his respective league—Bill Russell of the NBA's Boston Celtics.

In 1957–58, he was named to the First All-Star Team and in 1959 he was named to the Second All-Star Team. In his career, he scored 358 goals and earned 688 assists in 1,256 games. His 1,256 regular-season games played in a Canadiens uniform are a franchise record.

He scored the Stanley Cup clinching goal at the 2:20 mark of the first overtime of Game Six in the 1966 Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings. In the 1971 Stanley Cup Finals, Richard scored the game-tying and Stanley Cup-winning goals in Game Seven against the Chicago Black Hawks.

He was named captain of the Canadiens in 1971 until his retirement in 1975, after his team was eliminated in the playoffs by the Buffalo Sabres. He always wore the number 16, which was retired on December 10, 1975 by the Canadiens in his honour. He 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 would later serve as an ambassador for the Canadiens' organization. In 2015, it was announced that Richard had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. 

He died on March 6, 2020 at the age of 84, in Laval, Quebec.