Jacques Richard
Encyclopedia
Jacques A. G. Richard was a professional ice hockey
centre
who played in the National Hockey League
(NHL) for the Atlanta Flames
, Buffalo Sabres
, and Quebec Nordiques
. After an impressive junior career, Richard was considered a potential NHL superstar
, but failed to live up to the promise. Trouble followed him during his career and even into retirement. In 2002, Richard died in a car accident after celebrating his 50th birthday.
, scoring 186 goals and 213 assists for 399 points in only 169 games. Playing with Guy Chouinard
and Andre Savard
he was a significant component of a devastating trio. At the time Richard was considered by some to have equal, if not more, pro potential than teammate Guy Lafleur
.
, with a coin toss
in June 1972 deciding which team would get the first choice in the draft. Concerned that the new WHA
might sign the two top prospects, Billy Harris and Jacques Richard, the two expansion teams held their own "clandestine" coin toss in advance. New York won that toss and chose Harris. This allowed the teams to begin immediate negotiations with the players.
Richard was drafted 2nd overall in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft
. Richard was slated to be the marqee player by the expansion Atlanta Flames. However, he was to have a mostly indifferent pro career. Troubled at times by serious injuries, facial fractures in 1974-75 and a knee injury 1979-80, he also indulged in alcohol, gambling and eventually cocaine.
His rookie year in Atlanta was a disappointment. Richard rarely spoke to anyone that first year, perhaps a clue to problems adapting to the NHL, and he finished the season scoring only 13 goals. Teamed in his second season with Tom Lysiak
his prospects seems brighter as he scored 27 goals. However, his play would eventually prove inadequate and he would begin to find himself shuffled between the NHL and the minors. After three years with Atlanta, he was traded to Buffalo.
Buffalo Sabre General Manager Punch Imlach
in his book "Heaven and Hell in the NHL" recalled his travails dealing with Richard's drinking. On one occasion, Richard was forced to miss a game due to a sprained wrist which had been hurt in a bar fight. On another, he barely missed being shot by a patron in a bar. Imlach describes Richard as "a nice kid, good hockey player" but he was "wasting his talent". Richard spent the next five seasons alternating between the NHL and playing full seasons in the minors. He was finally traded again, this time to Quebec.
Now, in his eighth year as a pro and back in the city of his junior triumphs, the promise shown as a junior appeared to finally be realized. In the 1980–81 season playing on a line with the Stastny brothers Richard tallied 52 goals and 51 assists for 103 points, to finish 10th in the league in points and 7th in goals. However, this was to be the only time he was to show this potential. The next season he was moved off the line with the Stastnys and his mediocre play returned. He retired in 1983.
QMJHL Beliveau Trophy: 1971-72 (points leader)
Named to QMJHL all-time All-Star team by the Canadian Hockey League
in 1999.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
centre
Centre (ice hockey)
The centre in ice hockey is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play is the middle of the ice, away from the side boards. Centres have more flexibility in their positioning and are expected to cover more ice surface than any other player...
who played in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL) for the Atlanta Flames
Atlanta Flames
The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA from 1972 to 1980. The team, a member of the National Hockey League , was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the start of the 1980–81 NHL season and were re-named the Calgary Flames. The NHL returned to the...
, Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...
, and Quebec Nordiques
Quebec Nordiques
The Quebec Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League...
. After an impressive junior career, Richard was considered a potential NHL superstar
Superstar
A superstar is a widely acclaimed celebrity.Superstar or superstars may also refer to:-People:* Warhol Superstar, associates of Andy Warhol* WWE Superstar, the term used to refer to entertainers from the WWE...
, but failed to live up to the promise. Trouble followed him during his career and even into retirement. In 2002, Richard died in a car accident after celebrating his 50th birthday.
Junior career
Richard had a spectacular junior career with the Quebec RempartsQuébec Remparts
There have been two junior ice hockey franchises known as the Quebec Remparts that played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The first franchise played from 1969 to 1985; the current franchise has played since 1997. Both franchises were based out of Quebec City, Quebec...
, scoring 186 goals and 213 assists for 399 points in only 169 games. Playing with Guy Chouinard
Guy Chouinard
Guy Camil "Gramps" Chouinard is a retired professional ice hockey player who played in the 1970s and 80's for the Atlanta Flames, Calgary Flames, and St. Louis Blues...
and Andre Savard
Andre Savard
André Savard is a retired former professional ice hockey center. He and his wife, Marie-France, have two sons, Patrick and Dany.-Playing career:...
he was a significant component of a devastating trio. At the time Richard was considered by some to have equal, if not more, pro potential than teammate Guy Lafleur
Guy Lafleur
Guy Damien "The Flower" / "Le Démon Blond" Lafleur, OC, CQ is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player who is widely regarded as one of the most naturally gifted and popular players ever to play professional ice hockey...
.
Pro career
For the 1972-73 seaon the NHL added two teams, the Atlanta Flames and the New York IslandersNew York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, with a coin toss
Coin flipping
Coin flipping or coin tossing or heads or tails is the practice of throwing a coin in the air to choose between two alternatives, sometimes to resolve a dispute between two parties...
in June 1972 deciding which team would get the first choice in the draft. Concerned that the new WHA
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
might sign the two top prospects, Billy Harris and Jacques Richard, the two expansion teams held their own "clandestine" coin toss in advance. New York won that toss and chose Harris. This allowed the teams to begin immediate negotiations with the players.
Richard was drafted 2nd overall in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft
1972 NHL Amateur Draft
The 1972 NHL Amateur Draft was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Selections by round:Below are listed the selections in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft...
. Richard was slated to be the marqee player by the expansion Atlanta Flames. However, he was to have a mostly indifferent pro career. Troubled at times by serious injuries, facial fractures in 1974-75 and a knee injury 1979-80, he also indulged in alcohol, gambling and eventually cocaine.
His rookie year in Atlanta was a disappointment. Richard rarely spoke to anyone that first year, perhaps a clue to problems adapting to the NHL, and he finished the season scoring only 13 goals. Teamed in his second season with Tom Lysiak
Tom Lysiak
Thomas James Lysiak is a former professional ice hockey player. He was selected as the second overall pick in round 1 of the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft by the Atlanta Flames, and was selected by the Houston Aeros in round 2 of the 1973 WHA Amateur Draft .In each of his last two seasons at Medicine...
his prospects seems brighter as he scored 27 goals. However, his play would eventually prove inadequate and he would begin to find himself shuffled between the NHL and the minors. After three years with Atlanta, he was traded to Buffalo.
Buffalo Sabre General Manager Punch Imlach
Punch Imlach
George "Punch" Imlach , was an NHL coach and general manager. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.-Early career:...
in his book "Heaven and Hell in the NHL" recalled his travails dealing with Richard's drinking. On one occasion, Richard was forced to miss a game due to a sprained wrist which had been hurt in a bar fight. On another, he barely missed being shot by a patron in a bar. Imlach describes Richard as "a nice kid, good hockey player" but he was "wasting his talent". Richard spent the next five seasons alternating between the NHL and playing full seasons in the minors. He was finally traded again, this time to Quebec.
Now, in his eighth year as a pro and back in the city of his junior triumphs, the promise shown as a junior appeared to finally be realized. In the 1980–81 season playing on a line with the Stastny brothers Richard tallied 52 goals and 51 assists for 103 points, to finish 10th in the league in points and 7th in goals. However, this was to be the only time he was to show this potential. The next season he was moved off the line with the Stastnys and his mediocre play returned. He retired in 1983.
Retirement and death
Richard's troubles continued after hockey. In 1989 he was arrested for attempting to smuggle cocaine, with an estimated street value of $1.5 million, into Canada. He was sentenced to seven years in prison. Then, on October 8, 2002, driving home from his 50th birthday party, Richard was killed in a single-vehicle accident when he drove his car into a culvert.Awards and honours
QMJHL All-Star First Team: 1970-71, 1971-72QMJHL Beliveau Trophy: 1971-72 (points leader)
Named to QMJHL all-time All-Star team by the Canadian Hockey League
Canadian Hockey League
The Canadian Hockey League is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canadian-based major junior ice hockey leagues for players 16 to 20 years of age. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three member leagues, the Western Hockey...
in 1999.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1967–68 | Quebec Jr. Aces | QJAHL | 50 | 18 | 18 | 36 | ? | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Quebec Jr. Aces | QJAHL | 50 | 23 | 40 | 63 | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 1969–70 QMJHL season The 1969–70 QMJHL season was the first season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Eleven teams formed the new league, ten from Quebec and one from Ontario... |
Quebec Remparts Québec Remparts There have been two junior ice hockey franchises known as the Quebec Remparts that played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The first franchise played from 1969 to 1985; the current franchise has played since 1997. Both franchises were based out of Quebec City, Quebec... |
QMJHL | 52 | 62 | 64 | 126 | 170 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 30 | ||
| 1970–71 1970–71 QMJHL season The 1970–71 QMJHL season was the second season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Ten teams played 62 games each in the schedule. The league dissolves East and West Divisions. The Frank J... |
Quebec Remparts | QMJHL | 55 | 53 | 60 | 113 | 125 | 14 | 18 | 17 | 35 | 42 | ||
| 1971–72 1971–72 QMJHL season The 1971–72 QMJHL season was the third season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Ten teams played 62 games each in the schedule. The Cornwall Royals finished first place in the regular season, and won the President's Cup, defeating the Quebec Remparts in the finals... |
Quebec Remparts | QMJHL | 61 | 71 | 89 | 160 | 100 | 15 | 11 | 26 | 37 | 23 | ||
| 1972–73 | Atlanta Flames Atlanta Flames The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA from 1972 to 1980. The team, a member of the National Hockey League , was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the start of the 1980–81 NHL season and were re-named the Calgary Flames. The NHL returned to the... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
74 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 78 | 27 | 16 | 43 | 45 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1974–75 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 63 | 17 | 12 | 29 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:... |
NHL | 73 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 31 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | ||
| 1976–77 1976–77 AHL season The 1976–77 AHL season was the 41st season of the American Hockey League. The league lost two teams, and divisions were dissolved. Six teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy is awarded is for first place in the regular season, and the John D. Chick Trophy is not... |
Hershey Bears Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears Hockey Club is a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League, and is currently the top affiliate of the NHL Washington Capitals. The hockey club is based in the unincorporated town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, located within Derry Township some 14 miles east of... |
AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
44 | 20 | 25 | 45 | 42 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1976–77 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 21 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 1977–78 AHL season The 1977–78 AHL season was the 42nd season of the American Hockey League. The season was in jeopardy when the last of the original eight franchises of the "International-American Hockey League", the Rhode Island Reds folded in the offseason, and the AHL was left with five teams... |
Hershey Bears | AHL | 54 | 25 | 23 | 48 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 61 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1979–80 1979–80 AHL season The 1979–80 AHL season was the 44th season of the American Hockey League. Ten teams were scheduled to play 80 games each. The New Haven Nighthawks finished first overall in the regular season... |
Rochester Americans Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and a top affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial... |
AHL | 37 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Quebec Nordiques Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League... |
NHL | 14 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 78 | 52 | 51 | 103 | 39 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 14 | ||
| 1981–82 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 59 | 15 | 26 | 41 | 77 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 1982–83 1982–83 AHL season The 1982–83 AHL season was the 47th season of the American Hockey League. Thirteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Rochester Americans finished first overall in the regular season, and won their fourth Calder Cup championship.-Team changes:... |
Fredericton Express Fredericton Express The Fredericton Express were a professional ice hockey team based in Fredericton, New Brunswick. They played in the American Hockey League between 1981 and 1988. The Express were affiliated with the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League... |
AHL | 19 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 35 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| NHL totals | 556 | 160 | 187 | 347 | 307 | 35 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 34 | ||||