Twenty years ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning were enjoying their deepest Stanley Cup run at the time. This 2004 story profiled Brad Richards as he imposed his will on the game.
The Tampa Bay Lightning made a notable trade Tuesday in re-acquiring veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh, but in this major story from The Hockey News’ May 18, 2004, edition (Vol. 57, Issue 36), senior writer Mike Brophy wrote about the Bolts’ playoff success – and the impact of star forward Brad Richards.
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When the story was published, the Lightning were in the midst of their deepest Stanley Cup run in franchise history – one that would end with a Cup championship.
Richards was central to the team’s success, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. Richards told Brophy he’d learned a lot from his days winning a Memorial Cup as a member of the best team in major junior hockey.
“In some ways, the Stanley Cup playoffs are similar to the playoffs in junior,” Richards said. “You are playing all the time and you’re in that zone. It’s well-covered. But in junior, you’re ahead of most kids. Every team has two or three standout players. No matter how physical it gets or how many times you play each other, you are still able to put up goals and points.
“Last year I learned it can get so much tighter at times and you have to be prepared to battle through a lot of things that don’t happen in the regular season. You have to be mentally prepared to fight through anything. I thought I was ready last year, but I’d like to get the opportunity to play those games again. It’s all part of learning.”
Richards went on to play 1,126 regular-season NHL games before retiring in 2016. But he thrived because of his tremendous instincts and ability to keep his teammates involved in the play.
“He’s smart,” Lightning forward Cory Stillman said of Richards. “He’s not fast and not big. I think the biggest thing for Brad is, the style of play we play here allows him to have the puck. We force the defensemen, send people in to create a lot of turnovers. When we get in there quickly and surprise people, you get that extra second to make a play and he is good at doing that.”
LIGHTNING STRIKES
Vol. 57, No. 36, May 18, 2004
By Mike Brophy
Brad Richards steadies himself on the tee, looks down the fairway and prepares to send his golf ball rocketing skyward.
That’s not an unusual thing for a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning to be doing this time of year. Golfing, that is.
What makes it remarkably different, though, is while Richards and his Lightning teammates are relaxing on the links, they are still very much in the hunt for the Stanley Cup.
And while the Bolts enjoy a day away from the rink, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers are going through their morning pre-game skate, getting ready for Game 6 in what has been a hard-fought second round playoff series.
The Flyers, as it turns out, battered and bruised, get the honor of playing Richards and the Lightning, well-rested after dusting the Islanders in five games and Montreal in four. Richards had four goals - three of them game-winners - and nine points over the nine games.
“It is the weirdest feeling,” says Richards of his team’s second long layoff in the post-season.
“It doesn’t seem like the season is over, but when you’re not playing games and you’re in the hot weather, you don’t feel like you are completely in the playoff mode. And down here you don’t get the coverage of the playoffs that you do in Canada, so on some levels you don’t feel like you are in the playoffs anymore. You have to keep pinching yourself to remind yourself you’re still in the Stanley Cup playoffs.”
This is something of a redemption year for the 24-year-old Richards. While Tampa made franchise history last year, advancing to the second round for the first time, Richards was not at his best. After finishing third in team scoring with 17 goals and 74 points in 80 games, he managed just five assists in 11 playoff games and was minus-3.
This is a guy who is used to being the man at playoff time. He led the Quebec League in playoff scoring five years ago with 13 goals and 37 points in 12 games, leading Rimouski to the Memorial Cup championship. He was the tournament MVP and the 2000 Canadian major junior player of the year.
After back-to-back 62-point seasons in his first two years of pro with the Lightning, he shot up to 74 last year. But he slumped in the playoffs.
“In some ways, the Stanley Cup playoffs are similar to the playoffs in junior,” Richards says. “You are playing all the time and you’re in that zone. It’s well-covered. But in junior, you’re ahead of most kids. Every team has two or three standout players. No matter how physical it gets or how many times you play each other, you are still able to put up goals and points.
“Last year I learned it can get so much tighter at times and you have to be prepared to battle through a lot of things that don’t happen in the regular season. You have to be mentally prepared to fight through anything. I thought I was ready last year, but I’d like to get the opportunity to play those games again. It’s all part of learning.”
Richards is just one of a number of players the Lightning leans on for production. There is also Martin St-Louis, who led the NHL in scoring this season; Vincent Lecavalier, a gifted sniper who can still take his game higher; veteran Cory Stillman, acquired at the start of the year to bolster the offense; and Fredrik Modin, a hard-shooting winger with a nose for the net.
Still, Richards is determined to be more of a factor this season than he was a year ago.
“I think through last year’s experience and understanding what it really takes to compete in the playoffs, Brad has found a new level this year,” says Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella. “I think Brad struggled a bit (last year), especially in the second round against New Jersey. He found it a little difficult fighting through the checking and understanding what level you need to be at. I think his experience from last year and the opportunity we’ve had this year to play some playoff games, he’s a little bit more determined in all areas of his game and understands what you have to fight through.”
Adds Richards: “I put a lot of pressure on myself this season and the coaches told me they expected me to bring it up another level. All that means is you are being looked upon to be an offensive leader on the hockey club. That’s the kind of role I want to have regardless of how old I am. It’s not a bad thing.
“The coaches basically told me, ’You’ve been through your first playoffs, now it’s time to take a little bit more control.’ You have to find a way to get through the cross-checks and the slashing. You can’t back off.”
Not that Richards needs added motivation with the Stanley Cup within his grasp, but if he ever starts to feel bad about his game or a little sorry for himself, all he needs to do is look up to the private box he purchased at the St. Pete Times Forum, to the special guests he invites to each home game, and suddenly everything is OK again.
When Richards was nine, his seven-year-old cousin, Jamie Reynolds, died of cancer.
“He was my best friend at the time,” Richards says. “We spent a lot of time together, being neighbors. I didn’t really know about cancer at that age, but I knew he was sick. Growing up I had seen lots of players do things like this, bringing sick kids to games, and I always promised myself if I ever made it, I was going to do something for kids with cancer in memory of my cousin.”
Richards’ guests are called Richy’s Rascals and following the majority of home games, except for when the team has to leave quickly for a road game, he makes his way up to the private box to meet with them.
For now, Richards’ main focus is on winning, being his very best and helping the Lightning prove what they accomplished this year was not just done with smoke and mirrors.
Stillman admits he didn’t know a lot about Richards prior to joining Tampa Bay this season, but says he has been impressed by his new teammate.
“He’s smart,” Stillman says. “He’s not fast and not big. I think the biggest thing for Brad is, the style of play we play here allows him to have the puck. We force the defensemen, send people in to create a lot of turnovers. When we get in there quickly and surprise people, you get that extra second to make a play and he is good at doing that.”
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