After 21 years and 1,417 NHL games, the Ottawa native closed out his fine NHL career in 2008 with his hometown Senators.
It may come as news to Chicago Blackhawks fans, who know him only as the current head coach of their hockey team, but Luke Richardson is Ottawa hockey royalty.
That was made official with his induction into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday night. Richardson was inducted alongside Ottawa Senators physician, Dr. Mark Aubry; former NHL 50 goal scorer, Mike Bullard; NHL on TSN host, James Duthie; Team Canada soccer player Lyndon Hooper; the national champion 1974 Ottawa Sooners football club; and the 1999 Memorial Cup champion Ottawa 67’s.
Richardson was born and raised in Ottawa, a standout with the Ottawa West Golden Knights, who retired his number, an event I was pleased to emcee many moons ago. Richardson played two years with the Peterborough Petes before being drafted seventh overall in the 1987 NHL Draft, stepping right into the NHL as an 18-year-old a few months later.
Richardson played for 21 years and 1,417 games in the NHL. Not bad for a guy who never scored more than four goals or finished with more than 21 points in any NHL season. He was the classic rugged, defensively sound, stay-at-home defenceman.
As Richardson's career neared its end, Sens head coach Bryan Murray had been trying for a while to lure the big man to Ottawa. But GM John Muckler just wasn't smitten with the idea. That no longer mattered when Murray replaced Muckler in 2008, and Richardson came home to close out his career with the Senators.
A year after retiring, Richardson began his coaching career with the Sens as an assistant coach, putting in two years under Cory Clouston and one under Paul MacLean.
Richardson then took over as head coach of the Binghamton Senators for four seasons, bounced around some more as an NHL assistant in New York and Montreal, then finally landed his first NHL head coaching job last season, taking over a rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks team.
When he was asked last week on the “Coming in Hot” Podcast whether he should be on the Mount Rushmore for Ottawa-born NHL defencemen, Richardson was his usual humble self:
“Mount Rushmore??? The Gatineau Hills maybe.”