Richardson never scored more than four goals or finished with more than 21 points in a season. But his durability and willingness to sacrifice his body as a stay-at-home defenseman helped him fashion an NHL career that began in 1987-88 and didn't end until he played the last of his 1,417 games on Oct. 24, 2008.
The Toronto Maple Leafs selected Richardson with the No. 7 pick in 1987 NHL Draft after he finished with 45 points (13 goals, 32 assists) in 59 games for Peterborough of the Ontario Hockey League in 1986-87. He stepped right into the NHL as an 18-year-old in 1987-88, with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 78 games.
Richardson never scored more than four goals or finished with more than 21 points in a season. But his durability and willingness to sacrifice his body as a stay-at-home defenseman helped him fashion an NHL career that began in 1987-88 and didn't end until he played the last of his 1,417 games on Oct. 24, 2008.
The Toronto Maple Leafs selected Richardson with the No. 7 pick in 1987 NHL Draft after he finished with 45 points (13 goals, 32 assists) in 59 games for Peterborough of the Ontario Hockey League in 1986-87. He stepped right into the NHL as an 18-year-old in 1987-88, with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 78 games.
Richardson remained a regular on Toronto's defense until he was part of a seven-player trade with the Edmonton Oilers on Sept. 19, 1991. His best offensive season came with the Oilers in 1991-92, when he finished with 21 points (two goals, 19 assists) in 75 games.
After six seasons with Edmonton, Richardson signed with the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent on July 23, 1997. He got closest to a trip to the Stanley Cup Final with the Flyers in 2000, when Philadelphia lost to the New Jersey Devils in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final.
Richardson signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets on July 4, 2002, and was named captain before the 2003-04 season. Columbus traded him back to Toronto on March 8, 2006; he played 21 games with the Maple Leafs, joined the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 2006-07 season and signed with his hometown team, the Ottawa Senators, in the summer of 2007.
After playing two games in 2008-09, the 39-year-old called it a career with 201 points (35 goals, 166 assists) and 2,055 penalty minutes in 1,417 NHL games, as well as eight assists in 69 playoff games.
Following his retirement as a player, Richardson was an NHL assistant with the Senators, New York Islanders and Montreal Canadiens.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- Traded to Edmonton by Toronto with Vincent Damphousse, Peter Ing and Scott Thornton for Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson and Craig Berube, September 19, 1991.
- Signed as a free agent by Philadelphia, July 23, 1997.
- Signed as a free agent by Columbus, July 4, 2002.
- Traded to Toronto by Columbus for Toronto's 5th round pick (Nick Sucharski) in 2006 NHL Draft, March 8, 2006.
- Signed as a free agent by Tampa Bay, July 11, 2006.
- Signed as a free agent by Ottawa, August 8, 2007.
- Officially announced his retirement, November 29, 2008.
