A day after signing head coach Dominique Ducharme to an extension, the Montreal Canadiens are at it again. This time it’s top assistant Luke Richardson, who gets the three-year deal, keeping him in the organization through the 2023-24 season.
Richardson, 52, took over for Ducharme in the playoffs after the head coach tested positive for COVID and impressed many around the league with his calm demeanor. There was some speculation that the former NHL defenseman would be given an opportunity to lead another team, but since all of the vacancies have been filled, it made a lot of sense for him to return to Montreal — if he wasn’t already planning on doing so.
The Canadiens were lauded this postseason for the physical play of their defense corps, using their size to quickly shut down rush opportunities and punish attackers whenever they got close to Carey Price. One might compare it to the way that the 6-3 Richardson played throughout his 1,417 game NHL career, which came with more than 2,000 penalty minutes.
Those 1,400+ games put him among the all-time leaders in the spot, sitting just one spot ahead of Hall of Fame defenseman Al MacInnis. While Richardson certainly never had a chance at the Hall — his career-high of 21 points saw to that — the sheer number of games played commands respect in any room. With four years of head coaching experience in the AHL and now even a taste of it at the NHL level, you can be sure that Richardson’s name will come up over the next few seasons as a top candidate for any vacant jobs.
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