Mike Richter

Michael Thomas Richter (born September 22, 1966) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played all 14 seasons of his career with the New York Rangers.

Richter played college hockey for Wisconsin for two years before being drafted by the Rangers in the 1985 draft. He made his debut with the team with one start in the 1989 Stanley Cup playoffs and soon became part of a rotation with John Vanbiesbrouck, which would last for three years before Richter became the primary netminder following a trade in 1993. In the season, he led the league in wins with 42 in 68 starts while backstopping the Rangers with four shutouts in the playoffs on their way to the Stanley Cup Final, which they won in seven games for the first championship for the organization in 54 years. He won his 300th game in 2002, becoming the first Ranger to achieve the mark. A series of concussions ultimately saw Richter retire prior to the season. The following year, the Rangers retired his number 35 jersey, making him the third player to receive the honor.

He represented the United States in international play on several occasions, winning the World Cup of Hockey in 1996 and finishing with the silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics. In 2008, alongside teammate Brian Leetch, Richter was enshrined into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.

Early life Richter grew up in Flourtown, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, and idolized Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Bernie Parent. He attended and played for Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, and then Northwood School in Lake Placid, New York, graduating in 1985. He also played at the Wissahickon Skating Club. After playing for the United States in the World Junior Championships in 1985, Richter played for the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1985 to 1987. He was selected as WCHA Freshman of the Year in 1985 and ultimately went 33–25–1 with the team in two seasons; he was later named to the Athletic Hall of Fame.

Playing career The New York Rangers made Richter the 28th overall pick in the 1985 NHL entry draft. He again represented the United States in the 1986 World Junior Championships, as well as the World Championships and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, before making his NHL debut in the 1989 playoffs. Though he lost the one game in which he played, he was soon a regular member of the Rangers, posting 12 wins against five losses in his rookie season as the club's backup goaltender.

Over the next two seasons, Richter split goaltending duties with the Rangers' veteran starter, John Vanbiesbrouck, and was selected to play for the U.S. in the 1991 Canada Cup tournament. In the January 31 game of the season, Richter passed Jacques Plante to set a franchise record in saves for one game with 59 (with 26 of them coming in the third period alone) as the Rangers held on to a 3-3 tie against the Vancouver Canucks. The advent of the expansion draft in 1993 had the Rangers at a crossroads with what to do with their goaltenders, particularly with the possibility of losing a goaltender without compensation. As such, Vanbiesbrouck was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on June 20 for future considerations in a move designed to have the Rangers protect Richter. Richter then had his first campaign as the team's number one goaltender. He posted a career best 42 wins and 2.57 goals against average as the Rangers won the Presidents' Trophy as the league's top regular season team for the second time in three years. He was also named Most Valuable Player of the NHL All-Star Game, which the Rangers hosted at Madison Square Garden. In the playoffs, he ramped up his play, becoming the eighth goaltender to post four shutouts in one playoff season. The Rangers reached the Stanley Cup Final against the Canucks, and Richter earned a career highlight in game four, famously stopping Vancouver sniper Pavel Bure on a penalty shot. The Rangers defeated the Canucks in seven games to win their first Stanley Cup since 1940.

Over the next few years, Richter would be consistently ranked among the world's top goaltenders. He led the United States to victory in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, with his efforts (5–1, 2.89 GAA.923 save percentage) earning him tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Until the 2026 Winter Olympics, Richter was the last goaltender to win a gold medal for the United States in an international tournament. Injuries plagued much of his career, including MCL sprains, ACL sprains, and concussions.

His last appearance in the Stanley Cup playoffs would be 1997, as a series of knee injuries and a string of mediocre Ranger teams saw his personal statistics suffer. Nevertheless, he was selected as the top goalie for Team USA in the 1998 and 2002 Olympics, winning a silver medal in the 2002 Games.

Richter was selected by the Nashville Predators in the 1998 NHL Expansion Draft, but as a UFA chose to eventually return to the Rangers that summer while the team got a compensatory pick.

By the season, Richter had spent the past two summers rehabbing separate injuries to his knees but was still felt in some circles to be among the best American goaltenders when healthy.

On June 30, 2002, Richter's rights were traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for future considerations. At the time, teams that lost more "Group III unrestricted free agents" than they signed could be awarded compensatory picks after the first round as a way to offset the loss. By doing it the way they did, Edmonton collected a compensatory draft pick for losing Richter (which in this case was a third round pick in the 2003 draft) when he signed with the Rangers on July 4 while giving a lower draft pick (a fourth round pick) to New York. On October 28 of the season, he won his 300th game as a goaltender, doing so for the Rangers at home against the Phoenix Coyotes in overtime. He became the 19th goaltender to reach 300 wins in NHL history. In a game on November 5 against the Edmonton Oilers, Richter suffered a concussion on a collision. It occurred just eight months after previously suffering a fractured skull on a puck that struck his mask.

He ultimately would not be cleared to play hockey again and subsequently announced his retirement in September 2003. He finished his career as the Rangers all-time leader in wins (301) and games played (666), marks which would later be surpassed by Henrik Lundqvist.

Richter's style of play was very acrobatic and quick. For a small goalie he made himself look big by using his lightning quick reflexes to make saves. He was rarely out of position and always square to his shooters. He was known for making plenty of desperation saves using his focus, flexibility, and athleticism. Longtime teammate and Hall of Fame Ranger defenseman Brian Leetch once said about Richter: "I have never seen anyone more focused than he was. As the game got tougher, he got better. If a goal was ever scored on him I was always surprised." On February 4, 2004, Richter's number 35 jersey was retired by the New York Rangers in a pregame ceremony at Madison Square Garden, making him the third player to receive the honor in franchise history.

In 2007 and 2009, Richter stated that he would be interested in running for Congress as a Democrat in either Connecticut's 4th congressional district or New York's 20th congressional district special election, 2009.

After retiring from the NHL, Richter enrolled in Yale University, entering through the highly competitive Eli Whitney Students Program, Yale College's admissions program for non-traditional students. He received his degree in Ethics, Politics, and Economics with a concentration in Environmental Policy (EP&E).

He was previously a founding partner at Healthy Planet Partners, a sustainable power finance and consulting group, and Environmental Capital Partners, a $100 million private equity fund focusing on resource efficiency. Richter serves on the board of trustees for the Adirondack Nature Conservancy, and sits as a member of the National Advisory Council for the Sierra Club. He recently began collaborating with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in their effort to bring the best ecological practices to the sports industry. He also launched Athletes for a Healthy Planet, an organization dedicated to fostering an understanding of the connections between environmental issues, human health, economy, social justice, and well-being.

Richter, together with other retired NHL players, played in a UN Environment Programme-sponsored hockey game near the North Pole in April 2019. The idea for the game was conceived by Russian hockey legend Viacheslav Fetisov, and was intended to raise awareness of receding ice in polar regions due to climate change.

Richter has three sons, all of whom grew up playing ice hockey in their hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1982–83 Germantown Academy HS-PA — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1983–84 Tropicana Little Flyers Junior "B" NEJHL 36 23 10 3 2160 94 — 2.61 — — — — — — — — — 1984–85 Northwood School HS-Prep 18 — — — 1374 52 2 2.27 — — — — — — — — — 1985–86 University of Wisconsin WCHA 24 14 9 0 1394 92 0 3.96 .886 — — — — — — — — 1986–87 University of Wisconsin WCHA 36 19 16 1 2136 126 0 3.54 .901 — — — — — — — — 1987–88 United States National Team Intl 29 17 7 2 1559 86 — 3.31 — — — — — — — — — 1987–88 Colorado Rangers IHL 22 16 5 0 1298 68 0 3.14 .902 10 5 3 536 35 0 3.92 — 1988–89 Denver Rangers IHL 57 23 26 0 3031 217 1 4.30 — 4 0 4 210 21 0 6.00 — 1988–89 New York Rangers NHL — — — — — — — — — 1 0 1 58 4 0 4.14 .867 1989–90 New York Rangers NHL 23 12 5 5 1320 66 0 3.00 .904 6 3 2 330 19 0 3.45 .896 1989–90 Flint Spirits IHL 13 7 4 2 782 49 0 3.76 .900 — — — — — — — — 1990–91 New York Rangers NHL 45 21 13 7 2596 135 0 3.12 .903 6 2 4 313 14 1 2.68 .923 1991–92 New York Rangers NHL 41 23 12 2 2298 119 3 3.11 .901 7 4 2 412 24 1 3.50 .894 1992–93 New York Rangers NHL 38 13 19 3 2105 134 1 3.82 .886 — — — — — — — — 1992–93 Binghamton Rangers AHL 5 4 0 1 305 6 0 1.18 .964 — — — — — — — — 1993–94 New York Rangers NHL 68 42 12 6 3710 159 5 2.57 .910 23 16 7 1417 49 4 2.07 .921 1994–95 New York Rangers NHL 35 14 17 2 1993 97 2 2.92 .890 7 2 5 384 23 0 3.59 .878 1995–96 New York Rangers NHL 41 24 13 3 2396 107 3 2.68 .912 11 5 6 662 36 0 3.26 .883 1996–97 New York Rangers NHL 61 33 22 6 3598 161 4 2.68 .917 15 9 6 939 33 3 2.11 .932 1997–98 New York Rangers NHL 72 21 31 15 4143 184 0 2.66 .903 — — — — — — — — 1998–99 New York Rangers NHL 68 27 30 8 3878 170 4 2.63 .910 — — — — — — — — 1999–00 New York Rangers NHL 61 22 31 8 3622 173 0 2.87 .905 — — — — — — — — 2000–01 New York Rangers NHL 45 20 21 3 2635 144 0 3.28 .893 — — — — — — — — 2001–02 New York Rangers NHL 55 24 26 4 3195 157 2 2.95 .906 — — — — — — — — 2002–03 New York Rangers NHL 13 5 6 1 694 34 0 2.94 .897 — — — — — — — — NHL totals 666 301 258 73 38,183 1,840 24 2.89 .904 76 41 33 4,515 202 9 2.68 .909

International Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1985 United States WJC 3 — — — 43 6 0 8.37 — 1986 United States WJC 4 3 1 0 208 9 0 2.60 — 1986 United States WC 1 0 1 0 53 5 0 5.66 — 1987 United States WC 2 0 2 0 80 8 0 6.00 — 1988 United States OLY 4 2 2 0 230 15 0 3.91 .802 1991 United States CC 7 4 3 0 420 22 0 3.14 .904 1993 United States WC 4 1 1 2 237 13 0 3.29 — 1996 United States WCH 6 4 2 0 371 15 0 2.43 .923 1998 United States OLY 4 1 3 0 237 14 0 3.54 .849 2002 United States OLY 4 2 1 1 240 9 1 2.25 .932 Junior totals 7 — — — 251 15 0 3.59 — Senior totals 32 14 15 3 1868 101 1 3.24 —

Awards and honors Award Year All-WCHA Second Team 1986–87

NHL All-Star Game: 1992, 1994, 2000 NHL All-Star Game MVP: 1994 Stanley Cup champion: 1994

Rangers team records Single season wins: 42 (1993–94) Most saves in a game: 59

Legacy Richter was awarded the team MVP award twice and won the Players' Player Award twice. He was awarded the Frank Boucher Trophy four times for most popular player. He also was honored with awards for his contributions in the community and with the media. He was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008 and received the Lester Patrick Award alongside Mark Messier and Jim Devellano the following year. In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, ranked No. 3 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers (and ranked highest of the 74 who were goaltenders) who had played during the team's first 82 seasons. Lastly, he was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.