Todd Richards

Todd Michael Richards (born October 20, 1966) is an American ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently an assistant coach for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career Richards was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round (33rd overall) of the 1985 NHL entry draft. He played for the University of Minnesota for four seasons.

He began his professional career with the Sherbrooke Canadiens during the 1989–90 AHL season. After being traded early the next season to the Hartford Whalers organization, he helped the Springfield Indians win the 1991 Calder Cup. Richards also made his NHL debut during that season, playing two games and recording four assists for the Whalers. Richards spent two more seasons with the Indians before beginning to play in the IHL, spending two seasons with the Las Vegas Thunder, and six seasons with the Orlando Solar Bears. He ended his playing career in 2002 with the Genève-Servette HC of the National League A in Switzerland.

Coaching career After retiring from playing, Richards spent four seasons as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Admirals. The Admirals advanced to the playoffs each year. In 2004, Milwaukee won the Calder Cup, after sweeping the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in four games.

On August 3, 2006, Richards became the fifth head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. During his first season, he guided Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 51-24-2-4 record and a second-place finish in the AHL’s East Division. The Penguins advanced to the East Division Final before falling to the Hershey Bears.

Richards signed as an assistant coach with the San Jose Sharks of the NHL for the 2008–09 season.

Richards became the second head coach in the history of the Minnesota Wild in June 2009, and the first native of Minnesota to hold the job. After two seasons as head coach and posting a record of 77-71-16, Richards was fired on April 11, 2011. In both seasons, the Wild were in playoff contention most of the season but ended up missing the playoffs.

In June 2011, Richards had been hired by the Columbus Blue Jackets as an assistant coach under head coach Scott Arniel. After a poor first half of the season, Arniel was fired on January 9, 2012, and Richards was named as interim head coach.

On May 14, 2012, the Columbus Blue Jackets signed Richards to a two-year contract, making him the sixth full-time coach in team history. On April 19, 2014, Richards led the Blue Jackets to their first ever Stanley Cup playoff victory, a 4-3 double overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. On April 23, Richards coached the Blue Jackets to their first ever Stanley Cup playoff home victory, winning 4-3 in overtime over the Pittsburgh Penguins. On May 27, the Blue Jackets signed Richards to a two-year contract extension through the 2016-17 season. On October 21, 2015, after starting the season 0–7, the Blue Jackets relieved Richards of his duties as head coach.

On June 7, 2016, the Tampa Bay Lightning hired Richards as an assistant coach. On September 28, 2020, he won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning.

On October 23, 2020, the Nashville Predators hired Richards as an assistant coach under head coach John Hynes.

Personal life Richards is the father of Justin Richards who is under contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Richards' brother, Travis Richards, is a former ice hockey player.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1984–85 Robbinsdale Armstrong High School HS-MN 24 10 23 33 24 — — — — — 1985–86 University of Minnesota WCHA 38 6 23 29 38 — — — — — 1986–87 University of Minnesota WCHA 49 8 43 51 70 — — — — — 1987–88 University of Minnesota WCHA 34 10 30 40 26 — — — — — 1988–89 University of Minnesota WCHA 46 6 32 38 60 — — — — — 1989–90 Sherbrooke Canadiens AHL 71 6 18 24 73 5 1 2 3 6 1990–91 Fredericton Canadiens AHL 3 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 1990–91 Springfield Indians AHL 71 10 41 51 62 14 2 8 10 2 1990–91 Hartford Whalers NHL 2 0 4 4 2 6 0 0 0 2 1991–92 Hartford Whalers NHL 6 0 0 0 2 5 0 3 3 4 1991–92 Springfield Indians AHL 43 6 23 29 33 8 0 3 3 2 1992–93 Springfield Indians AHL 78 13 42 55 53 9 1 5 6 2 1993–94 Las Vegas Thunder IHL 80 11 35 46 122 5 1 4 5 18 1994–95 Las Vegas Thunder IHL 80 12 49 61 130 9 1 2 3 6 1995–96 Orlando Solar Bears IHL 81 19 54 73 59 23 4 9 13 8 1996–97 Orlando Solar Bears IHL 82 9 36 45 134 10 0 1 1 4 1997–98 Orlando Solar Bears IHL 75 6 37 43 68 17 3 8 11 13 1998–99 Orlando Solar Bears IHL 67 11 26 37 61 16 3 7 10 14 1999–00 Orlando Solar Bears IHL 43 7 18 25 26 6 0 5 5 4 2000–01 Orlando Solar Bears IHL 75 9 28 37 60 16 2 11 13 8 2001–02 Genève-Servette HC NLB 34 11 26 37 18 13 3 13 16 10 IHL totals 583 84 283 367 660 102 14 47 61 75 NHL totals 8 0 4 4 4 11 0 3 3 6

NHL coaching record Team Year Regular season PostseasonGamesWonLostOTLPointsFinish Won Lost ResultMIN2009–10823836884 4th in Northwest — — Missed playoffsMIN2010–11823935886 3rd in Northwest — — Missed playoffsCBJ2011–124118212(38) 5th in Central — — Missed playoffsCBJ2012–13482417755 4th in Central — — Missed playoffsCBJ2013–14824332793 4th in Metropolitan 2 4 Lost in First RoundCBJ2014–15824235589 5th in Metropolitan — — Missed playoffsCBJ2015–1670700 (fired) — — —Total 417 204 176 37 2 4

Awards and honors Award Year College All-WCHA Second Team 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89 AHCA West Second-Team All-American 1988–89 All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1989 NHL Stanley Cup champion 2020