Stéphane Richer

QMJHL teams, as a player

Granby Bisons (1983-84 to 1984-85)
Chicoutimi Saguenéens (1984-85)

A powerful, elegant, and spectacular athlete, but extremely humble, that’s a good portrait of Stéphane Richer. His brief but remarkable stint in the QMJHL has left no one indifferent, especially opposing goaltenders.

In only 124 games, during 2 regular seasons with the Granby Bisons and the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, the centre fooled the goaltenders 100 times with his resounding shot and his clever moves. His junior highlights include 7 games of 3 goals or more and a streak of 27 straight games with at least one point.

Throughout his major junior training period, the 6′ 02, 185-pound colossus collected 196 points, to which we must add his 28 points in 15 playoff games. In 1983-84, he was awarded the Michel-Bergeron trophy as the offensive rookie of the year after a 39-goal, 76-point season.

At the beginning of the 1984-85 season, he traded his #23 for the #44 that he would make famous throughout his career. After winning the gold medal with the Canadian team at the World Junior Championship in 1985, with a personal record of 7 points in 7 games, he was traded from Granby to Chicoutimi; he finished his last junior campaign with 61 goals in 57 games.

At only 18 years of age, after the elimination of the Saguenéens, Richer joined the Sherbrooke Canadiens. The Bleu-Blanc-Rouge prospect shined with his 9 points in as many games, even scoring the winning goal in the last moments of game 6 of the final.

The following season, in 1985-86, manager Serge Savard confirmed that he would become a regular member of the Montreal Canadiens. The second-round draft pick in 1984 had quite a start in the pros, finding the back of the net 21 times in his very first season in the National Hockey League.

It will be the first of 12 consecutive seasons with at least 20 goals. He also managed two 50-goal seasons in the Canadiens uniform during his career, in 1987-88 (50) and 1989-90 (51).

In the 1986 playoffs, the winning momentum of the previous spring continued as Richer and his teammates won the Stanley Cup Final against the Calgary Flames.

Later in his career, in 1995, the pride of Ripon in the Outaouais region would once again experience the joys of a Stanley Cup, this time with the New Jersey Devils. During that spring, in 19 playoff games, he was a key player for the Devils, ranking second in the National Hockey League among scorers with 21 points.

In short, in 1054 regular season games played mainly as a right winger, 72 of his 421 goals were game-winning goals for the Montreal, New Jersey, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Detroit and Pittsburgh teams. And in the playoffs, 25% of his goals (13 of his 53) were game winners for his team.

A true force of nature, he also played other sports, excelling in softball. Golf is also a great passion for him, as he owned the Montpellier Golf Club in his native region until 2016.

In his post-career, Stéphane Richer has been involved in conferences on mental health issues. In 2021, he was awarded the Medal of the Douglas Utting Foundation for his work in raising awareness about mental health issues among the general public.

Stéphane Richer will be inducted as a “Player” into the QMJHL Hall of Fame in June 2023.

Saison régulière / Regular Season
LHJMQ	EQUIPE	PJ	B	A	PTS	PEM
QMJHL	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
1983-84	Granby	67	39	37	76	62
1984-85	Granby	30	30	27	57	31
	Chicoutimi	27	31	32	63	40
	Total Gra-Chi	57	61	59	120	71
TOTAL LHJMQ		124	100	96	196	133
QMJHL TOTAL


Séries éliminatoires / Playoffs
LHJMQ	EQUIPE	PJ	B	A	PTS	PEM
QMJHL	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
1983-84	Granby	3	1	1	2	4
1984-85	Chicoutimi	12	12	14	26	25
TOTAL LHJMQ		15	13	15	28	29
QMJHL TOTAL