Former Ranger Mike Richards Now a Stanley Cup Champion
Moments after his Los Angeles Kings claimed the Stanley Cup with a 6-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Monday night, Mike Richards skated over for a post-game interview, despite the fact that he was nearly speechless.
“It’s a little hectic – I’m getting pulled all over the place,” he told the CBC, smiling from ear-to-ear as the celebrations kicked off in Hollywood. “It’s pretty amazing. You never know how it’s going to feel until you actually do it!”
Richards’ championship winning grin is a familiar one for Kitchener Rangers fans. In 2003, the gritty centre helped lead the club to a Memorial Cup title in Quebec City. The Kenora, ON-native was named to the tournament’s All-Star team that year after potting a pair of goals and adding three assists. And nearly a decade later, he remains a fan-favourite in Kitchener: after the Kings’ Game 6 win, Rangers supporters took to social media to offer their congratulations to the club’s former captain, who was also a two-time scoring champion and 2002-03’s Most Valuable Player.
Over the years, the talented forward has built an impressive resume that belies the fact that he is just 27 years old. His trophy case was already crowded; in addition to his Memorial Cup with the Rangers, he has collected two medals (one gold and one silver) playing for Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, a Calder Cup with the AHL’s Philadelphia Phantoms and an Olympic Gold at the 2010 Games in Vancouver.
But Richards had never hoisted hockey’s most hallowed hardware until Monday night. He had come close – two years ago, he captained the Philadelphia Flyers to the Final, but was forced to watch as the Blackhawks celebrated a Game 6 win that sent Lord Stanley’s mug to Chicago. It was a disappointment he never wanted to repeat.
“You’ll do anything you can not to have that feeling again,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
A fresh start on the West Coast was the first step in rewriting his Stanley Cup story. Richards was traded to the Kings during the off-season, where he would reunite with former Flyers teammate Jeff Carter. The club battled to an eighth-place finish in the Western Conference, before blazing through the postseason, taking down the first, second and third-seeded teams and dropping just four games en route to the first championship win in the franchise’s 45-year history.
Rangers fans were treated to great alumni performances from both benches, as Richards squared off against former teammate David Clarkson and Peter DeBoer, General Manager and Head Coach of Kitchener’s 2003 Memorial Cup squad. The Devils’ path to the Final was no less impressive as they pushed past the heavily-favoured Philadelphia Flyers and first-place New York Rangers, just one season removed from missing the playoffs.
But Game Six and the title of Stanley Cup Champions belongs to the Kings. Richards totaled four goals and 11 helpers in the postseason, including two assists in Monday’s deciding win. He also erased the heartache of 2010 as he took the Cup from teammate Justin Williams and lifted it over his head in victory.
From his days in Rangers blue to a win on hockey’s biggest stage, Richards has made Kitchener fans proud. Congratulations to Mike and the Los Angeles Kings, 2012 Stanley Cup Champions.
