Career
He is the brother of Canadiens legend and fellow Hockey Hall of Famer Maurice "The Rocket" Richard. Fifteen years younger and three inches shorter, he was given the nickname "The Pocket-Rocket". In 1998, he was ranked number 29 on The Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
The two Richard brothers" style of play was quite different.
While Maurice shot left (left hand lower on the stick), Henri shot right. Maurice played right wing and Henri played centre.
Henri led the league in assists in 1957-1958 and 1962-1963, a feat never matched by Maurice though the latter had led the league in goals five times. Lastly, Henri totaled over 1000 points, a mark never reached by Maurice.
Former teammate and predecessor as team captain Jean Béliveau has 17 titles, but only 10 as a player (the other 7 as an executive).
In 1957-1958, he was named to the First All-Star Team and in 1959 he was named to the Second All-Star Team. In his career, he scored 358 goals and earned 688 assists in 1256 games. His 1256 regular-season games played in a Canadiens uniform are a franchise record.
He was named captain of the Canadiens in 1971 until his retirement in 1975, after his team was eliminated in the playoffs by the Buffalo Sabres.
He always wore the number 16 which was retired December 10, 1975 by the Canadiens in his honour. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979.
In 1998, he was ranked number 29 on The Hockey News" list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. He currently serves as an ambassador for the Canadiens" organization.
lieutenant was announced in 2015 that Richard had been diagnosed with Alzheimer"s disease.