Todd Richards (ice hockey)

This article is about the ice hockey player and coach, for the snowboarder, see Todd Richards (snowboarder).

Todd Richards
Born	(1966-10-20) October 20, 1966 Crystal, MN, USA
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb)
Position	Defense
Shot	Right
Played for	Genève-Servette HC (Swiss-B) Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) Las Vegas Thunder (IHL) Springfield Indians (AHL) Hartford Whalers (NHL) Fredericton Canadiens (AHL) Sherbrooke Canadiens (AHL)
NHL Draft	33rd overall, 1985 Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	1989–2002

Todd M. Richards (born October 20, 1966 in Crystal, Minnesota) is an American ice hockey coach and former player. Currently, he is the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League.

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 Finals 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 announced the signing of Todd Richards to a two-year contract, making him the sixth full-time coach in team history.

NHL coaching record

Team	Year	Regular Season						Post Season
		G	W	L	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
MIN	2009-10	82	38	36	8	84	4th in Northwest	Missed Playoffs
MIN	2010-11	82	39	35	8	86	3rd in Northwest	Missed Playoffs
CBJ	2011-12	41	18	21	2	(65)	5th in Central	Missed Playoffs
Total		205	95	92	18

References

External links

• Todd Richards (ice hockey)'s career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Richard's bio at the San Jose Sharks official site

Sporting positions
Preceded by Joe Mullen	Head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 2006–2008	Succeeded by Dan Bylsma
Preceded by Jacques Lemaire	Head coach of the Minnesota Wild 2009–11	Succeeded by Mike Yeo
Preceded by Scott Arniel	Head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets 2012–present	Incumbent