The 2024-25 New Jersey Devils season opens in just 45 days (at the time of the writing). On October 4, the Devils take on the Buffalo Sabres in Prague, Czechia. To get ready for the season, we're doing a daily piece countdown of all the numbers of the Devils sweaters and moments in Devils franchise history. Since we are 44 days away, we will focus on one of the key players from the early ‘90s Devils, who won the first Stanley Cup in the 1994-95 season, #44 Stephane Richer.
Stephane Richer, the French Canadien right wing, was drafted in the second round, 29th overall, in the 1984 NHL Draft by the Montreal Canadiens. While Richer would play one game in his rookie campaign in the 1984-85 season after spending most of that season playing in the QMJHL with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, his following season, he made an impact immediately. In Richer’s first entire season in 1985-86, he had 37 points on the top team in the league. In the 1986 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he scored five points in 16 games en route to his first Stanley Cup.
Richer would become one of the main stars in Montreal’s late 80s years, as he would have his best two seasons in 1987-88 as he would score 50 goals in a 78-point season and would beat that in his 1989-90 season with 51 goals in a 91-point season. The following season, in 1990-91, he would become the second highest scorer on the Canadiens that year with 61 points. However, the Canadiens would lose to the Boston Bruins in the 1991 Division Finals.
Then, Serge Savard and Lou Lamoriello made the shocking trade on September 20, 1991, for the 25-year-old right wing while adding 25-year-old left wing Tom Chorske to the deal. In exchange, the Devils gave the Canadiens their star player at the time, Kirk Muller, and goaltender Roland Melanson.
Richer immediately impacted, scoring 64 points in his first Devils season. Richer would have two 70+ point seasons consecutively upon joining the Devils, and the 1993-94 season was his best as a Devil. When the Devils made the 1994 playoffs, Richer scored 12 points in 20 postseason games. He scored two big overtime goals, in Game 4 of the 2nd round against the Bruins and in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs the New York Rangers in double overtime.
After being eliminated in Game 7 against the Rangers, the 1994-1995 shortened season saw Richer score 39 points, the top scorer that season for the Devils. When the Devils made the 1995 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Richer made New Jersey Devils history when he scored 21 points in the 19 games the Devils played, which was the highest at that time, beating out Patrik Sundstrom’s record of 20 points in the 1988 Playoffs.
Unfortunately for Richer, his record would be beaten out by two players; both happened in the same year of the 2001 Playoffs, more on that later. Richer, in those playoffs, scored important goals. For example, in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Flyers in Game 6, he would score the tying goal on the PP to tie the game at one. Richer would also start the scoring in Game 1 of the 1995 Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings and get the empty net goal to seal Game 2 victory. Richer would get his second and last Stanley Cup in a 5-2 Game 4 victory and sweep of the Red Wings.
The following season, in 1995-96, Richer’s numbers dipped, as this was his final season in New Jersey. After this season, he was traded back to the Canadiens for Lyle Odelein. Back in Montreal, Richer would put up 46 points and stay in Montreal for 14 games of the 1997-98 season before being traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, where in three seasons there, he would average 20 points. Richer would play out the final three years of his NHL career with the St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins, before finishing his final ten games of the 2001-02 season with the Devils, scoring 3 points. Richer will always be considered not only a legend to the Devils but to the NHL, as his style of play is something that the league has not had in a long time, and thanks to his efforts, the Devils won their first Stanley Cup.