Nearly ever one of his hockey cards made the point of connecting Henri Richard to his older, and seemingly better, brother Maurice Richard. Yet, when it came to hockey, the two were brothers by name only.
15 years separated the two and their styles were a world apart, as well. The Rocket was known for putting pucks in the net, whereas Henri made sure everyone else on his line did the scoring. Maurice scored 1.29 goals for every time he assisted on a marker. Henri assisted on nearly two goals for every one he scored.
Henri joined the Canadiens right out of junior, just in time to get in on the five straight Stanley Cup championships in the late 1950’s. That turned out to not even be half of the championships he would win over his NHL career. Be the time all was said and done, Richard put his name on the Stanley Cup eleven times, one more than any other player. With a 30+ team league, no other player will ever come close.
Junior Career
Hockey Card Collection
NHL Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Henri Richard – Junior
From 1951-52 to 1954-55, Henri Richard played four years of junior hockey with the Montreal Junior Canadiens. At the time, the Juniors played in the Quebec Junior Hockey League. In the modern day QMJHL, these Junior Canadiens descended into the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
Henri Richard Collection
For the full collection in video form, click the play button to the right. To view the video in a larger version, either click on the title or click play then click the YouTube logo at the bottom of the video.
Over his four years, the impossibly small centre scored 139 and assisted on 154 for 293 points in 193 regular season games. His best year was 1953-54 when he scored 56 and assisted on 53 for 109 points in 54 games. It is said that he weighed just 125 pounds when his junior career started and was a mere 150 pounds when he played his first season in the NHL.
Henri Richard never spent a day in the minors. Right from junior, the Pocket Rocket jumped right to the National Hockey League to play for the Montreal Canadiens in 1955-56.
Henri Richard – NHL
Between 1955-56 and 1974-75, Henri Richard played in 1,259 regular season National Hockey League games, all with the Montreal Canadiens. That number stands as a franchise record for most career games. Over that time, he scored 358 and assisted on 688 for 1,046 points.
In his rookie season, Richard excelled with 19 goals and 21 assists for 40 points over 64 games. He added eight points over ten games in the Stanley Cup playoffs with Montreal taking their first of five straight championships. Yet, it was Glenn Hall of the Detroit Red Wings that took the Calder Trophy honours in 1955-56.
In the playoffs, Henri added 129 goals in 180 games. He helped the Canadiens to eleven Stanley Cup championships. This is the most by any NHL player, one more than both Jean Beliveau and Yvan Cournoyer. He won three more championships that his brother Maurice. In both the 1965-66 and 1970-71 championships, he scored the Cup winning goal.
Known for his speed and soft hands, Richard enjoyed his best offensive numbers in just his third season in the league. In 1957-58, Henri scored 28 and assisted on 52 for 80 points over 67 games. He put in career highs for both assists and points. Henri’s assist total placed him first overall in the NHL. He tied for seventh in goal scoring with Don McKenney of the Boston Bruins and was second in the race for the Art Ross Trophy behind teammate Dickie Moore.
Two years later, in 1959-60, Richard set his career high for goals with 30. That mark tied him for fifth in the NHL with teammate Bernie Geoffrion. He was also fourth with 43 assists and tied for fifth with Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings, each with 73 points.
The following year, Henri placed seventh with 44 assists and finished ninth with 68 points. 1962-63 was his last really outstanding offensively productive season, leading the league with 50 assists and tying Frank Mahovlich of the Toronto Maple Leafs for fourth with 73 points.
Despite his long and distinguished career, Henri Richard was named a First Team All-Star centre just once, in 1957-58. Three times, he took Second Team honours. In 1958-59 and 1960-61, he fell behind teammate Jean Beliveau while in 1962-63 Stan Mikita of the Chicago Blackhawks was selected to the First Team.
Henri Richard was team captain for the Montreal Canadiens from 1971-72 to 1974-75. The Habs retired Richard’s number 16 in 1975. In 1979, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, along with Bobby Orr and Harry Howell.
Henri Richard – Rookie Card
The Henri Richard rookie card appears as number 4 in the 1957-58 Parkhurst NHL hockey card set. His last card was included in the 1974-75 O-Pee-Chee set, despite playing just 16 regular season and six playoff games with the Canadiens that year, his final games in the National Hockey League.
Mostly all of Henri Richard’s hockey cards refer to his being the brother of Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard, even over a decade after his brother had retired and Henri was a very successful veteran in the NHL. Most also mention his nickname, the ‘Pocket Rocket’. At least one card refers to his leap year birthday. Henri was born on February 29, 1936.
Henri Richard Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1955-56 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 64 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 46 |
| 1956-57 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 63 | 18 | 36 | 54 | 71 |
| 1957-58 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 67 | 28 | 52 | 80 | 56 |
| 1958-59 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 63 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 33 |
| 1959-60 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 30 | 43 | 73 | 66 |
| 1960-61 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 24 | 44 | 68 | 91 |
| 1961-62 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 54 | 21 | 29 | 50 | 48 |
| 1962-63 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 67 | 23 | 50 | 73 | 57 |
| 1963-64 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 66 | 14 | 39 | 53 | 73 |
| 1964-65 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 53 | 23 | 29 | 52 | 43 |
| 1965-66 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 62 | 22 | 39 | 61 | 47 |
| 1966-67 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 65 | 21 | 34 | 55 | 28 |
| 1967-68 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 54 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 16 |
| 1968-69 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 64 | 15 | 37 | 52 | 45 |
| 1969-70 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 62 | 16 | 36 | 52 | 61 |
| 1970-71 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 75 | 12 | 37 | 49 | 46 |
| 1971-72 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 78 | 12 | 32 | 44 | 48 |
| 1972-73 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 71 | 8 | 35 | 43 | 21 |
| 1973-74 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 75 | 19 | 36 | 55 | 28 |
| 1974-75 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 16 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 4 |
| NHL Totals | 1259 | 358 | 688 | 1046 | 928 |