Tampa Bay Lightning (2000–2008) in January 2006 Richards was drafted in the third round, 64th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the
1998 NHL entry draft, having recorded 82 assists and 115 points in his draft year. During that same draft, the Lightning selected Vincent Lecavalier, Richards' teammate at both the Athol Murray College of Notre Dame and Rimouski, with the first overall pick. During the
2003–04 NHL season, the Lightning would win their first
Stanley Cup, with Richards' contributions during the playoffs earning him the
Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the postseason, which included a record seven game-winning goals, overtaking
Joe Sakic's and
Joe Nieuwendyk's record of six. He also won the
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy that season. Later that year, he won the
World Cup of Hockey Championship playing on
Team Canada. On September 26, 2004, the Rimouski Océanic of the QMJHL retired Richards' jersey. Richards played for
Ak Bars Kazan in the
Russian Superleague (RSL) during the
2004–05 NHL lockout on a team with fellow NHLers
Ilya Kovalchuk,
Alexei Kovalev, Vincent Lecavalier,
Michael Nylander,
Alexei Zhitnik,
Dany Heatley and
Nikolai Khabibulin. Richards also played for Team Canada at the
2006 Olympics. After the Lightning were eliminated from the
2006 playoffs, the Lightning re-signed Richards to a five-year, US$39 million contract extension.
Dallas Stars (2008–2011) On February 26, 2008, roughly three hours before the
NHL trade deadline, Richards was traded to the
Dallas Stars in a blockbuster deal (along with goaltender
Johan Holmqvist) in exchange for goaltender
Mike Smith, centre
Jeff Halpern, winger
Jussi Jokinen and a
2009 fourth-round draft pick. Richards set the Stars' franchise record of most assists in a player's team debut game with five; the record is also a career high for Richards. In the game, Dallas defeated the
Chicago Blackhawks 7–4, and Richards was named the game's first star. In the
2008 playoffs, Richards tied an NHL record by scoring four points in a single period in a game against the
San Jose Sharks. During the
2008–09 season, Richards tallied 16 goals and 48 points in 55 games before sustaining a broken wrist following a check from
Columbus Blue Jackets forward
Jakub Voráček on February 16, 2009. Richards met with a specialist the following day and missed 15 games. Richards returned to the Stars' line-up on March 21, but he then broke his other hand in the third period of Dallas' loss to San Jose. He would not return for the rest of the season, and the Stars missed the playoffs. In the 2009 off-season, the team removed general managers
Brett Hull and
Les Jackson, who had traded for Richards, and fired head coach
Dave Tippett, replacing the latter with
Marc Crawford. Despite the new regime and the team's woeful finish in the standings for the second-straight season, Richards enjoyed a career year, matching a personal high with 91 points scored, playing mainly alongside
Loui Eriksson and roommate
James Neal. Richards finished seventh in the NHL points standings that year, just behind former Lightning teammate
Martin St. Louis. He also finished fourth in the NHL in total assists and second in powerplay points. However, the Stars failed to reach
2010 playoffs. After the season, Richards was named a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy.
New York Rangers (2011–2014) in October 2011 After becoming an unrestricted free agent, Richards signed a nine-year, $60 million contract with the
New York Rangers on July 2, 2011, reuniting him with
John Tortorella, his head coach from the 2004 Lightning team that won the Stanley Cup, and another member of that 2004 team,
Ruslan Fedotenko. He was also approached by the
Calgary Flames,
Los Angeles Kings,
Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning. On October 8, 2011, Richards scored his first goal as a Ranger in a 2–1 shootout loss to the
Anaheim Ducks. The game was played at the
Ericsson Globe in
Stockholm. He would go on to record 25 goals along with 41 assists during his first season with the Rangers, as well as six goals and nine assists in 20 playoff games, as the top seeded Rangers were ultimately eliminated from the
2012 playoffs by the sixth seeded
New Jersey Devils in the third round in six games. On April 19, 2013, Richards scored his first career NHL
hat-trick in a game against the
Buffalo Sabres. On March 5, 2014, the Rangers acquired Martin St. Louis, reuniting the two, who were previously teammates when the Lightning won the cup in 2004. St. Louis and Richards both played integral roles in the Rangers' run to the
2014 Stanley Cup Final, which they lost in five games to the Los Angeles Kings. On June 20, 2014, the Rangers used a
compliance buyout on the remaining seven years of Richards' contract in an effort to increase salary cap space. This rendered him an unrestricted free agent, and ended the brief reunion between him and St. Louis.
Chicago Blackhawks (2014–2015) On July 1, 2014, Richards signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks. He wore number 91 for the Blackhawks, the first player in team history to do so, as his usual #19 was already being worn by Blackhawks captain
Jonathan Toews Richards played in his 1,000th career NHL game on November 16, 2014, against his former team, the Dallas Stars. In 76 regular season games with the Blackhawks, Richards scored 12 goals with 25 assists for 37 points as he played on the second line with
Bryan Bickell and
Patrick Kane. The Blackhawks, with Richards, later faced one of his former teams, the
Tampa Bay Lightning, in the
2015 Stanley Cup Final. Chicago would prevail in six games, giving Richards his second Stanley Cup title. He assisted on Patrick Kane's late 3rd period goal in the deciding Game 6 at the
United Center, sealing the 4–2 series victory.
Detroit Red Wings (2015–2016) On July 1, 2015, Richards signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the
Detroit Red Wings, worth up to $4 million with playoff bonuses. With Richards' traditional #19 retired for
Steve Yzerman and #91 not having been worn in Detroit by anyone since
Sergei Fedorov, Richards chose to wear #17 with the Red Wings, becoming the 3rd
Prince Edward Island native to wear the jersey number with the club after
Forbes Kennedy in 1958-60, and
Gerard Gallant in 1985-93. The Red Wings narrowly made the playoffs for the 25th consecutive season. Richards' late-season efforts included a game-tying goal against his former Rangers teammates on March 12 with 32 seconds remaining (the Red Wings later won the game 2–1 in overtime), and a two-point game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 2. He'd finish the season with 10 goals and 18 assists in 68 games. In the
2016 playoffs, Richards scored one goal as the Red Wings were eliminated in five games by the Lightning in Round 1. Had the Red Wings advanced, Richards was due a $250,000 bonus with an additional $750,000 available if they had won the second round as well. On July 20, 2016, Richards announced his retirement from professional hockey. In a statement issued by the National Hockey League Players Association, Richards reflected on his Cup wins: "Winning the Stanley Cups in Tampa Bay and Chicago was the best part of my career and I will never forget those moments. Nothing compares to enjoying that night with your team and knowing what you have accomplished together." ==Coaching career==