You may not rank Maurice Richard as one of the greatest ever ice hockey players if you compare his career record with many others’. However, any top ten lists for greatest Ice Hockey players would be incomplete without Maurice Richard.

In fact, Richard achieved many achievements during his career which no other player could achieve before him. He played for Montreal Canadiens throughout his career from 1942-1960. Known as “Rocket,” Richard was the first NHL player to reach 50-goal mark in 50 games. In fact, he was the first player to score 50 goals in one season in NHL. No doubt, it happens very often today, but it was a rare feat for NHL players during his time. As a ring winger, he was very good at scoring. In 978 regular season appearance, Richard scored 544 goals, while 82 playoff goals came from his stick in 133 playoff appearances in his career. Maurice Richard was the first NHL player to have scored 500 goals in career.

Maurice Richard scored six overtime winning goals for Montreal Canadiens. In his eight Stanley Cup appearance, he captained Montreal in five. Along with Elmer Lach in the centre and Hector ‘Toe’ Blake in the left-wing, Maurice Richard formed the popular “Punch Line.” He won the Hart Trophy in 1947 as the most valuable player of the regular season. He was included to the first all-star team on eight occasions and to the second all-star team on seven occasions. This great figure of Ice Hockey was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961. Alike Wayne Gretzky, Maurice Richard was also shown honor by waving the three-year waiting period for induction into hall of fame.

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