Henri Richard's Health Failing

There have been many reports this weekend about the deteriorating health condition of the Montreal Canadiens' legend Henri Richard as he battles Alzheimer's disease.

The Journal de Montreal reports several former teammates of the 79 year old Henri Richard are worried about him as his condition deteriorates.

Richard is brother of Canadiens legend Maurice Richard but is a legend in his own right. During his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens he scored 1,046 points in 1,256 games played and won 11 Stanley Cups.

Who's Better? Richard vs Howe: Henri Richard Answers

Henri Richard was once asked who was the better hockey player - his brother Rocket Richard, or Gordie Howe. Henri's answer:

"I'm not going to answer that, but I'll tell you one thing. If they were playing in two different rinks across the street from each other, the building Maurice was in would be the one that was full."

Hockey History Photo of the Day: Henri Richard

Hockey History Photo Of The Day: Richard Brothers

Happy Birthday Henri Richard

It is Henri Richard's 19th birthday today!

Well, technically anyway. The 76 year old "Pocket Rocket," you see, is one of eight players in NHL history who were born on the leap day of February 29th!

The others: Cam Ward, Simon Gagne, Dan Daoust, Kari Eloranta, Lyndon Byers, Bobby Sanguinetti and Jim Dobson.

Read the full Henri Richard biography here.

Covered: Maurice Richard with Henri Richard

Lucky Henri

Henri Richard always realized how fortunate he was to be a member of the Montreal Canadiens. But, in one way anyways, playing with his famous brother actually may have hurt him some.

"That 1960 team was the best I ever played on. We had a well balanced team - Plante in goal, Doug Harvey and Tom Johnson on defense, Geoffrion, my brother, Beliveau, Backstrom. We won in eight straight games.

"Geoffrion, Beliveau, and Olmstead were the scoring line. I played on the third line with Moore and my brother. As the center I was looking a little too much for Maurice, too much. Now I am always still looking for someone and that's why they say I don't shoot enough. Maurice was 15 years older than me . . . he never told me anything, never helped me . . . I was just playing with him.

"When I see my name on the Cup, I think of all those great players I had with me. I wouldn't have m name there if I didn't have all those big stars that played with the Canadiens over these years. The first five years I was in the league, we won five Stanley Cups. Obviously, that's not a personal record, it's a team record, a team I was just lucky enough to be on."

Weekend Reading: Henri Richard

Here's a Hockey Illustrated magazine from 1964 with Henri Richard on the cover.

Henri Richard is interestingly portrayed in the new children's book The Rocket by Mike Leonetti. Be sure to check that out courtesy of HockeyBookReviews.com

Brothers: Henri and Rocket Richard. Oh Yeah, Claude, Too!

Maurice Richard and his much younger brother Henri Richard, both Hockey Hall of Famers, may be the best one-two brother punch in hockey history.

But did you know the Rocket and the Pocket Rocket had another hockey playing brother?

Claude Richard, dubbed the Vest Pocket Rocket, is pictured above to the left of his famous brothers. This rare photo of three Richards together on the ice came from training camp in 1959.

Claude was 16 years younger than Maurice, and one year younger than Henri. Claude never cracked the Montreal line up. He was said to be a good scorer in the Hull-Ottawa area where he played senior hockey. But he was too slow of a skater to play NHL hockey in the 1950s.

Stanley Cup Legends: Henri Richard

This is Henri Richard. True, he is carrying the Stanley Cup in an unconventional pose, but when you have won hockey's most famous trophy more times than any other player, you have the right to carry it any way you want to.

"The Pocket Rocket" won the Stanley Cup an amazing 11 times. That is a record that is almost certain to stand forever.

With 11 Stanley Cup championships to cherish, you would think it would be hard to pick one as your favorite. But maybe not for Henri. He was quoted as saying the 1971 championship, his 10th, was his favorite.

"The best - the best of all ten Stanley Cups I've won," he said as he drank champagne out of the Cup in the Montreal dressing room on the night of May 18, 1971.

Then he added, "I hope we forget everything except that we won."

Richard was extremely relieved, and for good reason. For all his victories and great career, he found himself in the middle of a great controversy the spring of 1971, a controversy that threatened to taint his legacy. True to Richard's wish, the Cup victory erased most memories of all that.

Richard was a veteran player on that 1971 Montreal team, and his ice time was not what he was used to. After game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals with Chicago Richard boiled over, calling Montreal coach Al MacNeil "incompetent" and "the worst coach I've ever played for."

That's never good, and in Montreal the issue turned political. MacNeil was an anglophone coach. The separatist politicians and media jumped all over the comments and turned it into a French vs. English debate.

MacNeil received death threats and he and his family were assigned body guards. Meanwhile Richard lamented "I should have kept my mouth shut until the finals were over. There is so much pressure on me and the coach. We have to win."

And win they did, with Richard leading the way. Montreal won the sixth game 4-3. In the decisive game seven it was Richard who scored the Stanley Cup winning goal early in the third period, giving Montreal a 3-2 victory.

MacNeil was replaced after the season by a new coach. His name - Scotty Bowman.

Henri Richard: As Tough As They Come

Though he was comparatively understated in comparison to his brother's legendary temper, do not think Henri Richard was not capable of creating on-ice mayhem that would make his big brother Maurice proud.

Henri's normally long fuse reached it's end in a game against Boston on New Year's Day, 1958. Burden by his brother's dark shadow, Henri had had enough of the Bruins incessant needling.

A 15 minute brawl erupted at the Boston Garden with Richard battling three tough hombres in Fern Flaman, Leo Labine and big Jack Bionda.

Boom Boom Geoffrion, Dickie Moore, Andre Pronovost and Bob Armstrong also headlined the night's fight card.

But it was Henri Richard who most impressed journalist Roger Barry of the Quincy Patriot-Ledger:

"Little Richard proved his toughness by engaging in pitched battles with Bionda, Flaman and Leo Labine, bouncing up like a rubber ball everytime he was knocked down."

Veteran linesman Matt Pavelich recalled the fight nicely, albeit quite exaggeratedly.

"Henri hadn't been in the league very long at the time and the fans and the players used to get on him, saying he was only there because of his brother the Rocket, who was still playing.

"Henri was going along the boards and big Fern Flaman of Boston, one of the toughest players in history was rubbing him. Then Leo Labine, another hard-nosed Bruin, leaped off the bench and took a swing at Henri. The players were giving him a rough time all night. "Well Henri hauled off and hit Labine and split his eyebrow for 8 stitches. That put Labine out. Then Jack Bionda, another big tough defenseman who was also a great lacrosse player came into it. Jack was about 210 pounds and 6'1. A real tough customer."

"Richard hit him and split his nose - twisted it across his face. That put him out. Flaman came after Henri next. Flaman didn't lose too many but he didn't beat Henri. It was a saw-off. To tell the truthI wouldn't have believed it unless I had seen it with my own eyes. The linesman still take about that one."

Bruins vice-president Lynn Patrick was also impressed.

"He must have fought by himself for five minutes. But he didn't back up once. How he did i I don't know but he's one heck of a fighter."

Of course Pocket Rocket was far more noted for his all-around style of play and his timely offensive contributions. While virtually every aspect of his game is unfairly overshadowed by big brother Rocket Richard, little Henri was every bit as competitive.

Happy Birthday Henri Richard

Henri Richard's birthday is today, February 29th! Yes, that's right, he's a leap year baby. The 72 year old is celebrating his 18th birthday today!

Habs Inside/Out is taking online birthday wishes to the Pocket Rocket. Contribute yours as well!

Here's a few more Feb 29th stats:

Other NHLers born on Feb. 29th:

Dan Daoust - 1960
Lyndon Byers - 1964

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 8-2-0 all-time in games played on February 29. Toronto has twice as many wins on Leap Year Day as any other NHL team. The Bruins, Blackhawks, Red Wings and Rangers each have four February 29 wins. The Canadiens are 3-5-1 on Leap Year Day. Montreal’s five losses in February 29 games are the most by any NHL club.

1980 - Hartford's Gordie Howe scored his 800th NHL goal to help the Whalers to a 3-0 win over St. Louis, in the Blues' 1,000th regular season game.

1984 - Pat LaFontaine and Patrick Flatley made their NHL debuts, when the Islanders won 4-3 over the Jets, at Winnipeg. Flatley scored a goal and had an assist in the game.

1988 - New York Rangers held a "Marcel Dionne" night at MSG, and Dionne assisted on the Rangers' first goal on their way to a 5-2 win over St. Louis.

1988 - Former U.S. Olympic team captain Brian Leetch made his NHL debut and picked up an assist for his first NHL point as the Rangers won 5-2 over the Blues, at MSG.

1992 - Ray Bourque scored a goal and two assists to give him 1,000 career points in the Bruins' 5-5 tie against the Caps, at Boston Garden.

NHL to celebrate 1960 Montreal Canadiens

The NHL is going to celebrate its past and look forward to its future during the upcoming Stanley Cup finals.

Dates are still to be confirmed, but the league announced this morning it is planning to honour members of the 1955-60 Montreal Canadiens dynasty that won a record five consecutive Stanley Cups. Henri Richard, who played on 11 Stanley Cup champions, the most of any player, has confirmed his attendance. Others invited include: Jean Beliveau, Tom Johnson, Don Marshall, Dickie Moore and Jean-Guy Talbot.

I hope to have profiles up on every single member of that Stanley Cup team by the day of honoring. Come back often!

In addition, the league will hold an awards ceremony during the final for the winners of three regular-season trophies. The Art Ross Trophy will be presented to scoring champion Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who led the NHL with 120 points. The Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy will be presented to Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who led the League in goals with 52. The William M. Jennings Trophy, which goes to the goaltenders who played in at least 25 games on the team that allowed the fewest goals, will be presented to Niklas Backstrom and Manny Fernandez of the Minnesota Wild, who paced the team to a League-low 191 goals-against.