Luke Richardson

Luke Richardson (born Luke Glen Richardson on March 26, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach who currently serves as head coach of the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Prior to his coaching career, he played as a defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 21 seasons.

Playing Career
Luke was selected 7th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft after two successful seasons with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL.

Midway through his rookie NHL season, on January 6, 1988, Luke was the victim of an infamous attack from Dino Ciccarelli of the Minnesota North Stars, who clubbed him over the head several times with his stick. Ciccarelli was later convicted of assault, serving one day in jail and paying a fine of $1000 (Canadian).

However, the assault had no discernible effects on the play of Luke; he remained a regular on the Toronto blueline until 1991 when he was involved in a blockbuster trade, moving to the Edmonton Oilers along with Vincent Damphousse, Scott Thornton, Peter Ing, future considerations and cash in exchange for Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson & Craig Berube.

Though not a great point producer, Luke developed a reputation as an aggressive, stay-at-home blueliner. He would be consistent in that regard during stops with the Oilers, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

It was with the Flyers that Luke came the closest to a Stanley Cup appearance in 2000, when the Flyers lost 4–3 in the Eastern Conference Finals to the New Jersey Devils.

During the 2005–06 season (his last as captain of the Blue Jackets), Luke was traded back to Toronto on March 8, 2006.

Luke continued playing in the 2006–07 season when he signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning, playing in 27 games and registering 3 assists and 16 penalty minutes.

He was a healthy scratch by the end of the 2006–07 season and playoffs and became an unrestricted free agent that summer.

On August 7, 2007, Luke signed a one year, $500,000 two-way contract with his hometown Ottawa Senators, amid the speculation that he would soon announce his retirement from the NHL.

On February 15, 2008, Luke was named the Senators nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, though the award eventually went to Jason Blake of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

On September 27, 2008, Luke re-signed with Ottawa to a one year, two-way contract. During the 2008–09 season and being used primarily as a reserve defenceman, he announced his retirement as a player on November 27, 2008, having played in just two games that season, with the intentions of pursuing a coaching career.

Coaching Career
After retiring from playing, Luke was hired as an assistant coach by the Senators later that season.

After three seasons as an assistant coach in Ottawa, he joined the Binghamton Senators, Ottawa's top minor league affiliate as the head coach.

During his rookie season as head coach, Luke led an inexperienced Binghamton team to a 44-24-1-7 record, finishing fourth in the AHL's Eastern Conference.

He was named coach of the AHL Eastern Conference all-star team in 2012-13 after guiding the Senators to the conference's best record at the all-star break.

The Senators' organization subsequently rewarded Luke with a contract extension through the 2014-15 season.

International Play
Representing Team Canada, Luke played for the team in the:


 * 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships
 * 1994 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships
 * 1999 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships

Accolades

 * 1999–2000: Pelle Lindbergh Memorial (Philadelphia Flyers)

Personal Life
On November 13, 2010, Luke's daughter, Daron committed suicide at the Richardson family home in Ottawa, Ontario.

On November 18, 2010, 5,600 mourners attended a celebration of life ceremony for Daron at Scotiabank Place.

Of note, the Philadelphia Flyers (one of Luke's former teams) held a moment of silence for Daron before their game against the Senators on November 15, 2010.

On February 2, 2011, Luke and his family decided to raise awareness of teen suicide and depression in hopes of preventing further tragedies like this from occurring.

Luke, the Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health, the Sens Foundation and the Ottawa Senators announced the creation of a program to inspire conversations about youth mental health called "Do It For Daron" which is to honor her memory while raising money to prevent teenage suicide.

During the 2011–12 Canada women's national ice hockey team season, Luke's daughter, Morgan was a member of the Canadian National Under 18 team that participated in a three game series vs. the USA in August of 2011.