While he would like to walk out of the Bell Centre with a victory on Tuesday night, the first-year head coach still reflects on his time as an assistant coach with the Canadiens and the memories he created there, especially when he was named an interim head coach for six games in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs.
"I enjoyed my four years here, especially obviously my third year when we went to the Stanley Cup Finals," Richardson said. "So, in the four final games of the semifinals we won, which was very exciting and then [coached] the first two games of the finals, it's an exciting time. So, I'm looking forward to going back [where I made] good memories, but I definitely would like to win the game."
Prior to Game 3 of the Semifinal round against the Golden Knights, Canadiens' head coach Dominique Ducharme missed some time behind the bench due to testing positive for COVID-19. From there, Richardson helped lead the team to defeat Vegas in six games and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1993.
As emotions continued to heighten during the playoffs, Richardson felt the pressure and had to be at the top of his game but still felt confident through it all. However, he knew it would be a highly valuable experience that he would learn from and bring it with him to transition into his current role with Chicago.
"I remember the first home game, overtime win against Detroit, was really loud and exciting," Richardson said. "So, I had that experience in a loud and exciting environment in the final, so I thought it helped me get through and we prevailed and [Max] Domi scored the overtime winner. So, I think it gave me a boost confidence coming into that type of atmosphere to succeed and do my job."
With the season passing the halfway mark, it's been challenging for Richardson to continue to stay in touch with his former coaching staff as they try to focus on their respective teams. But the one person he tries to stay in touch with is current Canadiens' head coach, Martin St. Louis.
The two played together for one season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but later crossed paths in 2022 when Montreal named St. Louis as the interim head coach. Although their coaching time together was short, Richardson finds that they both have similar coaching styles where they want to maintain great energy and keep a positive attitude for their teams.
"That's the way I try to be as a coach too, so I think we both appreciate each other," Richardson said. "I was fortunate to work with him for half a year, so look forward to seeing him in Montreal and saying hello, but also just shaking his hand on the losing end."
While coming from a team who advanced to the NHL Playoffs in three of his four years, Richardson tries to use his confidence that he gained with the Canadiens to help the Blackhawks start from the ground up and fight their way from the bottom of the standings.
When he first signed onto the job in Chicago, management told him that they wanted to see players such as Lukas Reichel and Arvid Soderblom develop in Rockford and start a rebuild. Instead of running away from the challenge, his goal is to now help lead Chicago back to their successful ways by using his assisting background to see the growth of younger players.
"So, I kind of know that development side of it and I used to see the difference from players and your team from September to April and what a big difference [that can make]," Richardson said. "So, that's what I'm looking forward to seeing as the improvement of this team."
