The Montreal Canadiens made another addition to their coaching staff on Monday, announcing the hiring of Luke Richardson as an assistant to head coach Claude Julien.
Richardson comes to the Habs after a stint as an assistant coach with the New York Islanders.
Prior to that, he spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the Ottawa Senators before taking over head coaching duties for their AHL affiliate team, the Binghamton Senators.
Before starting his coaching career, Richardson spent 21 seasons in the NHL as a defenceman for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Senators.
Richardson is the latest addition to a coaching squad that’s undergone a major overhaul after a disappointing season. After the season, the club announced that coaches Jean-Jacques Daigneault and Dan Lacroix would not return. In May, the club began the process of replacing the departed coaches, announcing the hiring of Dominique Ducharme.
The organization also parted ways with the coach of the AHL’s Laval Rocket, Sylvain Lefebvre, hiring Joel Bouchard as his replacement. On Friday, the team announced that Alex Burrows, fresh of retiring from a playing career in the NHL, would join the Rocket as an assistant coach.
