Anthony Richard, 27, signed a 2yr/$1.55mil deal with the Philadelphia Flyers on July 2nd, 2024. In the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Richard was a fourth-round selection by the Nashville Predators, making his NHL debut with them in 2018.
He signed his entry-level contract on November 13th, 2015, but his deal slid two seasons. During the entry-level contract slide, Richard began with the Milwaukee Admirals in the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs. The Admirals returned to the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs, and Richard contributed his first professional postseason assist in a season when he was reassigned to the ECHL to gain confidence.
Richard debuted with the Predators, then returned to Milwaukee to lead the team with 47 points (24G, 23A), putting the Admirals back in the hunt for the Calder Cup. In 2019, Nashville recalled Richard for another one-game venture in the NHL before he returned to the AHL. The COVID-19 pandemic shortened the 2019-2020 season and prevented a Calder Cup Playoff. Richard was on top of the AHL.
Technically, Milwaukee earned the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy, leading the AHL in points at the end of the shortened regular season.
Opting out of the 2020-2021 season, Richard temporarily left the Admirals. He joined the Chicago Wolves. In 28GP, Richard offered 18 points (11G, 7A). Joining the Wolves meant Richard, for a season, was not exclusively affiliated with the Predators. The temporary affiliation and relocation changes put Chicago with Nashville and the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Predators signed Richard to his third contract in 2021-2022, a 1yr/$750k extension. Then, Nashville traded him to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Jimmy Huntington. It resulted in another AHL season, totaling 38 points (17G, 21A) in 71GP, finishing with the Syracuse Crunch. Richard had the best Calder Cup Playoff run of his AHL career with the Crunch, providing six points (4G, 2A) in 5GP. Syracuse got swept by the Laval Rocket in the AHL Division Final, 3-0.
After a short spell in the Lightning farm system, the Montréal Canadiens signed Richard in 2022-2023 to an identical contract the Predators offered the season before. For the first time in his AHL career, Richard was an AHL All-Star. In his first season with the Rocket, he exceeded a point-per-game, collecting 67 points (30G, 37A) in 60GP. Richard led Laval to the Calder Cup Playoffs, but they were swept 2-0 by the Utica Comets in the first round.
In Montréal, Richard recorded five points (3G, 2A) in 13GP. He scored his first NHL goal with the Canadiens against the Colorado Avalanche and assumed his first NHL assist against Nashville.
Last season, the Boston Bruins signed Richard to an increase, 1yr/$775k.
Returning to the NHL with three points (1G, 2A) in 9GP, Richard spent most of his season with the Providence Bruins. Again, Richard was a key contributor in the AHL, but the Bruins fell flat in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Providence earned a first-round bye in the Calder Cup Playoffs but lost to the Hartford Wolf Pack, 3-1, in the Division Semifinals.
Daniel Brière signed Richard to the first multi-year contract since Richard signed his entry-level deal with the Predators in 2015. Richard still fills a depth role in the Flyers’ farm system with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. However, he is a veteran AHLer who contributes when recalled. In Montréal and Boston, Richard earned an opportunity to play in the NHL during the regular season for a short stint.
Throughout his NHL appearances, Richard enters the lineup as a winger. On the Phantoms, Richard will compete for ice time with Alexis Gendron and Samu Tuomaala.
