TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Lightning have hired NHL coaching veteran Todd Richards to serve as assistant coach on Jon Cooper’s staff, vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman announced today.
Richards, 49, brings more than 400 career games of NHL head coaching experience with him to Tampa Bay. He’s compiled a career record of 204-183-37 during seven seasons as a bench boss, including parts of five seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets and two with the Minnesota Wild. Richards most recently served as head coach of the Blue Jackets, registering a record of 127-112-21 over five seasons, including back-to-back 40-win seasons in 2013-14 and 2014-15.