Another day, another contract for someone behind the bench. On Wednesday, the Canadiens announced that they’ve signed assistant coach Luke Richardson to a three-year deal. His contract was set to expire later this month.
The 52-year-old has spent the last three years in that role with Montreal but was called on to serve as acting head coach partway through the third round against Vegas last month when Dominique Ducharme was diagnosed with a positive COVID-19 test and couldn’t return until the third game of the Stanley Cup Final. Overall, Richardson was calling the shots for six playoff games and may have boosted his stock for head coaching opportunities with other franchises down the road in the process.
With Dominique Ducharme also signed for three more years, there will be some stability behind the bench although the fate of Alex Burrows and Sean Burke remains to be seen. Burrows is a candidate to be Laval’s head coach while Burke, whose family remains in Arizona, may cede the goalie coach role while retaining the Director of Goaltending title.