Luke Richardson Autograph Card

After much speculation that he would join the Buffalo Sabres as their new head coach and their subsequent surprise hiring of Dan Byslma, Luke Richardson has decided to keep his old job as head coach of the AHL's Binghamton Senators for another year.

He's the one most responsible for the young players called up by the Ottawa Senators being NHL-ready and having a tremendous immediate impact, including Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone.

Himself a veteran of 1417 regular-season games (201 points, 2055 penalty minutes) and 69 playoff games (8 assists, 130 PIMs), he reached the Stanley Cup Final in 1999-2000 with the Philadelphia Flyers, and this card is a tribute to that achievement:

It's the signed insert (on-card in thin black sharpie) version of card #103 from In The Game's 1998-99 Be A Player set, showing him in the Flyers' white 1980s and 1990s home uniform.

He was tough as nails, but clean. I'm guessing as a coach he's tough and fair. One thing's for sure, he knows how to get to young adults and teach them the foundations of the game, because all of the Sens' young kids come in as effective two-way players who contribute right away.