Nashville, Tenn. (June 24, 2025) – Nashville Predators General Manager Barry Trotz announced today that the team has hired Luke Richardson as an assistant coach. Richardson replaces Todd Richards on Head Coach Andrew Brunette’s staff, joining Assistant Coaches Derek MacKenzie and Darby Hendrickson and Goaltending Coach Ben Vanderklok.
“Luke brings a wealth of NHL experience as both a player and coach to our staff, and we are excited to welcome him and his family to the organization,” Trotz said. “With that experience, we believe he will be a valuable new voice and set of eyes – not just for our defensemen, but for our coaching staff. His strong character, leadership, perspective as a former NHL head coach and ability to connect with both young and veteran players will elevate our team on and off the ice.
“At the same time, I want to thank Todd Richards for his contributions to the Predators over the past five seasons and wish him well in his next endeavor.”
Richardson, 56 (3/26/69), joins the Predators after spending parts of the previous three seasons as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, helping develop players such as Calder Trophy winner Connor Bedard and defensemen Kevin Korchinski and Alex Vlasic. Prior to his tenure in Chicago, the former NHL defenseman served as an assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens (2018-22), New York Islanders (2017-18) and Ottawa Senators (2008-12); he also spent four campaigns as head coach of the AHL’s Binghamton Senators from 2012-16. He helped lead the Canadiens to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, qualified for the postseason twice while serving on the Senators’ bench and was an assistant for Ottawa during Erik Karlsson’s Norris Trophy-winning season in 2011-12.
With the hiring of Richardson, all four of Nashville’s bench coaches played in the NHL, appearing in a combined 3,656 regular-season games.
“When I think of Luke Richardson – aside from being one of the toughest defensemen to play against during my NHL career – I think of leadership, character and work ethic,” Brunette said. “I’m excited to have him join our coaching staff and feel the different perspective he’ll bring to our defensemen, and team in general, will make us better. We’re looking forward to welcoming the former NHL captain and his family to the Predators and getting to work on next season.”
As a player, the 6-foot-3, 214-pound defenseman enjoyed a 1,417-game (the 12th-most among blueliners in NHL history), 21-season career from 1987-09, recording 201 points (35g-166a) with Toronto, Edmonton, Philadelphia, Columbus, Tampa Bay and Ottawa. He added eight points (8a) in 69 career postseason games, skating in a career-high 18 contests with Philadelphia during the 2000 Stanley Cup Playoffs, helping guide the Flyers to the Eastern Conference Final. Internationally, the Ottawa, Ont., native won gold and earned silver with Canada at the 1994 and 1996 World Championships, respectively, and competed in the 1987 World Junior Championship.
Richardson and his wife, Stephanie, have two daughters – Morgan and the late Daron. Morgan played collegiate hockey at the University of Cornell from 2012-16 and was named a finalist for the Hockey Humanitarian Award for her work with “Do It for Daron,” an organization with a focus on youth mental health awareness. Richardson is also the uncle of Washington Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun.
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Source: Predators
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