Richard Joseph Meagher (born November 2, 1953) is a Canadian former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player. Meagher played almost 700 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) with the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

and

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

. He won the

Selke Trophy The Frank J. Selke Trophy, or simply the Selke Trophy, is awarded annually to the National Hockey League forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game. The winner is selected by a poll of the Professional Hockey W ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

with the Blues. he was a scout for the

Playing career

Not drafted by a

(NHL) team, Meagher's playing career began with the

Boston University Terriers The Boston University Terriers are the ten men's and fourteen women's varsity athletic teams representing Boston University in NCAA Division I competition. Boston University's team nickname is the Terriers, and the official mascot is Rhett the ...

. He played four seasons at Boston University, winning numerous awards, including being named to both the First and Second All-Star teams twice. Meagher was named to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

East All-American team three times, and also was placed on the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team. In 1977–78, Meagher was signed by the

as a free agent. He spent the first three years in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) with the

Nova Scotia Voyageurs The Nova Scotia Voyageurs were a professional ice hockey team, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atl ...

. In 1979–80, Meagher played for the first time in the NHL, playing a total of two games for the Canadiens. The following season, Meagher was traded to the

. With Hartford, he recorded 17 points in 27 games, but still played most of the season with their AHL affiliate, the

Binghamton Whalers The Binghamton Whalers were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, playing in Binghamton, New York, USA, at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. History The Whalers were generally a successful team, making the playoffs seven time ...

. The 1981–82 season had Meagher playing full-time in the NHL, recording 24 goals while centering a line with

Don Nachbaur Donald Kenneth Nachbaur (born January 30, 1959) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Hartford Whalers, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers between 1980 ...

and Warren Miller. In 1982–83, Meagher played in only four games with the Whalers before being traded to the

. Meagher played three seasons with New Jersey, until 1984–85, when he was traded to the

. It was in St. Louis that Meagher had his most productive years, playing on a line with star

Bernie Federko Bernard Allan Federko (born May 12, 1956) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre (ice hockey), centre of Ukrainians, Ukrainian ancestry who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League from 1976–77 NHL season, 1976 through ...

. He was a two-way forward and a top penalty killer in the league. In 1989–90, a season in which he was also named

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

of the Blues, Meagher received the

Frank J. Selke Trophy The Frank J. Selke Trophy, or simply the Selke Trophy, is awarded annually to the National Hockey League forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game. The winner is selected by a poll of the Professional Hockey Wr ...

as the league's top defensive forward. After 1990–91, Meagher retired due to injuries.

Awards and honors

* Metro OHA-B Rookie of the Year awards winner in 1972. *

winner in

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meagher, Rick 1953 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey players Canadian ice hockey centres Frank Selke Trophy winners Hartford Whalers players Maine Mariners (AHL) players Montreal Canadiens players New Jersey Devils players Nova Scotia Voyageurs players St. Louis Blues coaches St. Louis Blues players St. Louis Blues scouts Ice hockey people from Belleville, Ontario Undrafted National Hockey League players Canadian ice hockey coaches St. Louis Blues announcers