Mike Richter stopped Pavel Bure on a penalty shot in the 1994 Stanley Cup Final and was in goal a week later when the New York Rangers won Game 7 and the Cup. He played every NHL game for the Rangers. After hockey, he went back to school, and the career that followed took him far from the crease while keeping him in New York.
Where is Mike Richter now?
Mike Richter is the president of Brightcore Energy, a company that heats and cools buildings with geothermal systems and also installs solar power and efficient lighting. Brightcore’s own team page lists him as President as of October 2026, and he was introduced as both the firm’s president and a Rangers legend when he appeared on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily in August 2025. The company is based in Armonk, New York, and has an office in Brooklyn.
| Mike Richter: then and now | |
|---|---|
| Known for | 1994 Stanley Cup with the Rangers, 1996 World Cup MVP |
| Position | Goaltender, catches left |
| Born | 22 September 1966, Abington, Pennsylvania |
| Drafted | 1985, second round, 28th overall, New York Rangers |
| NHL career | 14 seasons, 666 games, 301 wins, all with the Rangers |
| Last NHL season | 2002-03, New York Rangers |
| Current role | President of Brightcore Energy, as of October 2026 |
| Employer or business | Brightcore Energy, Armonk, New York |
The core of the business is the ground source heat pump, a closed loop that moves heat between a building and the earth below it. Richter told Renewable Energy World in May 2024 that heating and cooling make up 60 to 80 percent of a building’s energy load, which is why he calls the technology the “real elephant in the room”. Brightcore also works with the New York Power Authority on lighting in schools, police precincts and other city facilities. Columbia University and Stony Brook University both list 2016 as the year he joined.
He did not arrive straight from the rink. His first job after hockey was at a private equity firm in Manhattan that invested in electronic waste recycling and brownfield cleanup. When it failed in the late 2000s downturn, he started a small solar company, Healthy Planet Partners. “If you breathe, you’re an environmentalist,” he told Renewable Energy World.
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Mike Richter in 1994: Game 7 and the Bure penalty shot
Mike Richter’s best season was 1993-94. He won 42 regular season games, a Rangers record, and was named MVP of the All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden. In Game 4 of the Final in Vancouver, he stopped a penalty shot from Pavel Bure, and the Rangers won 4-2 to lead the series 3-1. Vancouver forced a seventh game, and on 14 June 1994 at the Garden the Rangers won 3-2. Richter made 28 saves on 30 shots to help the Rangers win the Stanley Cup.
Two years later, he was named MVP of the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, where the United States beat Canada in the deciding third game. He also played in three Olympics and won silver in 2002. Concussions ended his career, and he announced his retirement in September 2003. The Rangers retired his No. 35 on 4 February 2004.
Mike Richter’s career stats with the Rangers
| Season | GP | W | L | T | SV% | GAA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989-90 | 23 | 12 | 5 | 5 | .904 | 3.00 | 0 |
| 1990-91 | 45 | 21 | 13 | 7 | .903 | 3.12 | 0 |
| 1991-92 | 41 | 23 | 12 | 2 | .901 | 3.11 | 3 |
| 1992-93 | 38 | 13 | 19 | 3 | .886 | 3.82 | 1 |
| 1993-94 | 68 | 42 | 12 | 6 | .910 | 2.57 | 5 |
| 1994-95 | 35 | 14 | 17 | 2 | .890 | 2.92 | 2 |
| 1995-96 | 41 | 24 | 13 | 3 | .912 | 2.68 | 3 |
| 1996-97 | 61 | 33 | 22 | 6 | .917 | 2.69 | 4 |
| 1997-98 | 72 | 21 | 31 | 15 | .903 | 2.66 | 0 |
| 1998-99 | 68 | 27 | 30 | 8 | .910 | 2.63 | 4 |
| 1999-00 | 61 | 22 | 31 | 8 | .905 | 2.87 | 0 |
| 2000-01 | 45 | 20 | 21 | 3 | .893 | 3.28 | 0 |
| 2001-02 | 55 | 24 | 26 | 4 | .906 | 2.95 | 2 |
| 2002-03 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 1 | .897 | 2.94 | 0 |
| Total | 666 | 301 | 258 | 73 | .904 | 2.89 | 24 |
Figures are from Hockey-Reference. His 666 games are a Rangers record, and his 301 wins rank second in franchise history, according to the club.
Mike Richter won 41 playoff games in his NHL career, and 16 of them, 39 percent, came in the single spring of 1994. Add his 42 regular-season wins, and he won 58 NHL games in 1993-94.
From Wisconsin to Yale: where Mike Richter went to college
Mike Richter played two seasons at the University of Wisconsin from 1985 to 1987 and left to play for the United States at the 1988 Olympics. After he retired from the NHL, he went back to school at Yale and earned a degree in ethics, politics, and economics, with a focus on environmental policy. He was a founding partner of Environmental Capital Partners in 2007 and received an Aspen Institute environmental fellowship in 2012.
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Is Mike Richter in the Hall of Fame?
Not in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Mike Richter was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2008 and received the Lester Patrick Award in 2009 for his contributions to hockey in the United States.
The Mike Richter Award and college hockey’s best goalies
The Mike Richter Award has gone to the top goaltender in men’s NCAA Division I hockey every year since 2014. Connor Hellebuyck of UMass Lowell was the first winner, and the winner is announced at the Frozen Four.
For two more goalies whose second acts took them in different directions, read where Arturs Irbe is now and what happened to Vesa Toskala. Every Rangers game and the channels that carry it are in our guide to how to watch the New York Rangers.
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