Richards equipped for his new job

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. — Like any coach, player or front-office member, Teddy Richards has long aspired to reach the top of his field.

Richards did that over the summer, graduating from assistant equipment manager with the Penguins to

equBiplmaceknthamwankasger with the Florida Panthers.

Jaromir Jagr won’t be the only notable return Tuesday when the Penguins welcome the Panthers to PPG Paints Arena. It will be a special moment for Richards, 33, too.

“I really enjoyed my time in Pittsburgh,” Richards said during a Panthers practice last week. “It wasn’t the easiest decision to leave.

“For me being an assistant, you always want to pursue being a head guy. That’s the ultimate goal, just like any assistant coach or minor league hockey player. They want to make it to the next level. This is my next progression.”

Richards is the youngest head equipment manager in the NHL. The move also represents Richards’ first step outside of the Penguins organization. His father, Tedd, drove the team bus in Wilkes-Barre starting with the American Hockey League team’s inception in 1999.

Teddy Richards started out parking cars, became an assistant equipment manager for the Penguins’ minor league affiliate in 2002 and became the No. 1 equipment guy for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2006. Dana Heinze brought Richards to Pittsburgh in 2013.

“Pittsburgh is a first-class organization across the board,” Richards said. “You use that as the model of how things should be, how people should be treated. Nobody is better than the next person. Everyone has their role. There’s a lot of respect and communication.

“Coming here, with my staff and co-workers, that’s what I’m trying to instill here as well. Attention to detail, Pittsburgh was big on.”

That’s putting it mildly. Heinze has developed a reputation around the NHL for what he does to the visiting dressing room when the Penguins are on the road. Signs and carpets are preva- lent. The team crest is everywhere. Heinze aims to create a familiar environment.

That’s something Richards hopes to do soon in South Florida.

“Dana joked and said everyone has their touch, what they’re going to do,” Richards said. “I don’t know if I’ll go to the extreme level of the signs and pictures. We’ll definitely travel with some identification. It really does make the visiting locker room feel like a home room.”

Funny thing about Richards’ job interview. Probably the moment he nailed it, too. He said the Panthers’ first question was how he would handle working with a superstar like Jagr.

“I said, ‘I do every day; I deal with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury.’ ” Richards said. “That’s not going to be any- thing new with me. They require their time. They have what they need to play and prepare. You just have to give them their time when they need it.”

The Panthers hired Richards four days after the Penguins won the Stanley Cup. He sold his Wilkes-Barre house in June, his Pittsburgh one in July, and Richards moved his family — wife, Sue; and children, Teddy (11) and Ellie (8) — south in August.

“It’s been a very busy summer,” Richards said. “But it’s been good. Obviously, it’s hard to complain about Florida. The heat didn’t bother me in the summer. I’m looking forward to the winters. The family has adjusted pretty well so far.”