Richard Riot

Tensions eased after Richard made a personal plea accepting his punishment and promising to return the following year to help the team win the Stanley Cup.

Teams reportedly sent players onto the ice to purposefully annoy him by yelling ethnic slurs,[2] hooking, slashing, and holding him as much as possible.

[15] Following the suspension, Richard, who had a weekly column in the Samedi-Dimanche newspaper, called President Campbell a "dictator" in print.

In his 1976 biography of Richard, Jean-Marie Pellerin wrote that his humiliation was shared by all Francophone Quebecers, who were sent running once more by the "English boot".

[16] This was reflected in a Montreal newspaper's editorial cartoon (pictured), which portrayed Richard as an unruly schoolboy made to write lines by Campbell, shown as the teacher; the cartoon had a deeper meaning as an example of the societal hierarchy that existed between English and French Canadians.

[20] Referee Frank Udvari signaled a delayed penalty, but allowed play to continue because the Canadiens had possession of the puck.

The linesmen attempted to restrain Richard, who repeatedly broke away from them to continue his attack on Laycoe, eventually breaking a stick over his opponent's body before linesman Cliff Thompson corralled him.

[26] The Laycoe incident was Richard's second altercation with an official that season,[6][20] after having slapped a linesman in the face in Toronto the previous December, for which he was fined $250.

[27] The game's on-ice officials, Richard, Laycoe, Montreal assistant general manager Ken Reardon, Boston general manager Lynn Patrick, Montreal coach Dick Irvin, and NHL referee-in-chief Carl Voss attended the March 16 hearing.

[7] After the hearing, Campbell issued a 1200-word statement to the press: …I have no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that the attack on Laycoe was not only deliberate but persisted in the face of all authority and that the referee acted with proper judgment in awarding a match penalty.

I am also satisfied that Richard did not strike linesman Thompson as a result of a mistake or accident as suggested … Assistance can also be obtained from an incident that occurred less than three months ago in which the pattern of conduct of Richard was almost identical, including his constant resort to the recovery of his stick to pursue his opponent, as well as flouting the authority of and striking officials.

On the previous occasion he was fortunate that teammates and officials were more effective in preventing him from doing injury to anyone and the penalty was more lenient in consequence.

Within minutes of the judgment's dispensation, the NHL head office (then in Montreal) was deluged with hundreds of calls from enraged fans, many of whom made death threats against Campbell.

Detroit Red Wings general manager Jack Adams said that Campbell "could do no less" and "I thought he would be suspended until January 1 of next season."

Red Wings forward Ted Lindsay, whom the league had disciplined earlier the same season for an incident in Toronto in which he attacked a Maple Leafs fan who had been threatening teammate Gordie Howe, expressed the stronger opinion that Richard was lucky not to get a life suspension: "In baseball, football or almost anything else that much would be almost automatic.

"[30] Interest was high in the hockey world; the Detroit Free Press reported its switchboard was swamped with calls.

[32][33] Campbell, who received death threats, stated that he would not back down and announced his intention to attend the Canadiens' next home game against the Red Wings on March 17,[33] despite advice that he not do so.

[36] After the mood turned foul, some members of the crowd began smashing windows and throwing ice chunks at passing streetcars.

[33] Goaltender Jacques Plante later recalled that the game seemed secondary, and players and officials were "casting worried glances at the sullen crowd".

[38] Shortly after the fan attack, a tear gas bomb was set off inside the Forum, not far from Campbell's seat.

[39][42] Montreal Fire Chief Armand Pare mandated that the game be suspended for "the protection of the fans", and the Forum was evacuated.

[38][41][43] Following the evacuation, Campbell took refuge in the Forum clinic, where he met with Canadiens general manager Frank Selke.

The two wrote a note to Adams declaring the Red Wings the winner of the game due to the Forum's ordered closure.

[46][47] The riot continued well into the night, eventually ending at three A.M., and it left Montreal's Saint Catherine Street in shambles.

I will take my punishment and come back next year to help the club and the younger players to win the Cup.

[58] The points from the forfeiture provided Detroit with the margin it needed to win first place overall and be guaranteed home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs.

[66] On the other hand, Benoît Melançon argues that the riot has become part of the "Rocket Richard myth" and has taken on an importance that, in retrospect, is far greater than it actually had when it happened.

"[69]He concludes by suggesting that the riot is now something it was not: "The riot has become the key event in turning Richard from a mere hockey player to a symbol of political resistance (even if Richard himself was publicly apolitical and, according to this book, definitely not for an independent Quebec) … According to this popular narrative, for the first time the people of Quebec stood up for themselves; especially English Canada delights in anachronistically announcing that this was the beginning of the 1960s Quiet Revolution.