Brett Ritchie

 ( 1993 Births ) 

Following their Calder Cup win, Ritchie returned to the Dallas Stars' training camp and participated in his second NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan. Although the Stars won their game against the Carolina Hurricanes prospects, Ritchie injured his right pinky and was expected to remain out for the remainder of the tournament as a precaution. After spending two weeks in recovery, Ritchie returned to the Stars lineup for their third exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on September 26. On October 1, Ritchie and Jyrki Jokipakka were re-assigned to the AHL to start the 2014–15 season. He began his sophomore season with the Texas Stars going scoreless in his first five games despite ranking second in the AHL with 30 shots on goal. He later missed some games through November and December due to illness and injury. Upon recovering, he scored his second hat-trick with the Stars during their game against the Charlotte Checkers on December 27, 2014. Following this game, he led the team with 11 goals and tied for third on the team with 18 points. As a result of his outstanding play, he was recalled to the NHL level for the first time of the season on December 31. Ritchie subsequently scored the game-winning goal in his NHL debut as the Stars shutout the Arizona Coyotes 6–0 on January 1. He became the first Stars player to score his first NHL goal in his first NHL game since Antoine Roussel in 2013. After scoring in the following game, he also became the first Stars player to score a goal in each of his first two games since Mike Modano in 1989-90. He earned playing time on the Stars' top line with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn as he tallied three goals in his first six NHL games. As Seguin and Benn struggled to produce, head coach Lindy Ruff placed Ritchie on a line with Benn and Cody Eakin. However, this was shortlived as Ritchie suffered an undisclosed injury and was placed on injured reserve prior to the 2015 NHL All-Star Game break. At the time of the injury, Ritchie had tallied four points and a +8 plus/minus rating in eight NHL games. He was eventually re-assigned to the Texas Stars but was recalled on February 5. He went pointless in two more games before being returned to the AHL level. However, as a result of injuries to Seguin, Patrick Eaves, and Ales Hemsky, Ritchie returned to the Dallas Stars on February 14. He was re-assigned to the Texas Stars temporarily just prior to the NHL trade deadline so that he would be eligible for the AHL playoffs. Upon returning to the Dallas Stars, Ruff put Ritchie on a line with Shawn Horcoff and Curtis McKenzie, although both Ritchie and McKenzie were re-assigned to the Texas Stars on March 31. He helped the Texas Stars qualify for the 2015 Calder Cup playoffs and tied for the team lead in scoring before they were eliminated by the Rockford IceHogs.

Ritchie underwent surgery to repair a ligament in his wrist during the 2015 offseason and was expected to recover within three to four months. Upon returning to the ice, he began the 2015–16 season in the AHL with the Texas Stars. He accumulated 14 goals and 28 points through 35 games before making his NHL season debut on March 4, 2016. Despite playing on the Stars' top line in his season debut, he quickly became a healthy scratch for numerous games. He later suffered another upper-body injury and missed eight games to recover. He was eventually re-assigned to the AHL but returned to the Dallas Stars' lineup after the Texas Stars were eliminated from the 2016 Calder Cup playoffs. In his NHL postseason debut, Ritchie played an average of 6:36 through 11 shifts during the Stars' Game 4 win over the St. Louis Blues.

After a healthy preseason, Ritchie started the 2016–17 season on the Dallas Stars' roster. In his first full season with the Dallas Stars, he ranked fourth on the team with 16 goals and shared eighth on the club with two game-winning goals. He began the season accumulating two goals and an assist as the lineup suffered numerous injuries. During a 5-2 win over Predators on December 8, Ritchie set a new career high for goals in a season by tallying his seventh in the first period. He would later experience a 13 game goal slump which he broke in a 6–4 win over the Los Angeles Kings on January 9. Following a season-ending injury to Roussel in March, Ritchie was expected to gain a larger role on the ice and accept more responsibilities. He earned time on the Stars' second power play unit alongside forwards Jason Spezza and Devin Shore. At the conclusion of the season, the Stars extended a qualifying offer to Ritchie to retain his negotiating rights. He eventually signed a two-year, $3.5-million contract extension to remain with the team on July 6, 2017.

Ritchie began the 2017–18 season registering two points in 12 games and ranked second on the Stars with 33 hits. He was later placed on injured reserve following an injury on October 30. Ritchie returned to the Stars' lineup on November 10 after missing three games.

In the following 2022–23 season, Ritchie added six goals through 34 regular season games before he was dealt at the NHL trade deadline along with Connor Mackey to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for his younger brother Nick Ritchie and Troy Stecher on March 3, 2023. The trade marked the first time in NHL history that brothers had been traded for each other, but the second time overall in North American professional sports, following a 2008 National Basketball Association (NBA) trade that saw Pau Gasol and Marc Gasol traded for each other.

On September 25, 2024, he signed a one-year contract with HK Nitra in the Slovak Extraliga. After recording 24 points in 28 games, which included two games against brother Nick Ritchie playing for HC Nové Zámky, Ritchie was released from his contract so he could sign with the Schwenninger Wild Wings in Germany. According to Nitra club president Miroslav Kováčik, the reason for his release was that Slovak league officiating did not allow Ritchie or other skilled players to fulfill their offensive potential.

Ritchie started the 2025-26 with /ref>