Serge Savard
Serge Savard | |||
---|---|---|---|
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1986 | |||
![]() Savard in 2019 | |||
Born |
Landrienne, Quebec, Canada | January 22, 1946||
Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
Weight | 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) | ||
Position | Defence | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for |
Montreal Canadiens Winnipeg Jets | ||
National team |
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Playing career | 1966–1983 |
Serge Aubrey Savard, OC, CQ (born January 22, 1946) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman, most famously with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the Senior Vice President, Hockey Operations with the Montreal Canadiens. He is also a local businessman in Montreal, and is nicknamed "the Senator." In 2017 Savard was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.[1]
Playing career[]
Savard played minor league hockey with the Montreal Junior Canadiens, then with the Omaha Knights. After playing with the Montreal Jr. Canadiens, he started playing with the Montreal Canadiens in 1966. In 1968–69, his second full NHL season, he led the Canadiens to a second consecutive Stanley Cup win, becoming the first defencemen to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player. In seventeen seasons with the Canadiens, Savard played on eight Stanley Cup championship teams: 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979. In 1979, he won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance and dedication to the game. Savard played the last two seasons of his career with the Winnipeg Jets before retiring in 1983. Savard was the second last player of the Original Six era, as Wayne Cashman and his Boston Bruins advanced to the next round of the playoffs, while Winnipeg did not.
The "Savardian Spin-o-rama", which is a quick pivoting turn with the puck done in order to evade opponents, was coined by sportscaster Danny Gallivan and named after Serge Savard, and not Denis Savard (who was adept at the same manoeuvre) as is often thought.[2] However, Serge did say that it was Doug Harvey, a Montreal defenseman whom Savard idolized, who inspired him to mimic the move Harvey had started.[3]
Savard played for Canada in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. Team Canada was 4-0-1 when Savard was in the starting lineup. He did not play in the opening loss at the Forum in Montreal but was in the starting lineup for games 2 and 3 in Toronto and Winnipeg (a win and tie, respectively). He suffered a hairline fracture in his leg which forced him to sit out Canada's losses in games 4 and 5. He returned to the lineup for games 6, 7, and 8, all wins for Canada.[4]
Post-playing career[]
After Savard retired as a player, he was named the general manager of the Canadiens, also serving as Manager of minor league team Sherbrooke Canadiens. Savard won the Calder Cup with Sherbrooke in 1985. In 1986 and 1993 he was the general manager of the Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens.
In 1994 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. In 2004, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec. He is currently the chairman of the annual Canada Day festivities in Montreal.[citation needed] He lived a few years in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec. His son Marc ran for the Liberal Party in the riding of Saint-Bruno-Saint-Hubert in the 2005 federal election but lost.[citation needed]
In 1998, he was ranked number 81 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.[5]
Since 1993, Savard has been a partner in a firm of real-estate developers, Thibault, Messier, Savard & Associates, based in Montreal.[6]
In September 2004, Savard was arrested in Montreal under suspicion of drunk driving. He pleaded not guilty in November 2004, but would later plead guilty in May 2006.[7]
On November 18, 2006, the Montreal Canadiens retired his jersey number (18) in a special ceremony at Bell Centre.[8]
In April 2012 after the dismissal of Pierre Gauthier, Montreal Canadiens Owner Geoff Molson called upon Savard to assist and advise him in the team's search for a new General Manager.
Savard was part owner in a resort called El Senador located in Cayo Coco, Cuba until it was sold in 2005.[9] The name was a reference to his nickname.
Awards[]
- Won Conn Smythe Trophy — 1969
- Named an NHL Second-Team All-Star — 1979
- Played in 4 NHL All-Star Games (1970, 1973, 1977, 1978)
- Played in the 1979 Challenge Cup
- Won Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy — 1979
- Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame — 1986
- In 1998, he was ranked number 81 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
Career statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1963–64 | Montreal Junior Canadiens | OHA-Jr. | 56 | 3 | 31 | 34 | 72 | 17 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 30 | ||
1965–65 | Montreal Junior Canadiens | OHA-Jr. | 56 | 14 | 33 | 47 | 81 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | ||
1964–65 | Omaha Knights | CPHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
1965–66 | Montreal Junior Canadiens | OHA-Jr. | 20 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 33 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 20 | ||
1966–67 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1966–67 | Houston Apollos | CPHL | 68 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 155 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 17 | ||
1966–67 | Quebec Aces | AHL | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
1967–68* | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 67 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 34 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
1968–69* | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 74 | 8 | 23 | 31 | 73 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 24 | ||
1969–70 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 64 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1970–71* | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 37 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1971–72 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 23 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
1972–73* | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 74 | 7 | 32 | 39 | 58 | 17 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 22 | ||
1973–74 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 67 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 49 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
1974–75 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 20 | 40 | 60 | 64 | 11 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | ||
1975–76* | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 71 | 8 | 39 | 47 | 38 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 | ||
1976–77* | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 78 | 9 | 33 | 42 | 35 | 14 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 2 | ||
1977–78* | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 77 | 8 | 34 | 42 | 24 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 8 | ||
1978–79* | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 7 | 26 | 33 | 30 | 16 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 6 | ||
1979–80 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 46 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
1980–81 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 77 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
1981–82 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 47 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
1982–83 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 76 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
NHL totals | 1040 | 106 | 333 | 439 | 592 | 130 | 19 | 49 | 68 | 88 |
* Stanley Cup Champion.
International[]
Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1972 | Canada | SS | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
1976 | Canada | CC | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
Senior totals | 12 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
See also[]
- Captain
- List of NHL players with 1000 games played
References[]
- ^ "100 Greatest NHL Players". NHL.com. January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
- ^ http://www.hhof.com/htmlSpotlight/spot_oneononep198603.shtml
- ^ Legends of Hockey:Serge Savard. Youtube video.
- ^ http://www.1972summitseries.com/savard.html
- ^ Kay, Jason (April 2, 2015). "THE TOP 100 NHL PLAYERS OF ALL-TIME, THROWBACK STYLE". thehockeynews.com. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
In 1997, to celebrate our 50th anniversary, The Hockey News compiled and released an authoritative list of the Top 50 Players of All-Time......81. Serge Savard
- ^ "Serge Savard". bloomberg.com. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2006-06-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Canadiens to retire the jerseys of Serge Savard and Ken Dryden in 2006-07" (Press release). NHL.com. September 20, 2006. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
- ^ "Serge Savard vend sa participation dans un hôtel de Cuba". tvanouvelles (in French). December 16, 2005. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
- "One on One with Serge Savard" by Kevin Shea, December 16, 2003, retrieved August 10, 2006
External links[]
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- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
- 1946 births
- Living people
- Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winners
- Canadian ice hockey defencemen
- Conn Smythe Trophy winners
- Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
- Houston Apollos players
- Sportspeople from Montreal
- Knights of the National Order of Quebec
- Montreal Canadiens executives
- Montreal Canadiens players
- Montreal Junior Canadiens players
- National Hockey League players with retired numbers
- Officers of the Order of Canada
- Omaha Knights (CHL) players
- Order of Hockey in Canada recipients
- Stanley Cup champions
- Winnipeg Jets (1979–1996) players
- Ice hockey people from Quebec