Serge Savard
Serge Savard OC CQ | |||
---|---|---|---|
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1986 | |||
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 | Canada | ||
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 also served as the Canadiens' Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations and as their general manager. He is a 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
[edit]Savard played minor league hockey with the Montreal Junior Canadiens and the Omaha Knights. He made his NHL debut with the Montreal Canadiens in 1966-67. In 1968–69, his second full NHL season, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' most valuable player, the first defenceman to do so. In fifteen seasons with the Canadiens, Savard played on eight Stanley Cup championship teams: 1967-68, 1968-69, 1970-71, 1972-73, 1975-76, 1976-77, 1977-78, and 1978-79. In 1978-79, 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. He was the second last active player of the Original Six era. (Wayne Cashman was the last, as he and the Boston Bruins advanced further in the playoffs that year than the Jets did.)
Savard was known for the "Savardian Spin-o-rama", a quick pivoting turn with the puck done in order to evade opponents; the term was coined by sportscaster Danny Gallivan. [a][2] Savard has said that it was Doug Harvey, a Montreal defenseman whom Savard idolized, who created the move which inspired him.[3]
Savard played for Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. He was in the starting lineup for games 2 and 3 in Toronto and Winnipeg. He suffered a hairline fracture in his leg which forced him to sit out games 4 and 5. He returned to the lineup for the last three games.[4]
Post-playing career
[edit]After Savard retired as a player, he was named the general manager of the Canadiens, and served as the general manager of the Sherbrooke Canadiens of the American Hockey League. Savard won the Calder Cup with Sherbrooke in 1985. He was the general manager of the Montreal Canadiens when they won the Stanley Cup in 1985-86 and 1992-93 .
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 unsuccessfully in the 2004 Canadian federal election for the Liberal Party in the riding of Saint-Bruno-Saint-Hubert .[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 changed his plea to guilty in May 2006.[7]
On November 18, 2006, the Montreal Canadiens retired his jersey number 18 in a ceremony at the 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 Spanish translation of his nickname.
Savard has been a longtime fan of harness racing.[10][11] He has co-owned many successful horses, including Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Shadow Play[12] and Meadowlands Pace champion Lawless Shadow.[13]
Awards
[edit]- Won Stanley Cup — eight as a player (1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979), and two as a manager (1986, and 1993), all with the Montreal Canadiens
- 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
[edit]Regular season and playoffs
[edit]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 | 1,040 | 106 | 333 | 439 | 592 | 130 | 19 | 49 | 68 | 88 |
International
[edit]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
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ It was not named after Denis Savard, who was adept at the same manoeuvre, as many have thought.
References
[edit]- ^ "100 Greatest NHL Players". NHL. January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
- ^ "Legends of Hockey – Spotlight – One on One with Serge Savard". Archived from the original on 2011-10-27.
- ^ Legends of Hockey:Serge Savard. YouTube video.
- ^ "#23 Serge Savard". Archived from the original on July 7, 2002.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ 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.
- ^ "Savard pleads guilty to drunk driving". Archived from the original on 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2006-06-20.
- ^ "Canadiens to retire the jerseys of Serge Savard and Ken Dryden in 2006-07". NHL.com (Press release). 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.
- ^ Perry Lefko (2009-08-25). "Serge Savard on the right track". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
- ^ "Savard seeks standardbred success -CA". The Globe and Mail. 2009-09-04. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
- ^ "Canadiens legend Serge Savard finds success as owner of Shadow Play". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
- ^ "Lawless Shadow declared Meadowlands Pace winner after DQ". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
- "One on One with Serge Savard" by Kevin Shea, December 16, 2003, retrieved August 10, 2006
External links
[edit]- 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
- Ice hockey people 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