Serge Savard
OC CQ
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1986
Savard in 2019
Born (1946-01-22) January 22, 1946
Landrienne, Quebec, Canada
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 previously served as Senior Vice President, Hockey Operations, and as general manager of 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 fifteen 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 the general manager of the minor-league 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. 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.

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 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 reference to 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

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1963–64Montreal Junior CanadiensOHA-Jr.5633134721717830
1965–65Montreal Junior CanadiensOHA-Jr.561433478172358
1964–65Omaha KnightsCPHL2000040114
1965–66Montreal Junior CanadiensOHA-Jr.2081018331014520
1966–67Montreal CanadiensNHL20000—————
1966–67Houston ApollosCPHL6872532155513417
1966–67Quebec AcesAHL—————10002
1967–68Montreal CanadiensNHL67213153462020
1968–69Montreal CanadiensNHL74823317314461024
1969–70Montreal CanadiensNHL6412193138—————
1970–71Montreal CanadiensNHL375101530—————
1971–72Montreal CanadiensNHL2318916600010
1972–73Montreal CanadiensNHL74732395817381122
1973–74Montreal CanadiensNHL67414184961124
1974–75Montreal CanadiensNHL8020406064111782
1975–76Montreal CanadiensNHL718394738133696
1976–77Montreal CanadiensNHL789334235142792
1977–78Montreal CanadiensNHL778344224151788
1978–79Montreal CanadiensNHL807263330162796
1979–80Montreal CanadiensNHL4658131820000
1980–81Montreal CanadiensNHL77413173030000
1981–82Winnipeg JetsNHL472572650002
1982–83Winnipeg JetsNHL76416202930002
NHL totals 1,040 106 333 439 592 130 19 49 68 88

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

References

  1. ↑ "100 Greatest NHL Players". NHL.com. January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Legends of Hockey - Spotlight - One on One with Serge Savard". Archived from the original on 2011-10-27.
  3. ↑ Legends of Hockey:Serge Savard. Youtube video.
  4. ↑ "#23 Serge Savard". Archived from the original on July 7, 2002.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ↑ 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
  6. ↑ "Serge Savard". bloomberg.com. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Savard pleads guilty to drunk driving". Archived from the original on 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2006-06-20.
  8. ↑ "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.
  9. ↑ "Serge Savard vend sa participation dans un hôtel de Cuba". tvanouvelles (in French). December 16, 2005. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  10. ↑ Star, Perry Lefko Special to the (2009-08-25). "Serge Savard on the right track". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
  11. ↑ "Savard seeks standardbred success". The Globe and Mail. 2009-09-04. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
  12. ↑ "Canadiens legend Serge Savard finds success as owner of Shadow Play". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
  13. ↑ "Lawless Shadow declared Meadowlands Pace winner after DQ". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
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