Serge Savard

Serge Savard
OC CQ
Serge Savard; OC CQ
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1986
	Savard in 2019
Born	January 22, 1946 (age 78); 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

Last updated November 24, 2024

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

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

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

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

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			1,040	106	333	439	592	130	19	49	68	88

International

Year	Team	Event	GP	A	Pts
1972	Canada	SS	5	2	2
1976	Canada	CC	7	3	3
Senior totals			12	5	5

Notes

↑ It was not named after Denis Savard, who was adept at the same manoeuvre, as many have thought.

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References

↑ "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

Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or Eliteprospects.com , or Hockey-Reference.com , or Legends of Hockey , or The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Yvan Cournoyer	Montreal Canadiens captain 1979–81	Succeeded by Bob Gainey
Preceded by Glenn Hall	Winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy 1969	Succeeded by Bobby Orr
Preceded by Irving Grundman	General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens 1983–95	Succeeded by Rejean Houle

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
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[2] It was not named after Denis Savard, who was adept at the same manoeuvre, as many have thought.

[1] "100 Greatest NHL Players". NHL. January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.

[3] "Legends of Hockey – Spotlight – One on One with Serge Savard". Archived from the original on 2011-10-27.

[4] Legends of Hockey:Serge Savard. YouTube video.

[5] "#23 Serge Savard". Archived from the original on July 7, 2002.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

[6] 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

[7] "Serge Savard". bloomberg.com. Retrieved June 16, 2018.

[8] "Savard pleads guilty to drunk driving". Archived from the original on 2012-11-06. Retrieved 2006-06-20.

[9] "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.

[10] "Serge Savard vend sa participation dans un hôtel de Cuba". tvanouvelles (in French). December 16, 2005. Retrieved June 16, 2018.

[11] Perry Lefko (2009-08-25). "Serge Savard on the right track". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2023-10-14.

[12] "Savard seeks standardbred success -CA". The Globe and Mail. 2009-09-04. Retrieved 2023-10-14.

[13] "Canadiens legend Serge Savard finds success as owner of Shadow Play". The Hockey News. Retrieved 2023-10-14.

[14] "Lawless Shadow declared Meadowlands Pace winner after DQ". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2023-10-14.

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