Serge Savard

Serge Aubrey Savard, OC (born January 22, 1946 in Landrienne, Quebec) is a former professional ice hockey defenceman, most famously with the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL. He is also a local businessman in Montreal, and is nicknamed the "Senator".

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 Danny Gallivan and named after Serge Savard, and not Denis Savard (who was adept at the same manoeuvre) as is often thought [http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/spot_oneononep198603.htm] .

Post-playing career

After Savard retired as a player, he was named the general manager of the Canadiens, helping them get back to the Stanley Cup in 1986 and 1993.

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.

He is a partner in a firm of real-estate developers, "Thibault, Messier, Savard & Associates", based in Montreal.

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 [http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=e0d5a5c2-170d-4b67-908a-2da5e82d77de&k=28867] .

On November 18, 2006, the Montreal Canadiens retired his jersey number (18) in a special ceremony at Bell Centre.

Also, he was part owner in a resort called "El Senador" located in Cayo Coco, Cuba until it was sold in 2005. The name was a reference to his nick-name.

Awards

*Won the 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 the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy - 1979
*Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame - 1986

ee also

* Captain
* List of NHL players
* List of NHL seasons

References

* [http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/spot_oneononep198603.htm "One on One with Serge Savard"] by Kevin Shea, December 16, 2003, retrieved August 10, 2006

External links

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