Gilbert Perreault

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Gilbert Perreault (born November 13, 1950 in Victoriaville, Quebec) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for seventeen seasons with the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL. Blessed with an uncanny ability to stickhandle in close quarters, he was one of the slickest playmaking centres ever to play the game.

Contents 1 Playing career 2 Career statistics 3 Retirement 4 Career achievements and facts 5 See also 6 External link

[edit] Playing career

In 1969 and 1970, Perreault was on the Memorial Cup-winning Montreal Junior Canadiens, which provoked a change in Memorial Cup eligibility rules. Previously, all Junior Clubs in Canada were eligible for the cup but the Junior Canadiens beat a club from Prince Edward Island so badly in the playoffs that Junior A was split into Major Junior and Junior A, with only the Major Junior clubs eligible for the trophy. The Junior Canadiens were so powerful that, astonishingly, they beat the Soviet national ice hockey team, 9-3 in an exhibition game in 1970.

In 1970 two new franchises were awarded in the NHL — Buffalo and the Vancouver Canucks. Buffalo, by the luck of the draw chosen by a roulette wheel, in which the number "11" came up for the Sabres, won the right to the first choice in the amateur draft. This was the first year that the Montreal Canadiens did not have a priority right to draft Quebecois junior players. Consequently, Perreault was available and taken first overall by the Sabres.

Because the Sabres were a new team in 1970, the broadcast crew was also inexperienced, and famously the television broadcast cut away one night as Perreault picked up the puck behind the net. They had incorrectly assumed that the whistle would blow for an icing infraction, only to have Ted Darling, the team's broadcaster, screaming into the microphone as they returned from the commercial describing Perreault's brilliant end to end rush and goal that the viewers had missed.

Perreault, wearing number #11 in honour of the roulette wheel's choice, became an immediate star, leading the Sabres in scoring — a feat he would never fail to accomplish in any season in which he did not miss significant time to injury before his penultimate year — and winning rookie of the year honours. The line he famously played on for much of his career was known as "The French Connection" with Rene Robert on right wing and Rick Martin on left wing, and was one of the most renowned offensive combinations of the 1970s.

He was named to Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union but only saw activity in two games and left the team before the series ended. In 1976, Canada hosted the first Canada Cup series and boasted what many believe is the greatest Canadian team ever assembled. Perreault played with superstars like Bobby Orr, Darryl Sittler, Bobby Hull, Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne. Perreault often played with fellow Québecois Lafleur and Dionne, and the three formed a spectacular offensive unit. Canada won the series after beating Czechoslovakia in a best two out of three. He later played in the 1981 Canada Cup on a line with Wayne Gretzky and Lafleur. He was playing some of the best hockey of his career, leading all scorers with nine points in four games, when he was forced out of the tournament with a broken ankle. Team Canada lost the final to the USSR 8-1.

Perreault retired at the end of the 1986 season. Thereafter, pension changes came into effect significantly boosting the pensions of retired players who played at least twenty games in the 1987 season. He duly came out of retirement, and still played effectively, retiring for good after his twentieth game.

[edit] Career statistics

				Regular Season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1967-68	Montreal Jr. Canadiens	OHA		47	15	34	49	10		11	8	9	17	5
1968-69	Montreal Jr. Canadiens	OHA		54	37	60	97	29		14	5	10	15	10
1969-70	Montreal Jr. Canadiens	OHA		54	51	71	121	26		16	17	21	38	4
1970-71	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		78	38	34	72	19		--	--	--	--	--
1971-72	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		76	26	48	74	24		--	--	--	--	--
1972-73	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		78	28	60	88	10		6	3	7	10	2
1973-74	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		55	18	33	51	10		--	--	--	--	--
1974-75	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		68	37	59	96	36		17	6	9	15	10
1975-76	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		80	44	69	113	36		9	4	4	8	4
1976-77	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		80	39	56	95	30		6	1	8	9	4
1977-78	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		79	41	48	89	20		8	3	2	5	0
1978-79	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		79	27	58	85	20		3	1	0	1	2
1979-80	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		80	40	66	106	57		14	10	11	21	8
1980-81	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		56	20	39	59	56		8	2	10	12	2
1981-82	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		62	31	42	73	40		4	0	7	7	0
1982-83	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		77	30	46	76	34		10	0	7	7	8
1983-84	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		73	31	59	90	32		--	--	--	--	--
1984-85	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		78	30	53	83	42		5	3	5	8	4
1985-86	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		72	21	39	60	28		--	--	--	--	--
1986-87	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		20	9	7	16	6		--	--	--	--	--
OHA Totals				155	103	165	268	65		41	30	40	70	19
NHL Totals				1191	512	814	1326	500		90	33	70	103	44

[edit] Retirement

He finished his career scoring 512 goals and 814 assists for 1326 points in 1191 games. At the time of his retirement, Perreault was the sixth leading scorer in NHL history. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990. In addition, he also plays on occasion with the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team for charity events.

Since his retirement from hockey, Perreault has remained active in the game, coaching Junior teams in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

[edit] Career achievements and facts

• Tied with Marc Bergevin for 69th for most games played with 1191.
• Number one all-time leading goal scorer for the Buffalo Sabres.
• Currently 30th in all-time goals scored.
• Currently 23rd in all-time assists scored.
• Currently 26th in all-time points scored.
• Won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1970.
• Won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1973.
• Named an NHL Second Team All-Star in 1976 and 1977.
• In 1998, he was ranked number 47 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey

[edit] See also

• List of NHL Players
• Hockey Hall of Fame
• List of NHL statistical leaders
• List of NHL seasons
• List of NHL players with 1000 points
• List of NHL players with 500 goals

[edit] External link

• Gilbert Perreault's stats at hockeydb.com

Preceded by Réjean Houle	NHL First Overall Draft Pick 1970	Succeeded by Guy Lafleur
Preceded by Danny Gare	Buffalo Sabres captains 1981-86	Succeeded by Lindy Ruff
Preceded by Tony Esposito	Winner of the Calder Trophy 1971	Succeeded by Ken Dryden
Preceded by Jean Ratelle	Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy 1973	Succeeded by John Bucyk