Bob Sauvé

Bob Sauvé
Born (1955-06-17) June 17, 1955
Sainte-Geneviève, QC, CAN
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Buffalo Sabres
Detroit Red Wings
Chicago Black Hawks
New Jersey Devils
NHL Draft 17th overall, 1975
Buffalo Sabres
WHA Draft 16th overall, 1975
Cincinnati Stingers
Playing career 1976–1989

Robert F. Sauvé (born June 17, 1955 in Sainte-Geneviève, Quebec) is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender, and currently a player agent.

Playing career

After a successful junior career with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Laval National, Sauvé was drafted by the NHL's Buffalo Sabres in the 1st round (17th overall) in 1975 NHL Entry Draft. The World Hockey Association's Cincinnati Stingers also selected Sauvé in round 2 (16th overall) in the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft, but his ambition was to play in the NHL. The Sabres selected three goaltenders in the 1975 draft, with Sauvé and Don Edwards being the most notable. Sauvé played four games for the Sabres during the 1976–77 season but spent the majority of the year with the AHL's Rhode Island Reds, while Edwards was initially the more successful of the two and was the first to stick with the big club in Buffalo. The next season saw Sauvé split time with the Hershey Bears and the Sabres as Edwards' backup.

As the 1978–79 season began, Sauvé entered training camp determined to make the NHL for good. Unfortunately, he suffered a broken finger and began the season in Hershey. After Edwards later suffered a sprained ankle, Sauvé was called up to Buffalo, this time to stay. The goaltending duo of Sauvé and Edwards had an immediate impact on the Sabres. Sauvé led the league in goals against average for the 1979–80 season and was co-recipient of the Vezina Trophy with Edwards in the same season.

Sauvé was traded to the Detroit Red Wings on December 2, 1981, but re-signed with the Sabres as a free agent on June 1, 1982, after Edwards was traded to the Calgary Flames. Sauvé was joined in net by a young phenom just out of high school named Tom Barrasso for the 1983–84 season, and the duo went on to share the William M. Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed in 1984–85. Barrasso was always quick to credit Sauvé for not only helping him but for challenging him with his own strong play. Sauvé was dealt by Buffalo to the Chicago Black Hawks in exchange for a 3rd round pick in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft. Sauvé spent two uneventful seasons in Chicago before signing with the New Jersey Devils as a free agent on July 10, 1987. After two seasons in New Jersey, Sauvé announced his retirement from the NHL in 1989 due to chronic back problems.

Other

Sauvé's younger brother, forward Jean-François Sauvé, also played in the NHL and was briefly a teammate of his older brother in Buffalo. His son Philippe Sauvé is also a professional goaltender who currently plays in Europe for the Hamburg Freezers.

Sauvé remained active in hockey after retirement, first as the president of the New Jersey Devil's alumni association, then as a goalie coach and later as a player agent. His list of clientele has included many of Quebec's biggest names including Patrick Roy, Vincent Lecavalier, Jocelyn Thibault, Pierre Turgeon, Vincent Damphousse and Simon Gagné.

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season

Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1971–72 Verdun Maple Leafs QMJHL 34 — — — 2020 202 0 6.00 .851
1972–73 Laval National QMJHL 35 — — — 2100 224 0 6.40 .850
1973–74 Laval National QMJHL 61 — — — 3620 341 0 5.65 .867
1974–75 Laval National QMJHL 57 — — — 3403 287 0 5.06 .876
1975–76 Providence Reds AHL 14 5 8 1 848 44 0 3.11 —
1976–77 Charlotte Checkers SHL 17 — — — 979 36 2 2.21 .937
1976–77 Buffalo Sabres NHL 4 1 2 0 184 11 0 3.59 .845
1976–77 Rhode Island Reds AHL 25 — — — 1346 94 0 4.14 .878
1976–77 Hershey Bears AHL 9 — — — 539 38 0 4.23 —
1977–78 Buffalo Sabres NHL 11 6 2 0 480 20 0 2.50 .912
1977–78 Hershey Bears AHL 16 4 6 3 872 59 0 4.05 —
1978–79 Buffalo Sabres NHL 29 10 10 7 1610 100 0 3.73 .876
1978–79 Hershey Bears AHL 5 3 2 0 278 14 0 3.02 —
1979–80 Buffalo Sabres NHL 32 20 8 4 1880 74 4 2.36 .901
1980–81 Buffalo Sabres NHL 35 16 10 9 2100 111 2 3.17 .880
1981–82 Buffalo Sabres NHL 14 6 1 5 760 35 0 2.76 .893
1981–82 Detroit Red Wings NHL 41 11 25 4 2365 165 0 4.19 .846
1982–83 Buffalo Sabres NHL 54 25 20 7 3110 179 1 3.45 .872
1983–84 Buffalo Sabres NHL 40 22 13 4 2375 138 0 3.49 .869
1984–85 Buffalo Sabres NHL 27 13 10 3 1564 84 0 3.22 .855
1985–86 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 38 19 13 2 2099 138 0 3.94 .886
1986–87 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 46 19 19 5 2660 159 1 3.59 .894
1987–88 New Jersey Devils NHL 34 10 16 3 1798 107 0 3.57 .870
1988–89 New Jersey Devils NHL 15 4 5 1 721 56 0 4.66 .832
NHL totals 420 182 154 54 23,706 1377 8 3.49 .875

Playoffs

Season Team League GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1971–72 Verdun Maple Leafs QMJHL 2 0 2 120 12 0 6.00 .836
1972–73 Laval National QMJHL 3 — — 160 20 0 7.50 .856
1973–74 Laval National QMJHL 11 — — 660 60 0 5.45 .869
1974–75 Laval National QMJHL 16 — — 960 81 0 5.06 .872
1975–76 Charlotte Checkers SHL 7 — — 420 10 2 1.43 —
1978–79 Buffalo Sabres NHL 3 1 2 181 9 0 2.98 .883
1979–80 Buffalo Sabres NHL 8 6 2 501 17 2 2.04 .926
1982–83 Buffalo Sabres NHL 10 6 4 545 28 2 3.08 .881
1983–84 Buffalo Sabres NHL 2 0 1 41 5 0 7.32 .643
1985–86 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 2 0 2 99 8 0 4.85 .869
1986–87 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 4 0 4 245 15 0 3.67 .890
1987–88 New Jersey Devils NHL 5 2 1 236 13 0 3.30 .890
NHL totals 34 15 16 1848 95 4 3.08 .891

See also

Preceded by
Lee Fogolin		 Buffalo Sabres first round draft pick
1975 		Succeeded by
Ric Seiling
Preceded by
Ken Dryden
and Michel Larocque		 Winner of the Vezina Trophy
with Don Edwards
1980 		Succeeded by
Denis Herron, Michel Larocque
and Richard Sevigny
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.