Savard and Kurri, 2 NHL legends on one card...love it |
17 years in the NHL, 1196 games played, 473 goals. 3rd all time in Blackhawk scoring, trailing only Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita. Denis was also part of the Montreal Canadiens last Stanley Cup winner in 1992-93. Savard was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000, joining Joe Mullen as the only players elected that year.
Yet, the one thing that I remember him for the most is the Savardian Spin-o-rama. Take a look at the video below, you'll see three great examples of Denis' "patented" move.
It still amazes me that Montreal chose to pass on him with the 1st overall pick in the 1980 Entry Draft (they chose Doug Wickenheiser). For a franchise that is renowned for cultivating their French Canadian talent, not choosing Savard was a mistake that may never be properly explained.
When looking up Savard's stats, I was surprised that he retired from hockey at age 35. I knew that he was in the league for quite a long time, but when you start your career at age 19, I guess a "long time" comes earlier than when you start at 22.
Another surprising note about Denis' career is that he eclipsed the 100 minute mark in penalties 3 times, but then after a little thought, being a part of the Norris division during the eighties probably meant a lot of inflated penalty minute totals.
I was able to pull a card that featured Denis during his season and a half with the Tampa Bay Lightning, a 1994-95 Upper Deck Electric Ice parallel, #415. Denis' RC is something I hope to own someday, an 81-82 OPC, card #63 which has a high BV of $30.
Thanks for reading, Robert
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