Buffalo Sabres Throwback Thursday: Who was the French Connection?
Lifelong fans of the Buffalo Sabres are familiar with the French Connection that fueled the team’s winning ways during the 1970s.
The French Connection has become synonymous with success in Buffalo Sabres lore. And while the Sabres have struggled for over a decade as of 2022, fans who love underdogs have hopped on the team’s bandwagon. Yes, for every successful team’s bandwagon comprising fans rooting for winning teams, there are just as many fans joining bandwagons for the opposite reason.
And new fans love their ailing team even more when they know a little about the once-proud history the Sabres own. The French Connection fueled this proud history, and gave the franchise everything except a Stanley Cup.
But who were these three men and what gave them such storied careers? Let’s explore all three individually, from the start of their NHL careers to the time the Sabres immortalized their jerseys into the KeyBank Center’s rafters.
Gilbert Perreault
Perreault was the first draft pick in Sabres history. And for a minute, he nearly became the first draft pick in Vancouver Canucks history. But thanks to Punch Imlach’s quick eye, he spotted an error on the roulette wheel that then-NHL president Clarence Campbell missed. When Campbell realized his mistake, he awarded the first pick of the 1970 NHL Draft to the Sabres.
Enter Perreault, the first piece of the French Connection. The Sabres legend earned six trips to the NHL All-Star Game, won the Calder Memorial Trophy as a rookie, and received two NHL All-Star Team honors.
He ranks 29th all-time in career even-strength goals with 370 , 29th in career assists 814, 21st in career hat tricks with 18, 28th in assists per game with .68, and 23rd in career points per game with 1.1. The Hockey News listed him at 47th on their 100 Greatest Hockey Players list in 1998, and he is a 1990 Inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Sabres also retired Perreault’s #11 jersey.
Rick Martin
The fifth overall pick of the 1971 NHL Draft, Martin comprised the second piece of the French Connection. He earned seven straight trips to the NHL All-Star Game between 1972 and 1978, and earned a spot on the NHL All-Star Team four times, taking first team honors between 1973-74, and 1974-75.
Martin twice led the league in hat tricks and ranks 13th all-time with 21. He logged over half a goal per game throughout his storied career at .56, ranking 12th all-time. Martin has also cracked the top ten all-time in career total goals on-ice for with 121, and 48 power play goals on-ice for. He also created .44 goals per game, placing him at 23rd all-time.
Martin is a member of the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame. And like Perreault, the franchise retired his famed #7 jersey.
Rene Robert
The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Robert to a tryout contract in 1968, two years before the Sabres inaugural season. He also spent time with the Pittsburgh Penguins before the Sabres traded for the third piece of the French Connection.
And in hindsight, the Sabres made an outstanding decision. Robert appeared in two All-Star Games, and while his all-time records haven’t shone as much as Perreault’s or Martin’s, Robert still led the league in hat tricks during the 1976-77 NHL Season. He was also a second-team NHL All-Star in 1974-75.
The Sabres retired Robert’s #14 jersey and like Perreault and Martin, became an inductee to the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame. One fun fact about Robert is that he salvaged pieces from the old Buffalo Memorial Auditorium to construct his driveway following its 2009 demolition.
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So there you have it, Sabres fans of new and old. The French Connection continues to live in the hearts and minds of the Buffalo Sabres faithful. And who knows? Maybe, just maybe, history will repeat itself someday in Buffalo. Perhaps accompanied by a Stanley Cup.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)