Denis Savard Denis Joseph Savard ( born February 4 , 1961 in Pointe Gatineau , Quebec ) is a Canadian , Hall of Fame , former professional player in the National Hockey League from 1980 to 1997 . He was fired on October 16 , 2008 as head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League . He now serves as an ambassador for the Blackhawks ' organization . NHL playing career . Denis Savard was drafted in the first round , 3rd overall , in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks . He was the highest drafted player in Blackhawks ' history , until the organization drafted Patrick Kane with the first overall pick in 2007 . He began his career during the 1980 – 81 NHL season in which he had three assists in his first game . He then went on to set the Blackhawks ' record ( since broken ) for most points by a rookie with 75 . Savard had two separate stints with the Blackhawks . The first was from the 1980 – 81 season to the 1989 – 90 season . The second was from 1994 – 95 to 1996 – 97 . During his absence from Chicago , he played for the Montreal Canadiens ( 1990 – 91 to 1992 – 93 ) and the Tampa Bay Lightning ( 1993 – 94 to 1994 – 95 ) . In 1990 , Savard was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Defenceman and future team captain Chris Chelios and a second - round pick ( Mike Pomichter ) on June 29 , 1990 . Savard won the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1993 . He signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the summer of 1993 , where he played 1½ seasons . On April 6 , 1995 Savard was traded back to Chicago , for a 1996 sixth - round pick ( Xavier Delisle ) . In 1196 NHL games , Savard scored 473 goals and 865 assists , totalling 1338 points . He trails only Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita for total points in Chicago Blackhawks history . Five times during his career he scored at least 100 points and for seven straight years he had at least 30 goals . His highest point total of 131 came in 1987 – 88 and his highest goal total of 47 came in 1985 – 86 . In 169 playoff games , he scored 66 goals and 109 assists for a total of 175 points . Savard officially retired from professional hockey on June 26 , 1997 . On March 19 , 1998 , the Blackhawks retired his jersey number # 18 . Savard was also inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 13 , 2000 . Denis Savard has a cousin named Jean Savard who also played in the NHL . Despite the same last name and the same number ( # 18 ) as Serge Savard , the two are only distantly related . Coaching career . Shortly after his retirement as a player , Savard began a coaching career with the Blackhawks in December 1997 . On November 27 , 2006 , Savard became the interim head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks after Trent Yawney was fired mid - season . He was commended for leading a young Blackhawks team to within 3 points of a playoff berth during his second season as coach . The Hawks finished just one victory away from the . 500 mark in 2007 – 2008 . The 40 wins in 2007 – 08 marked the first time the club had reached the 40 win mark in six years . On October 16 , 2008 , just four games into the season Savard was fired as coach of the Chicago Blackhawks . He was replaced by Joel Quenneville , former coach of the Colorado Avalanche , recently hired as a scout for the Blackhawks ' organization . In 147 games as coach , Savard posted a 65 - 66 - 16 record .