Denis Savard

**Denis Savard** (born Denis Joseph Savard on February 4, 1961 in Pointe Gatineau, Quebec, Canada) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the NHL for the Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Savard was drafted 3rd overall by Chicago in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft.

## Playing Career

As a youth, Denis played in the 1973 and 1974 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Verdun, Quebec, Canada.

For the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, the Montreal Canadiens held the first overall pick and many fans hoped the Canadiens would use it to draft Savard; instead, the Canadiens drafted Doug Wickenheiser and he was chosen third overall 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.

Denis 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.

He was known for his trademark move, the 'Savardian Spin-o-rama' (a term actually coined by Danny Gallivan, referencing the move performed by Serge Savard), which entailed Savard whirling around with the puck in a full rotation allowing him to defeat defenders and goaltenders alike.

Denis had two separate stints with the Blackhawks: the first was from the 1980–81 season to the 1989–90 season, and 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).

On June 29, 1990, he was infamously traded to the Montreal Canadiens for star defenceman Chris Chelios and a second-round pick (Mike Pomichter), a transaction that has since been considered largely in Chicago's favor as Chelios would produce some of his best seasons as a Blackhawk while Savard's career was on the decline.

Denis won the Stanley Cup with the Canadiens in 1993, although he was kept out of much of the postseason due to a hairline fracture in his ankle and was essentially an assistant coach by the clinching game five.

Denis signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the summer of 1993, where he played a season and a half. On April 6, 1995, he was traded back to Chicago, for a 1996 sixth-round pick (Xavier Delisle). His NHL career would end where it had started: with the Blackhawks.

In 1,196 NHL games, Denis scored 473 goals and 865 assists, totalling 1338 points. He trails only Bobby Hull & 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.

Denis officially retired from professional hockey on June 26, 1997. On March 19, 1998, the Blackhawks retired his jersey number #18 and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on November 13, 2000.

## Coaching Career

Shortly after his retirement as a player, Denis began a coaching career with the Blackhawks in December of 1997. On November 27, 2006, he was named interim head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks after Trent Yawney was fired mid-season.

Denis was commended for leading a young Blackhawks team to within 3 points of a playoff berth during his second season as coach. The Blackhawks 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, he was fired as coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. He was replaced by former Colorado Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville, who had been hired as a scout for the Blackhawks during the previous summer.

In 147 games as coach, Denis posted a 65–66–16 record. He remains as an ambassador for the Blackhawks and received Stanley Cup rings in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

## Accolades

* Member of one Stanley Cup winning team: 1993 with the Montreal Canadiens
* Selected to nine NHL All-Star Games: 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996
* NHL Second All-Star Team: 1983

### NHL Accolades

1. 24 All Time in Career Assists (865) - "Regular Season"
2. 29 All Time in Career Points (1338) - "Regular Season"
3. 19 All Time in Career Assists Per Game Average (0.72) "Regular Season"
4. 20 All Time in Career Points Per Game Average (1.12) "Regular Season"
5. 19 All Time in Career Playoff Goals (66)
6. 18 All Time in Career Playoff Assists (109)
7. 16 All Time in Career Playoff Points (175)
8. 9 All Time in Career Playoff Hat Tricks (3)

* 12 Regular Season Hat Tricks
* 3 Playoff Hat Tricks
* 4 time Hart Trophy Nominee (1981–82) (1982–83) (1983–84) (1987–88)

**Regular Season**

* 5 times Top 10 in Points (1981–82) (1982–83) (1984–85) (1985–86) (1987–88)
* 5 times Top 10 in Assists (1981–82) (1982–83) (1984–85) (1984–85) (1985–86) (1987–88)
* 1 time Top 10 in Goals (1985–86)
* 2 times Top 10 in Even Strength Goals (1985–86) (1986–87)
* 2 times Top 10 in Shorthanded Goals (1987–88) (1988–89)
* 2 times Top 10 in Game Winning Goals (1985–86) (1986–87)
* 2 times Top 5 in Hat Tricks (1984–85) (1986–87)
* 4 times Top 10 in Goals Created (1981–82) (1982–83) (1985–86) (1987–88)
* 7 times Top 10 in Assists Per Game (1981–82) (1982–83) (1984–85) (1985–86) (1987–88) (1988–89) (1989–90)
* 4 times Top 5 in Assists Per Game Average (1981–82) (1982–83) (1987–88) (1988–89)
* 7 times Top 10 in Points Per Game Average (1981–82) (1982–83) (1985–86) (1986–87) (1987–88) (1988–89) (1989–90)
* 2 times Top 3 in Points Per Game Average (1982–83) (1987–88)

**Playoffs**

* 5 times Top 10 in Points (1982) (1983) (1985) (1989) (1995)
* 3 times Top 10 in Assists (1985) (1989) (1995)
* 5 times Top 10 in Points (1982) (1985) (1989) (1990) (1995)
* 3 times Top 10 in Goals Per Game Average (1982) (1983) (1985)
* 1 times Top 10 in Assists Per Game Average (1985) (198
* 2 times Top 10 in Points Per Game Average (1985) (1995)
* 5 times Top 10 in Goals Created Per Game (1982) (1983) (1985) (1989) (1995)

## Personal Life

Denis was born in Temiscaming, Quebec, Canada, but he grew up in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

He has a cousin named Jean Savard who also played for the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1970s.

He is sometimes called "Savoir-Faire" (referring to a fictional French Canadian mouse that was the archnemesis of the cartoon character, Klondike Kat).