1983-84 Buffalo Sabres Gilbert Perreault Jersey

The first ever draft pick for the fledgling Sabre organization, Gilbert Perreault was drafted first overall in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft after the Sabres won a spin of a wheel to determine if they or the Vancouver Canucks would pick first. Sabres general manager Punch Imlach chose his favorite number 11, which proved lucky for the Sabres, and is why Perreault was assigned sweater #11.

Clarence Campbell and his lucky number draft wheel,

which awarded Buffalo the first overall draft pick

Perreault scored a goal in the Sabres first ever game on October 10, 1970 and went on to lead the Sabres in scoring with 72 points in 78 games and win the Calder Trophy. He was also the first Sabre to record a power play goal and a hat trick.

Joined by wingers and fellow French-Canadians Rene Robert and Rick Martin during the Sabres second season, they formed "The French Connection" line which would excel for the seven seasons the trio played together, including all three being named to the same NHL All-Star Team on two occasions.

The French Connection Line of Martin, Robert and Perreault

Perreault would lead the Sabres in scoring during 11 of his 17 seasons, including five in a row from 1975-76 to 1979-80. The Sabres would also qualify for the playoffs 11 consecutive seasons, including making it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1975.

Perreault as a rookie with the Sabres

He would be named team captain in 1982, a position he would hold until his retirement in November 1986 and amass 512 goals and 814 assists for 1,326 points in his career in 1191 games - all Sabres franchise records which still stand to this day. He also holds Sabres career records for game winning goals, shots on goal and points in a game with seven.

Perreault was named team captain in 1982

He would also have the distinction of scoring the game winning goal in overtime of the 1978 NHL All-Star Game played in Buffalo at the Memorial Auditorium, one of nine NHL All-Star games he would appear in during his career.

In addition to his success with the Sabres, Perreault would also play for Team Canada during the 1972 Summit Series and the 1976 Canada Cup.

Perreault while with Team Canada

When he retired, he was the sixth leading scorer in NHL history and was subsequently inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame on this date in 1990.

Today's featured jersey is a 1983-84 Buffalo Sabres Gilbert Perreault jersey. The Sabres played with essentially the same jerseys from 1970 to 1996 with only slight variations such as eliminating the original tie-neck collars in 1978, the same year they added shoulder logos, and minor changes to the arm and waist stripes in 1983.

This jersey proved so popular with the Sabres fans that it was brought back as a third jersey in 2006-07 and was modernized for a new third jersey again in 2008.

First, a real treat, footage from the first ever Buffalo Sabres game and Perreault's first ever NHL goal against Pittsburgh.

Here is the Legends of Hockey biography of Gilbert Perreault.

Next up is a great compilation of Perreault action highlights.

Finally a musical tribute to "The French Connection" line, featuring Gilbert Perreault.

1980-81 Buffalo Sabres Gilbert Perreault Jersey

On this date in 1981, the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. Starting in goal for the Maple Leafs that evening was Michel "Bunny" Larocque.

He would not finish the game.

The game started out ordinarily enough, with the first notable event being a minor penalty to Wilf Paiement at 2:13 of the first period. Toronto was later called for having too many men on the ice at 5:16, still in the first. During the ensuing power play John Van Boxmeer would capitalize on the man advantage for Buffalo with his 16th goal of the season, unassisted, at 6:25. That would remain the only goal of the period, despite subsequent penalties to Toronto's Barry Melrose at 11:02 and the Sabres Larry Playfair at 17:48. The period would end with Buffalo being credited with 8 shots on goal while Don Edwards made saves on all 6 of Toronto's shots.

John Van Boxmeer

Melrose picked up his second minor of the game at exactly 2 minutes of the second period, which the Maple Leafs killed off successfully. Gilbert Perreault then put the Sabres up 2-0 with his 14th goal of the season at 4:27, shortly after Melrose's penalty had expired. At 6:01, Buffalo's Steve Patrick and Ian Turnbull of Toronto were both sent off for matching minors. Derek Smith then extended the Buffalo lead to 3-0 when he scored his 20th goal of the season with assists from Tony McKegney and Jim Schoenfeld at 8:46, which was a precursor for things to come, and come they did in rapid succession.

Derek Smth

Ric Seiling's 25th goal of the season, from Craig Ramsey and Andre Savard at 10:27 pushed the Sabres lead up to 4-0 at 10:27 as all hell broke loose. Perreault followed with his second goal of the period, unassisted, at 11:12. Darryl Sittler responded with the first Maple Leafs goal 11 seconds later from Paiement to make it 5-1, only to have Terry Martin net another for Toronto 31 seconds later, from Paiement and Turnbull for the fourth goal in under a minute and a half.

Ric Seiling

Ramsay took back some of the Maple Leafs momentum another minute and a half later with his 22nd goal from Seiling and Savard at 13:24. Bill Hajt was sent off for two minutes at 13:37 but Toronto only needed less than 30 seconds to capitalize when Sittler scored his second of the period and 43rd of the season from Borje Salming and Turnbull at 14:06, the first power play goal of the eight scored so far in the second period which now saw the score at 6-3 for the home Sabres.

The offensive fireworks were not over though, as Savard's 25th, from McKegney and Seiling at 15:50 was followed by Perreault completing his hat trick in a span of 13:15 from Van Boxmeer and Playfair at 17:42. The Sabres captain and eventual leading scorer for the season Danny Gare finally got into the act with his 39th goal from Smith and Lindy Ruff at 18:51 to tie the NHL record for Most Goals in a Period with 8.

Gilbert Perreault

Less than a minute later at 19:47, Savard's second of the period and 26th of the season, from Seiling and Hajt gave Buffalo the outright record of nine goals scored in a single period to make the score 10-3 in favor of the Sabres, with all nine of the record setting goals coming at even strength and having been given up by the unfortunate Larocque on 19 Buffalo shots in the second.

The shell-shocked Bunny Larocque

The Sabres also equalled a record held by the 1970-71 New York Rangers as well as the 1974-75 Sabres (both of whom had 8 goals and 15 assists) when they registered their 23rd point of the period, led by Savard's 4 points, from 2 goals and 2 assists, Seiling's 4 points (1 goal and 3 assists) as well as Perreault's hat trick. Smith and Ramsay each had a goal and an assist, while McKegney was credited with a pair of assists as well. Gare contributed his goal, while Schoenfeld, Van Boxmeer, Playfair, Ruff and Hajt each had an assist in the second for a total of 23 points.

Mercifully, Larocque was given the rest of the night off to recover from his debacle, replaced for the third period by Czech Jiri Crha.

The remainder of the game saw ten minors and two misconducts as play got rough, which led to a pair of power play goals, the first for Toronto at 4:34 of the third. Smith's second goal at 10:47 also came with the man advantage from Gare and Van Boxmeer at 10:47. Gare struck again 36 seconds later for his 40th goal of the season from Van Boxmeer and McKegney at 11:23.

The scoring was wrapped up with a goal by Gilles Hamel from Savard and Playfair at 15:26 before Savard completed a hat trick of his own, his 27th of the season, from Playfair and Perreault at 18:49 to make the final score 14-4 in favor of the Sabres, much to the delight of the 16,433 Sabres faithful in attendance, but probably not the official scorekeeper and the public address announcer, who surely had trouble keeping up that evening!

In all, 13 Sabres featured in the scoring, led by Savard's 6 point night from 3 goals and 3 assists. Three other Sabres had 4 points, those being Perreault, Seiling and defenseman Van Boxmeer. Others with multiple point games included Smith, McKegney, Playfair and Gare with 3 and Ramsay with 2 points.

Edwards got the easy win in goal for Buffalo despite giving up 4 goals on 32 shots, while Larocque obviously got the loss thanks to allowing ten goals, while Crha let in 4 on 22 shots, as the Sabres did little to take their foot off the gas in the final period.

Today's featured jersey is a 1980-81 Buffalo Sabres Gilbert Perreault jersey as worn during his second period hat trick as part of the Sabres record setting 9 goal second period on this date in 1981. Obscured by the left arm of the jersey is the assistant captain's "A", as Perreault would not become the club's captain until the following season when current captain Gare departed via a trade.

The original 1970-71 Sabres jerseys had no names on the back and a lace up collar, with names arriving in 1977-78 by league rule. The Sabres logo was repeated on the shoulders beginning in 1978-79, the same season the collars changed to a v-neck.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Today's video segment begins with a profile on the Sabres captain Gare.

Next, the Legends of Hockey profile of Perreault.

1983-84 Buffalo Sabres Gilbert Perreault Jersey

After seventeen seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, Gilbert Perreault had his #11 retired on this date in 1990, the only Sabre to ever wear #11.

The first ever draft pick for the fledgling Sabre organization, Perreault was drafted first overall in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft after the Sabres won a spin of a wheel to determine if they or the Vancouver Canucks would pick first. Sabres general manager Punch Imlach chose his favorite number 11, which proved lucky for the Sabres, and is why Perreault was assigned sweater #11.

Clarence Campbell and his lucky number draft wheel,

which awarded Buffalo the first overall draft pick

Perreault scored a goal in the Sabres first ever game on October 10, 1970 and went on to lead the Sabres in scoring with 72 points in 78 games and win the Calder Trophy. He was also the first Sabre to record a power play goal and a hat trick.

Joined by wingers and fellow French-Canadians Rene Robert and Richard Martin during the Sabres second season, they formed "The French Connection" line which would excel for the seven seasons the trio played together, including all three being named to the same NHL All-Star Team on two occasions.

The French Connection Line of Martin, Robert and Perreault

Perreault would lead the Sabres in scoring during 11 of his 17 seasons, including five in a row from 1975-76 to 1979-80. The Sabres would also qualify for the playoffs 11 consecutive seasons, including making it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1975.

Perreault as a rookie with the Sabres

He would be named team captain in 1982, a position he would hold until his retirement in November 1986 and amass 512 goals and 814 assists for 1,326 points in his career in 1191 games - all Sabres franchise records which still stand to this day. He also holds Sabres career records for game winning goals, shots on goal and points in a game with seven.

Perreault was named team captain in 1982

He would also have the distinction of scoring the game winning goal in overtime of the 1978 NHL All-Star Game played in Buffalo at the Memorial Auditorium, one of nine NHL All-Star games he would appear in during his career.

In addition to his success with the Sabres, Perreault would also play for Team Canada during the 1972 Summit Series and the 1976 Canada Cup.

Perreault while with Team Canada

When he retired, he was the sixth leading scorer in NHL history and was subsequently inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.

Today's featured jersey is a 1983-84 Buffalo Sabres Gilbert Perreault jersey from the CCM vintage line. The Sabres played with essentially the same jerseys from 1970 to 1996 with only slight variations such as eliminating the original tie-neck collars in 1978, the same year they added shoulder logos, and minor changes to the arm and waist stripes in 1983.

This jersey proved so popular with the Sabres fans that it was brought back as a third jersey in 2006-07 and was modernized for a new third jersey again in 2008.

First, a real treat, footage from the first ever Buffalo Sabres game and Perreault's first ever NHL goal against Pittsburgh.

Here is the Legends of Hockey biography of Gilbert Perreault.

Next up is a great compilation of Perreault action highlights.

Finally a musical tribute to "The French Connection" line, featuring Gilbert Perreault.

1980-81 Buffalo Sabres Gilbert Perreault Jersey

On this date in 1981, the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs. Starting in goal for the Maple Leafs that evening was Michel "Bunny" Larocque.

He would not finish the game.

The game started out ordinarily enough, with the first notable event being a minor penalty to Wilf Paiement at 2:13 of the first period. Toronto was later called for having too many men on the ice at 5:16, still in the first. During the ensuing power play John Van Boxmeer would capitalize on the man advantage for Buffalo with his 16th goal of the season, unassisted, at 6:25. That would remain the only goal of the period, despite subsequent penalties to Toronto's Barry Melrose at 11:02 and the Sabres Larry Playfair at 17:48. The period would end with Buffalo being credited with 8 shots on goal while Don Edwards made saves on all 6 of Toronto's shots.

John Van Boxmeer

Melrose picked up his second minor of the game at exactly 2 minutes of the second period, which the Maple Leafs killed off successfully. Gilbert Perreault then put the Sabres up 2-0 with his 14th goal of the season at 4:27, shortly after Melrose's penalty had expired. At 6:01, Buffalo's Steve Patrick and Ian Turnbull of Toronto were both sent off for matching minors. Derek Smith then extended the Buffalo lead to 3-0 when he scored his 20th goal of the season with assists from Tony McKegney and Jim Schoenfeld at 8:46, which was a precursor for things to come, and come they did in rapid succession.

Derek Smth

Ric Seiling's 25th goal of the season, from Craig Ramsey and Andre Savard at 10:27 pushed the Sabres lead up to 4-0 at 10:27 as all hell broke loose. Perreault followed with his second goal of the period, unassisted, at 11:12. Darryl Sittler responded with the first Maple Leafs goal 11 seconds later from Paiement to make it 5-1, only to have Terry Martin net another for Toronto 31 seconds later, from Paiement and Turnbull for the fourth goal in under a minute and a half.

Ric Seiling

Ramsay took back some of the Maple Leafs momentum another minute and a half later with his 22nd goal from Seiling and Savard at 13:24. Bill Hajt was sent off for two minutes at 13:37 but Toronto only needed less than 30 seconds to capitalize when Sittler scored his second of the period and 43rd of the season from Borje Salming and Turnbull at 14:06, the first power play goal of the eight scored so far in the second period which now saw the score at 6-3 for the home Sabres.

The offensive fireworks were not over though, as Savard's 25th, from McKegney and Seiling at 15:50 was followed by Perreault completing his hat trick in a span of 13:15 from Van Boxmeer and Playfair at 17:42. The Sabres captain and eventual leading scorer for the season Danny Gare finally got into the act with his 39th goal from Smith and Lindy Ruff at 18:51 to tie the NHL record for Most Goals in a Period with 8.

Gilbert Perreault

Less than a minute later at 19:47, Savard's second of the period and 26th of the season, from Seiling and Hajt gave Buffalo the outright record of nine goals scored in a single period to make the score 10-3 in favor of the Sabres, with all nine of the record setting goals coming at even strength and having been given up by the unfortunate Larocque on 19 Buffalo shots in the second.

The shell-shocked Bunny Larocque

The Sabres also equalled a record held by the 1970-71 New York Rangers as well as the 1974-75 Sabres (both of whom had 8 goals and 15 assists) when they registered their 23rd point of the period, led by Savard's 4 points, from 2 goals and 2 assists, Seiling's 4 points (1 goal and 3 assists) as well as Perreault's hat trick. Smith and Ramsay each had a goal and an assist, while McKegney was credited with a pair of assists as well. Gare contributed his goal, while Schoenfeld, Van Boxmeer, Playfair, Ruff and Hajt each had an assist in the second for a total of 23 points.

Mercifully, Larocque was given the rest of the night off to recover from his debacle, replaced for the third period by Czech Jiri Crha.

The remainder of the game saw ten minors and two misconducts as play got rough, which led to a pair of power play goals, the first for Toronto at 4:34 of the third. Smith's second goal at 10:47 also came with the man advantage from Gare and Van Boxmeer at 10:47. Gare struck again 36 seconds later for his 40th goal of the season from Van Boxmeer and McKegney at 11:23.

The scoring was wrapped up with a goal by Gilles Hamel from Savard and Playfair at 15:26 before Savard completed a hat trick of his own, his 27th of the season, from Playfair and Perreault at 18:49 to make the final score 14-4 in favor of the Sabres, much to the delight of the 16,433 Sabres faithful in attendance, but probably not the official scorekeeper and the public address announcer, who surely had trouble keeping up that evening!

In all, 13 Sabres featured in the scoring, led by Savard's 6 point night from 3 goals and 3 assists. Three other Sabres had 4 points, those being Perreault, Seiling and defenseman Van Boxmeer. Others with multiple point games included Smith, McKegney, Playfair and Gare with 3 and Ramsay with 2 points.

Edwards got the easy win in goal for Buffalo despite giving up 4 goals on 32 shots, while Larocque obviously got the loss thanks to allowing ten goals, while Crha let in 4 on 22 shots, as the Sabres did little to take their foot off the gas in the final period.

Today's featured jersey is a 1980-81 Buffalo Sabres Gilbert Perreault jersey as worn during his second period hat trick as part of the Sabres record setting 9 goal second period on this date in 1981. Obscured by the left arm of the jersey is the assistant captain's "A", as Perreault would not become the club's captain until the following season when current captain Gare departed via a trade.

The original 1970-71 Sabres jerseys had no names on the back and a lace up collar, with names arriving in 1977-78 by league rule. The Sabres logo was repeated on the shoulders beginning in 1978-79, the same season the collars changed to a v-neck.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

 

Today's video segment begins with a profile on the Sabres captain Gare.

Next, the Legends of Hockey profile of Perreault.

11/11/11

This being 11/11/11, we at Third String Goalie are taking a look at the best players to ever wear #11.

Notable players to have worn #11 include Bobby Carpenter, Kevin Dineen, Vic Hadfield, Walt McKechnie, Ulf Nilsson, Hall of Famer Bill Quackenbush and Charlie Simmer among many others.

Two active players wearing #11 we anticipate will have their numbers retired are Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson and long time Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu.

Alfressson has played all of his 16 seasons with the Senators and holds club records for goals, assists and points as well as games played. Remarkably, his 1,023 points are nearly twice as many as the Jason Spezza's 532. He was named team captain in 1999-00 and has remained so for 13 seasons.

Alfredsson's featured jersey is a 1995-96 Ottawa Senators jersey. This was worn during Alfredsson's rookie season when he won the Calder Trophy and has the Smitty patch in memory of Brian Smith, a Senators reporter who was murdered that year.

Koivu played 13 seasons with the Canadiens, with nine of those as team captain, tied with the legendary Jean Beliveau for the longest tenure. Koivu holds the distinction of being the first European to captain the Canadiens. Koivu overcame cancer during his career and made an emotional comeback to the game after missing nearly the entire 2001-02 season, receiving an eight-minute long standing ovation. For his dedication to hockey, he received the Masterton Trophy in 2002. He is currently 6th all-time in assists for Montreal and has also won the King Clancy Trophy for leadership qualities on and off the ice and making a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.

Koivu's featured jersey is a 2002-03 Montreal Canadiens jersey with the Hockey Fights Cancer patch worn during the season after Koivu's return from his bout with cancer.

Four players have had #11 retired in their honor in league history, the first of which was Brian Sutter of the St. Louis Blues. The oldest of the six Sutter brothers, he played 11 seasons with the Blues, the last nine of them as team captain. The season following his retirement he was named the coach of the team, a position he held for four seasons. He was known as an extremely hard working player who was responsible in the defensive zone yet still managed two forty goal seasons.

Sutter's featured jersey is a 1984-85 St. Louis Blues jersey from the only season they wore this exact jersey. This was the first season with the "Blues" script above the team logo, and for the next two seasons with the script logo, red trim was added to the jersey.

Mike Gartner had his number retired by the Washington Capitals after spending the first 10 of his 19 seasons with Washington. He is sixth in games played for the Capitals, second in all time Capitals goals, assists and points. He would go on to play with the Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Phoenix Coyotes in a career that would include 1,432 games played, 708 goals, 627 assists and 1,335 points. He was known for his blazing speed and holds the NHL record with 15 consecutive seasons of 30 goals or more and the most 30 goal seasons with 17. Gartner was only the fifth player to reach 700 goals for a career, was the 1993 NHL All-Star Game MVP and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2001.

Gartner's featured jersey is a 1985-86 Washington Capitals jersey. This jersey features the five stars down the sleeves, which the Capitals jerseys had from 1974-75 until 1982-83 until going to just four stars for two seasons until reverting back to five again for the 1985-86 season.

The next player to have his #11 lifted to the rafters was Buffalo Sabres legend and cornerstone, Gilbert Perreault. He was the franchise's first ever draft pick, taken first overall in 1970 thanks to a spin of a wheel which came up #11, giving the Sabres the first pick in the draft.

Perreault would play 17 seasons in Buffalo and is widely regarded as one of the most gifted and skillful playmaking centers to ever play the game. He would win the Calder Trophy and Lady Byng Trophy during his career. Despite retiring in 1987, he still holds franchise records for games played, goals, assists and points as well as game winning goals and shots on goal. He is the only Sabre with over 500 goals and his 1,326 points are over 500 more than the next highest Sabre. He was team captain for five seasons and is the only Sabre to ever wear #11. Perreault was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.

Perreault's featured jersey is a 1983-84 Buffalo Sabres jersey. The Sabres played with essentially the same jerseys from 1970 to 1996 with only slight variations, such as eliminating the original tie-neck collars in 1978, the same year they added shoulder logos.

This jersey proved so popular with the Sabres fans that it was brought back as a third jersey in 2006-07 and was modernized for a new third jersey again in 2008, which then became the primary jersey in 2010.

The best player to ever wear #11 has the distinction of having his number retired by two different teams. Mark Messier is known as one of the greatest leaders in hockey history ranks second on the all-time list in points, playoff points and games. He won six Stanley Cups, five with the Edmonton Oilers and a memorable one with the New York Rangers to end their 54 year drought.

He played the first 12 seasons of his career with the Oilers, three of which were as team captain. After five championships with Edmonton, Messier moved to the New York Rangers for six seasons, all of which were as team captain. When the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994, Messier became the only man in league history to captain two different teams to the championship. After leaving the Rangers he moved to the Vancouver Canucks for three seasons as captain before returning to the Rangers for a second time, where he would spend the final four seasons of his 25 year career.

During his career he won the Hart Trophy twice, the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Pearson Award twice. He played in 16 NHL All-Star Games. The Rangers retired his #11 in 2006 and the Oilers did the same in 2007. Messier was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007.

Messier's first featured jersey is a 1989-90 Edmonton Oilers jersey as worn on May 24th, 1990 as he was awarded the Stanley Cup after a 4-1 victory over the Bruins in Boston. It was the first and only time that the Oilers would win the cup in their blue road jersey.

This jersey also features the 1990 Stanley Cup Finals patch on the left chest, only the second time the finals patches were worn, and the first time in it's now traditional location on the right chest.

Messier's second featured jersey is a 1993-94 New York Rangers jersey as worn when Messier famously was handed the Stanley Cup after leading the Rangers to the championship. The Rangers are the only team to wear the patch on their right shoulder due to the diagonal RANGERS cresting on the front of the jersey interfering with the standard location on the right chest.

1983-84 Buffalo Sabres Gilbert Perreault Jersey

After seventeen seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, Gilbert Perreault had his #11 retired on this date in 1990, the only Sabre to ever wear #11.

The first ever draft pick for the fledgling Sabre organization, Perreault was drafted first overall in the 197o NHL Amateur Draft after the Sabres won a spin of a wheel to determine if they or the Vancouver Canucks would pick first. Sabres general manager Punch Imlach chose his favorite number 11, which proved lucky for the Sabres, and is why Perreault was assigned sweater #11.

Perreault scored a goal in the Sabres first ever game on October 10, 1970 and went on to lead the Sabres in scoring with 72 points in 78 games and win the Calder Trophy. He was also the first Sabre to record a power play goal and a hat trick.

Joined by wingers and fellow French-Canadians Rene Robert and Richard Martin during the Sabres second season, they formed "The French Connection" line which would excel for the seven seasons the trio played together, including all three being named to the same NHL All-Star Team on two occasions.

Perreault would lead the Sabres in scoring during 11 of his 17 seasons, including five in a row from 1975-76 to 1979-80. The Sabres would also qualify for the playoffs 11 consecutive seasons, including making it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1975.

He would be named team captain in 1982, a position he would hold until his retirement in November 1986 and amass 512 goals and 814 assists for 1,326 points in his career in 1191 games - all Sabres franchise records which still stand to this day. He also holds Sabres career records for game winning goals, shots on goal and points in a game with seven.

He would also have the distinction of scoring the game winning goal in overtime of the 1978 NHL All-Star Game played in Buffalo at the Memorial Auditorium, one of nine NHL All-Star games he would appear in during his career.

In addition to his success with the Sabres, Perreault would also play for Team Canada during the 1972 Summit Series and the 1976 Canada Cup.

When he retired, he was the sixth leading scorer in NHL history and was subsequently inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.

Today's featured jersey is a 1983-84 Buffalo Sabres Gilbert Perreault jersey from the CCM vintage line. The Sabres played with essentially the same jerseys from 1970 to 1996 with only slight variations such as eliminating the original tie-neck collars in 1978, the same year they added shoulder logos, and minor changes to the arm and waist stripes in 1983.

This jersey proved so popular with the Sabres fans that it was brought back as a third jersey in 2006-07 and was modernized for a new third jersey again in 2008.

First, a real treat, footage from the first ever Buffalo Sabres game and Perreault's first ever NHL goal against Pittsburgh.

Here is the Legends of Hockey biography of Gilbert Perreault.

Next up is a great compilation of Perreault action highlights.

Finally a musical tribute to "The French Connection" line, featuring Gilbert Perreault.