I have a pretty extensive collection of stuff to get through, most of which are hockey-related and many of which depicting - or from - greats of the game. However, it's the first time I've posted here about a collectible involving a Hall Of Famer - and I'm starting with
Serge Savard, member of the
Montréal Canadiens' Big Three defensive corps of the late 1970s.
Seeing as I was born in 1978, I didn't get to witness Savard play, nor was I ever really aware that he had been exiled to the
Winnipeg Jets for his final two seasons in the NHL. To me, he was the last General Manager to build a Stanley Cup-winning team in Montréal, a feat he achieved twice (1986 and 1993) - both times with
Patrick Roy winning the Conn Smythe trophy, both times with head coaches in their first year with the team. Another Roy-led team lost in the Finals in 1989, with first-year coach Pat Burns at the helm. Do you see a connection?
As a player, though, he was incomparable: 8 Stanley Cups (two more than fellow Big Three member
Larry Robinson), a Conn Smythe trophy, 1040 regular season and 130 playoff games played, 4 All Star games, a Bill-Masterton trophy, and #81 in
The Hockey News' list of the 100 best players of all time. His #18 is hung from the rafters of the Bell Centre and will never be used again; the last player to wear it will have been
Denis Savard (no relation). Ironically, it was Serge Savard who popularized the ''Savardian spin-o-rama'' move that Denis was also known to use.
This specific card commemorates and integrates a
Canada Post stamp in Savard's honour that was issued on January 18th, 2003; the stamp is glued to the front of the card, which was co-released by
Canada Post and
Pacific Trading Cards at the 2003 All Star game. It is #21 in its series.
You may recognize the image from the previous post: it is, indeed, an oversized lithograph of the Canada Post stamp depicting Montréal Canadiens legend and Hall Of Famer Serge Savard, the first ever defenseman to win the Conn Smythe trophy.
