Robert F. Sauvé (born June 17, 1955) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

, and currently a player agent.

Playing career

As a youth, Sauvé played in the 1967

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with a

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

team from North Shore. After a successful junior career with the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The ...

Laval National Laval means ''The Valley'' in old French and is the name of: People * House of Laval, a French noble family originating from the town of Laval, Mayenne * Laval (surname) Places Belgium * Laval, a village in the municipality of Sainte-Ode, Luxe ...

, Sauvé was drafted by the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

in the 1st round (17th overall) in

1975 NHL Entry Draft The 1975 NHL Amateur Draft was the 13th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers made the most noise at the draft, trading Bill Clement, Don McLean, and t ...

. The

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

Cincinnati Stingers The Cincinnati Stingers were an ice hockey team based in Cincinnati that played in the World Hockey Association from 1975 to 1979 and in the Central Hockey League during the 1979–80 season. Their home arena was Riverfront Coliseum. They are t ...

also selected Sauvé in round 2 (16th overall) in the

1975 WHA Amateur Draft The 1975 WHA Amateur Draft was the third draft held by the World Hockey Association. __NOTOC__ Selections by Round Below are listed the selections in the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round ...

, but his ambition was to play in the NHL. The Sabres selected three goaltenders in the 1975 draft, with Sauvé and

Don Edwards William Donlon Edwards (January 6, 1915 – October 1, 2015) was an American politician of the Democratic Party and a member of the United States House of Representatives from California for 32 years in the late 20th century. Early life Edwar ...

being the most notable. Sauvé played four games for the Sabres during the 1976–77 season but spent the majority of the year with the AHL's Rhode Island Reds, while Edwards was initially the more successful of the two and was the first to stick with the big club in Buffalo. The next season saw Sauvé split time with the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season maki ...

and the Sabres as Edwards' backup. As the 1978–79 season began, Sauvé entered training camp determined to make the NHL for good. Unfortunately, he suffered a broken finger and began the season in Hershey. After Edwards later suffered a sprained ankle, Sauvé was called up to Buffalo, this time to stay. The goaltending duo of Sauvé and Edwards had an immediate impact on the Sabres. Sauvé led the league in

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending ...

for the 1979–80 season and was co-recipient of the

Vezina Trophy The Vezina Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two NHL general managers vote to determine the winner. It is named in ...

with Edwards in the same season. Sauvé was traded to the Detroit Red Wings on December 2, 1981, but re-signed with the Sabres as a free agent on June 8, 1982, after Edwards was traded to the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

. Sauvé was joined in net by a young phenom just out of

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

named

Tom Barrasso Thomas Patrick Barrasso (born March 31, 1965) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 18 seasons. He began his time in the NHL with the Buffalo ...

for the 1983–84 season, and the duo went on to share the

William M. Jennings Trophy The William M. Jennings Trophy is an annual National Hockey League (NHL) award given to "the goaltender(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it ... based on regular-season play." From 1946 until ...

for fewest goals allowed in 1984–85. Barrasso was always quick to credit Sauvé for not only helping him but for challenging him with his own strong play. Sauvé was dealt by Buffalo to the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in exchange for a 3rd round pick in the

1986 NHL Entry Draft The 1986 NHL Entry Draft was the 24th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 21, 1986, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the revers ...

. Sauvé spent two uneventful seasons in Chicago before signing with the New Jersey Devils as a free agent on July 10, 1987. After two seasons in New Jersey, Sauvé announced his retirement from the NHL in 1989 due to chronic back problems.

Other

Sauvé's younger brother, forward

Jean-François Sauvé Jean-François Sauvé (born January 23, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He played in the National Hockey League with the Buffalo Sabres and Quebec Nordiques. Biography Sauve was born in Sainte-Geneviève, Quebec. As a ...

, also played in the NHL and was briefly a teammate of his older brother in Buffalo. His son

Philippe Sauvé Philippe Sauvé (born February 27, 1980) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who last played with the Hamburg Freezers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Sauvé played in the National Hockey League for the Colorado Avalanche, Cal ...

was a professional goaltender who played in the NHL and in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

for the Hamburg Freezers. His nephew Maxime Sauvé was an NHL hockey forward. Sauvé remained active in hockey after retirement, first as the president of the New Jersey Devils' alumni association, then as a goalie coach and later as a player agent. His list of clientele has included many of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

's biggest names including

Patrick Roy Patrick Jacques Roy (; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender and executive, who serves as the head coach for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 2017, Roy was named o ...

Vincent Lecavalier Vincent "Vinny" Lecavalier (born April 21, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who is currently a special advisor to hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens. Lecavalier, played seventeen seasons in the National Hockey ...

Jocelyn Thibault Joseph Régis Jocelyn Thibault (born January 12, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blac ...

Pierre Turgeon Pierre Julien Turgeon (born August 28, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. Selected first overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, Turgeon played in the NHL for the Sabres, New York Islanders, ...

Vincent Damphousse Vincent François Damphousse (born December 17, 1967) is a Canadian former professional hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for eighteen seasons. He played centre for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Cana ...

and

Simon Gagné Simon Gagné (; born February 29, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He spent the f ...

Awards and achievements

* Selected to the

QMJHL The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The le ...

First All-Star Team in 1974. *

winner in 1980 (shared with

). *

winner in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

(shared with

Tom Barasso Thomas Patrick Barrasso (born March 31, 1965) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 18 seasons. He began his time in the NHL with the Buffalo ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sauve, Bob 1955 births Living people Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Charlotte Checkers (SHL) players Chicago Blackhawks players Cincinnati Stingers draft picks Detroit Red Wings players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Montreal Laval National players National Hockey League first-round draft picks New Jersey Devils players People from L'Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève Providence Reds players Rhode Island Reds players Tucson Rustlers players Verdun Maple Leafs (ice hockey) players Vezina Trophy winners William M. Jennings Trophy winners