Denis Cyr (born February 4, 1961) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

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 hock ...

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who played in the

National Hockey League 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 ...

for 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 ...

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 ...

, and

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

. He was also a member of the famous junior line, "Les Trois Denis", while a member of the

Montreal Juniors The Montreal Juniors were a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 1975 to 1982. They played at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. History The Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge were renamed in 1975, becoming t ...

of 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 l ...

Playing career

As a youth, he played in the 1974

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

Verdun, Quebec Verdun (; , ) is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, located in the southwestern part of the island. Long known as a working class neighbourhood, it has experienced significant gentrification and social change in the 21 ...

. Cyr started his notable hockey career with the

of 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 l ...

. He was promptly put on a line with boyhood friends

Denis Savard Denis Joseph Savard (born February 4, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1980 to 1997, and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000. In 2017 Savard was named one of ...

and Denis Tremblay in a line that was dubbed, "Les Trois Denis". They also shared more than first names, as they were all born on February 4, 1961, and also grew up together in the same Verdun neighbourhoo

Savard, the most famous of the three and

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

member, asked "What are the odds of that when you think about it. We played together as kids from age eight all the way through until I turned pro.

The line would play two full seasons together from 1977-1979. The line combined for 299 points in its first season, and 366 in its second. Tremblay was traded after 24 games in 1979–8

however Savard and Cyr both demolished their previous career highs, scoring 181 and 146 points, respectively. While Tremblay would never be drafted, Cyr and Savard were both drafted in the first round of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Savard would be drafted third overall by the

, and Cyr was drafted thirteenth overall by the

. Cyr would play one more season in junior, but he did finish the season playing ten games for the Flames. Cyr wasn't able to continue his scoring prowess with the Flames, and as a result he was traded to the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

for Carey Wilson. The Hawks were hoping for Cyr to rekindle his chemistry with

, who had already established himself as an elite NHLer by this time. However, Cyr still could not secure a permanent NHL position and after a couple of seasons moved on to the

, and then retired after three seasons in their organization, most of which was spent playing for their minor league affiliate, the

Peoria Rivermen Peoria Rivermen is the name of four minor league hockey clubs: *Peoria Rivermen (IHL), named as such 1984–1996, formerly the Peoria Prancers 1982–1984 *Peoria Rivermen (ECHL), 1996–2005 *Peoria Rivermen (AHL), 2005–2013 *Peoria Rivermen (SP ...

of the International Hockey League, winning the

Turner Cup The Turner Cup was the championship trophy of the International Hockey League from 1945 to 2001 and the renamed United Hockey League from 2007 to 2010. The Cup was named for Joe Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario. Turner became professi ...

in 1985. He would later become the General Manager of the Rivermen, going on to win the Turner Cup again in 1991. Cyr finished his NHL career with 193 games played, scoring 41 goals and 43 assists for 84 points. He currently does work on behalf of the Chicago Blackhawk Alumni Association.

Personal life

In 2008, Cyr created the Cyr Financial Group in Peoria. He was elected to the Peoria City Council by a single vote in 2017. Cyr was reelected to city council in 2021. Cyr currently lives in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

, with his two daughters. His wife, Jeanie, passed away on October 21, 2021.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cyr, Denis 1961 births Living people Calgary Flames draft picks Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Chicago Blackhawks players Ice hockey people from Montreal Montreal Juniors players National Hockey League first-round draft picks Oklahoma City Stars players People from Verdun, Quebec Peoria, Illinois City Council members Peoria Rivermen (IHL) players St. Louis Blues players Springfield Indians players