1970-71 O-Pee-Chee 51 Serge Savard Hockey Card (Front)
1970-71 O-Pee-Chee 51 Serge Savard Hockey Card (Back)
1970-71 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
Card Notes
Starting his fourth year with the Canadiens, Serge seems certain to become No. 1 defenseman – won the Con Smythe Award as most valuable player for his team in the playoffs. Serge won CPHL Rookies Award.
En Français
Serge, qui commence sa quatrième année avec les Canadiens, semble certain de devenir le joueur de défense No 1 des Canadiens. Gagnant du Trophée Con Smythe comme joueur le plus utile à son club durant les éliminatoires. Serge a déjà été choisi Recrue de L’Année dans la LHPC.
Details
A bit of an ERROR – it’s the Conn Smythe Trophy, not the Con Smythe Award. In their defense, the award was relatively new with Serge Savard being just the fifth winner. Jean Beliveau, also with the Montreal Canadiens, was the first in 1964-65.
Savard won the Conn Smythe in 1968-69 when the Habs went 12-2 in the post season to win the Stanley Cup championship. Montreal swept the New York Rangers in the opening round before going six to take out the Boston Bruins in the semi-final. In the final, the Canadiens swept the St. Louis Blues for the win. In those playoffs, the blue liner contributed ten points in 14 games.
After an outstanding junior career with the Montreal Junior Canadiens, Savard spent time in the CHL with the Houston Apollos. In 1966-67, he was honoured with the Ken McKenzie Trophy as rookie of the year. That year, Serge totaled 32 points in 68 games. His 155 penalty minutes placed him third in the league.
Serge Savard played 1,040 regular season and 130 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1966-67 and 1982-83 with the Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets. Never honoured with the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman, Serge did help the Habs to eight Stanley Cup championships and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1986. He appeared in five games for Canada at the 1972 Summit Series.