Gilbert Perreault Hall of Fame Career

Lore & Background

Perreault was a standout junior hockey player who went on to be selected to nine National Hockey League All-Star Games and two post-season NHL All-Star teams (second team centre), while winning the Calder Memorial Trophy and a Lady Byng Trophy, and being selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. He played his entire 17-year career with the Buffalo Sabres and remains the all-time franchise leader in career regular season games played, goals, assists, points, and shots on goal.

He served as the team's captain from 1981 until his retirement in November 1986. He led the team to 13 consecutive playoff appearances from 1972–73 through 1984–85, with the streak ending after the 1985–86 season. Over the course of his 17-season career he accumulated 512 goals and 814 assists in 1191 games. Among his career highlights was the game-winning goal in overtime of the 1978 National Hockey League All-Star Game played at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

Perreault once totaled seven points in a single game, which remains a Sabres record. He also recorded the first hat trick in the team's history. Though several players wore number 11 for the Sabres before him—including Doug Mohns and Tracy Pratt—the number was retired in Perreault's honor.

Reader's Guide

Perreault began playing organized hockey at about age six. He preferred street hockey to playing on the ice and did not skate until he was eight. He began playing minor ice hockey at age nine. He played in the 1961, 1962 and 1963 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with Victoriaville.

He left home at the age of 16 to join his first junior hockey team. His first year (1966–67) of junior hockey was spent with Thetford Mines in the Quebec Junior A League. His teammates included Marc Tardif. The team won the league championships.

After the Quebec Junior A League shut down, Perreault joined the Montreal Junior Canadiens of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) for the 1967–68 season, the first of three years with the Junior Canadiens. His 49 points in 47 games helped the Junior Canadiens to a second-place finish. During his second year on the team, one that included future NHL talents Réjean Houle and André Dupont as well as future professional teammates Jocelyn Guevremont and Richard Martin, Perreault blossomed.

His 97 points were second on the team to Houle's 108 points, and they earned him OHA first All-Star team honours. As Perreault blossomed, the team excelled. In his second season, the team finished first in the OHA and won the 1969 Memorial Cup Canadian Junior championship. It was the first Memorial Cup win for Montreal since 1950.

After Houle moved on to become the NHL's first overall pick, Perreault assumed the leadership role and compiled a 51-goal, 71 assist season, which led the team in both categories and place second in the league to Marcel Dionne's 132 points. The Canadiens defeated the Weyburn Red Wings to become the third junior team to successfully defend their championship and the Memorial Cup. Perreault was named the Ontario Hockey Association most valuable player.

The record of the 1969 and 1970 Montreal Junior Canadiens in the playoffs was so outstanding it caused a change in Memorial Cup eligibility rules. Previously, all Junior clubs in Canada were eligible for the cup, but the Junior Canadiens beat a club from Prince Edward Island so badly in the playoffs that 'Junior A' was re-organized into 'Major Junior' and 'Junior A'. Since then, only Major Junior clubs are eligible for the Cup.

Did You Know?

• Perreault scored a goal on his first shift in a professional scrimmage.
• Bobby Orr once said of Perreault: 'His head and shoulders go one way, his legs go the other way, and the puck is doing something else. When I first saw it I couldn't believe it.'
• Perreault's popularity and respect surpassed O. J. Simpson in a poll of Buffalonians about the best Buffalo athlete.
• Phil Esposito once said if anyone was to break his 76-goal, 152 point season records 'It will be Gilbert Perreault.'
• Perreault was named to the All Tournament Team of the 1981 Canada Cup, despite playing in only four of Canada's seven games.

The Inaugural Draft and Immediate Stardom

Gilbert Perreault's entry into professional hockey is defined by a unique historical coincidence involving the expansion of the National Hockey League. When the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks were established in 1970, they utilized a roulette wheel spin to determine draft order. Coach Punch Imlach strategically selected numbers eight through twelve for Buffalo, hoping to land on his favorite number, eleven. The pointer landed exactly there, granting the Sabres the first overall pick.

This selection was particularly significant as it marked the first year Montreal Canadiens lost their priority rights to draft Quebec junior players, making Perreault available. He immediately embraced the number 11, which he had worn throughout his junior career. His impact was instantaneous; he scored in the franchise's very first game against Pittsburgh and led the team in scoring during his rookie campaign. This exceptional debut earned him the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's top rookie, cementing his status as an immediate cornerstone for the new organization.

The French Connection and Playoff Success

Perreault is most famously remembered as the central figure of 'The French Connection,' a prolific forward trio that revolutionized Sabres hockey during the mid-1970s. Operating alongside teammates Rick Martin and Rene Robert, Perreault utilized his elite playmaking abilities to drive the team's offensive success. This dynamic unit was instrumental in transforming Buffalo into a legitimate contender, culminating in their run to the 1975 Stanley Cup Final. Throughout his seventeen-season tenure with the franchise, Perreault displayed remarkable consistency and leadership.

Franchise Records and Statistical Dominance

Gilbert Perreault holds every major career franchise record. His offensive prowess included a single-game record of seven points, which still stands today. Additionally, Perreault scored both the first power-play goal and the first hat trick in franchise history. He was selected to nine All-Star Games and named to two NHL All-Star teams as a second-team center. Beyond individual accolades like the Lady Byng Trophy, his consistency ensured that he led the team in scoring nearly every season he played without significant injury absence. This dominance made him not just a star player, but the definitive face of the franchise for over a decade and a half.

Legacy, Recognition, and Hall of Fame

His unique ability to stickhandle in tight spaces earned praise from legends like Bobby Orr, who marveled at his deceptive movements with the puck. In 2017, he was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. Within Buffalo, his legacy is immortalized as he remains the only player to ever wear number 11, which has since been retired by the organization. His popularity during his playing days was immense, once surpassing football star O.J. Simpson in local polls as the city's favorite athlete. Perreault's journey from a junior standout who won back-to-back Memorial Cups with Montreal Junior Canadiens to an NHL icon represents a career defined by skill, loyalty, and historic achievement.