Rick Martin

Lore & Background

Martin was drafted fifth overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1971 NHL amateur draft after a junior career with the Montreal Junior Canadiens of the Ontario Hockey Association. He played 685 career NHL games, scoring 384 goals and 317 assists for 701 points. His best season was the 1974–75 season when he scored 52 goals and 95 points in only 68 games. Martin scored at least 44 goals five times in his NHL career.

Martin holds the Buffalo Sabres franchise career records for hat tricks, four-goal games, 40-goal seasons, consecutive 40-goal seasons, 50-goal seasons (tied with Danny Gare), consecutive 50-goal seasons. Midway through the third period of the Sabres' 2–0 home win on February 9, 1978, Dave Farrish of the New York Rangers hooked Martin around the neck from behind and kicked Martin's feet out from under him, causing Martin to hit his head on the ice.

He was knocked unconscious, and went into convulsions. After that play, helmets became a much more common sight on the heads of his Sabre teammates. On November 8, 1980, Martin's career was dealt a devastating blow. In a game against the Washington Capitals at the Aud, Martin was racing in on a breakaway.

Capitals forward Ryan Walter managed to trip Martin and no penalty was called. Capitals goalie Mike Palmateer, already way out of his crease, knocked Martin back down by kicking his knee, causing severe cartilage damage that kept him out of all but 11 games for the remainder of the season. Martin underwent surgery in Toronto and on March 10, 1981, Scotty Bowman traded Martin and Don Luce to the Los Angeles Kings for a pair of draft picks, one of which the Sabres used to get goalie Tom Barrasso in 1983.

Martin played four games for the Kings (one in 1980–81, three in 1981–82) before hanging up the skates in December 1981. He later said that his knee was almost completely ruined by the fall of 1981, and he feared being unable to walk if he kept playing. He blamed Bowman for pressing him to suit up in January 1981, saying it hindered his rehab. In 1989 he, along with the other two members of the French Connection, were inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame.

His #7 was retired along with René Robert's #14 on November 15, 1995, flanking the #11 of Gilbert Perreault under a French Connection banner. On Oct.

Reader's Guide

Martin was selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game in seven consecutive seasons from 1972 to 1978. He was a 1st Team All-Star in 1974 and 1975 to go along with selections to the 2nd Team All-Star in 1976 and 1977. His 21 hat tricks is 14th all-time in NHL history (along with being a franchise record for Buffalo) and his 0.561 goals per game is 12th all-time. While he never won a Stanley Cup, he was part of the roster on Team Canada for their victorious 1976 Canada Cup run. Martin finished in the top ten for goals in five different seasons (1971-72, 1973-74, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1976-77), which most notably saw him finish 2nd in the 1973-74 season. Martin formerly held season franchise records for goals and goals per game. He still holds the record for most hat tricks by a Sabre with 21.

Did You Know?

• Martin was the first non-enforcer to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which can only be diagnosed posthumously.
• Martin owned a bar/restaurant called Slapshot on Niagara Falls Boulevard in Niagara Falls, N.Y.