Brian Savage

Brian Savage
Born (1971-02-24) February 24, 1971 (age 53)
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Montreal Canadiens
Phoenix Coyotes
St. Louis Blues
Philadelphia Flyers
National team  Canada
NHL draft 171st overall, 1991
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1993–2006

Brian Arthur Savage (born February 24, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers.

Playing career

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Savage attended Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School in Sudbury as a teenager. He was a proficient golfer and track athlete. He played one season with the Sudbury Cubs of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League before jumping to college.

The nephew of former NHL players Larry, Wayne and Floyd Hillman. Savage was originally drafted in 1991 in the 8th round, 171st overall by the Montreal Canadiens. After completing his college hockey career at Miami University, he began his professional career with the Fredericton Canadiens of the AHL in 1993. His first taste of the National Hockey League came at the tail end of the 1993–94 season, playing in 3 regular season and 3 playoff games.

Savage was the first Montreal Canadien since Joe Malone in 1917 to record six points in a road game when he had four goals and two assists against the Islanders on April 8, 1999. He also recorded the Canadiens' first hat trick in Bell Centre history on October 7, 1996. After several fast starts in the month of October and subsequently fading the rest of those seasons, Savage became known as hockey's "Mr. October".[1]

After parts of eight seasons with the Canadiens, Savage was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes on January 25, 2002, along with a 2002 3rd-round pick for Sergei Berezin. On December 27, 2003, he scored the first Coyote goal in Jobing.com Arena.[2] He was soon after traded to the St. Louis Blues for their playoff run. Due to the parameters of the trade, he was claimed off waivers by Phoenix in the off-season.

Following the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Phoenix bought out his contract for $1.9 million. Savage signed a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Flyers prior to the 2005–06 NHL season.[3] After one season in Philadelphia, Savage announced his retirement on September 21, 2006.

Savage was the co-owner of the now defunct New Mexico Scorpions of the Central Hockey League while he was playing for the Flyers.[4][5]

Personal life

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Savage's son, Redmond, was drafted in the fourth round, 114th overall, by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.[6]

Awards and honours

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Award Year
All-CCHA First Team 1992-93
CCHA Player of the Year 1992-93
AHCA West Second-Team All-American 1992–93
Silver medal Canadian Olympic Team 1994 Winter Olympics

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1988–89 Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School HS-ON
1989–90 Sudbury Cubs NOJHL 32 45 40 85 61 8 11 14 25 26
1990–91 Miami University CCHA 28 5 6 11 26
1991–92 Miami University CCHA 40 24 16 40 43
1992–93 Miami University CCHA 38 37 21 58 44
1992–93 Canada Intl 9 3 0 3 12
1993–94 Canada Intl 51 20 26 46 38
1993–94 Fredericton Canadiens AHL 17 12 15 27 4
1993–94 Montreal Canadiens NHL 3 1 0 1 0 3 0 2 2 0
1994–95 Montreal Canadiens NHL 37 12 7 19 27
1995–96 Montreal Canadiens NHL 75 25 8 33 28 6 0 2 2 2
1996–97 Montreal Canadiens NHL 81 23 37 60 39 5 1 1 2 0
1997–98 Montreal Canadiens NHL 64 26 17 43 36 9 0 2 2 6
1998–99 Montreal Canadiens NHL 54 16 10 26 20
1999–00 Montreal Canadiens NHL 38 17 12 29 19
2000–01 Montreal Canadiens NHL 62 21 24 45 26
2001–02 Montreal Canadiens NHL 47 14 15 29 30
2001–02 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 30 6 6 12 8 5 0 0 0 0
2002–03 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 43 6 10 16 22
2003–04 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 61 12 13 25 36
2003–04 St. Louis Blues NHL 13 4 3 7 2 5 1 1 2 0
2005–06 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 66 9 5 14 28 6 1 0 1 4
NHL totals 674 192 167 359 321 39 3 8 11 12

International

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Olympic medal record
Men's ice hockey
Silver medal – second place 1994 Lillehammer Ice hockey
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1993 Canada WC 8 1 0 1 2
1994 Canada OG 8 2 2 4 6
1999 Canada WC 8 3 3 6 6
Senior totals 24 6 5 11 14

References

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  1. ^ "Montreal Canadiens Legends: Brian Savage". Joe Pelletier. Greatest Hockey Legends.com. August 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  2. ^ Woodall-Pike, Charles (September 13, 2014). "Coyotes Arena History: Home Is Where the Howls Are". thehockeywriters.com. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  3. ^ "Flyers Sign Forward Brian Savage". NHL.com. September 15, 2005. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  4. ^ "CHL's New Mexico Scorpions Announce New Ownership". oursportscentral.com. January 24, 2006. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  5. ^ "BE A PLAYER: REWIND BRIAN SAVAGE". nhlpa.com. March 29, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  6. ^ Sapurji, Sunaya (July 24, 2021). "Detroit's Red Savage learned that where you're picked in the NHL Draft doesn't define you". The Athletic. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
[edit]
Awards and achievements
Preceded by CCHA Player of the Year
1992-93
Succeeded by