Gilbert Perreault

[qwksndmonster]

Good stuff, guys.  I've only seen a few games from the Perrault era, so it's really fun to hear the stories.

[Doohicksie]

I went to play racquetball with my brother many years ago.  Afterwards we went into the sauna at the club.  Perreault was in there too.  We didn't say anything to him but I noticed, GEEZ, look at the size of his calves.  You could almost your hand around his lower leg to touch finger to thumb, but his calves were like pony kegs.  Just massive.

[Samson's Flow]

I went to play racquetball with my brother many years ago.  Afterwards we went into the sauna at the club.  Perreault was in there too.  We didn't say anything to him but I noticed, GEEZ, look at the size of his calves.  You could almost your hand around his lower leg to touch finger to thumb, but his calves were like pony kegs.  Just massive.

So are we talking half the size of inkman's calves? three quarters?

 

Anything larger would just be outrageous. ;)

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Calves?

 

Is that what they call them now?

[Kruppstahl]

There is a documentary kicking around Youtube on Gilbert.

 

Somewhere in there, Jacques Demers sums up Gilbert perfectly as I remember him.

 

Jacques says something like: "Over the years, very few players have had the ability to pick fans up out of their seats.  Guy Lafleur was one of them.  Bobby Orr was one of them.  Wayne Gretzky was one of them.  And I believe Gilbert Perreault was one of them."

 

Gilbert was what is now almost completely lacking in hockey: a superstar that was fun to watch doing anything on the ice.

Edited May 26, 2015 by Kruppstahl

[Marvelo]

I've heard kids growing up in different cities model themselves after the stars in their city at the time. If so, we had tons of budding Gil Perreaults around Buffalo in the 70s and 80s.

 

I lived around the block from Gilbert in Williamsville and remember him pulling right into our driveway while we were playing street hockey. He lived on Ranch Trail West in what was hardly a mansion. We lived on Ranch Trail in one of the original model split level homes. He was shirtless and I was the most visible so he spoke to me. He was looking for someone with a riding lawnmower to cut his lawn. I knew a kid who had one; he was a few streets over…but my dad didn't have one. We had the pull start kind. I would've cut his grass with scissors if I could. Not being socially skilled, I couldn't engage in talk for long. He wasn't a big talker either. So it was only for a brief moment he drove in and out of my driveway and my life but that was it. I wish he could've got out of the car and took some shots but so be it. That's my Gilbert story and I'll remember it for the rest of my days. I still play roller after all this time and I remember Gilbert as a talented, fast and tricky player, forever with his mouth open, making moves. 

Edited May 28, 2015 by 716

[Peter]

FWIW - Barry Melrose mentioned Gilbert last night when reviewing a highlight of Kane.  Essentially, he said that he thought that Kane is the most exciting player in hockey today and that both he and Gilbert have/had the ability to make you look like a fool trying to defend them.

[MBHockey13]

[Stoner]

The guy at 2:13. That's great. You can see people getting out of their seats on most of those rushes.

[DR HOLLIDAY]

He was the reason I fell in love with the Buffalo Sabres.......Radio underneath the pillow, hearing RJ call his name, pure magic....... :beer:

[Randall Flagg]

Where would Perreault's skating speed rank among NHL players today?

[tom webster]

Where would Perreault's skating speed rank among NHL players today?

Certain players transcend different eras. I don't know how his speed matches up but I do know that he still would have been one of the best.

[nfreeman]

I've posted this before, but this is a great article about Perreault.

 

http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles/213593-gilbert-perreault-the-forgotten-frenchman

 

He was a fantastic player. There was nothing like the sound of everyone in the Aud forgetting to breathe when Gilbert would wind up in his own zone and start flying up the ice.

[Marvelo]

He was still scoring about a point a game when he abruptly retired in '86. Remember the organization was at its nadir and chose Pierre Turgeon 1st overall after that season. My guess, he was disgusted with the team and he couldn't escape being a Buffalo Sabre. They should've traded him to Montreal to end his career as a mark of honor.  As great as Perreault was on the Sabres, I can't help but think how much better he would've been on the Habs team of the 70s and 80s. But I'm glad he was here. He influenced a generation (+) of hockey players.

 

Another interesting thing I heard about why Perreault wasn't allowed to play in the '72 Summit Series against the Rooskies was in the early years Imlach told him to just play offense in order to get the fannies in the seats. So he was lacking in defensive responsibility and unfortunately Sinden chose a player like JP Parise to replace Perreault,,,of course that decision sucked.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0qtxHnKM_o

Edited May 30, 2015 by 716

[tom webster]

He was still scoring about a point a game when he abruptly retired in '86. Remember the organization was at its nadir and chose Pierre Turgeon 1st overall after that season. My guess, he was disgusted with the team and he couldn't escape being a Buffalo Sabre. They should've traded him to Montreal to end his career as a mark of honor. As great as Perreault was on the Sabres, I can't help but think how much better he would've been on the Habs team of the 70s and 80s. But I'm glad he was here. He influenced a generation (+) of hockey players.

 

Another interesting thing I heard about why Perreault wasn't allowed to play in the '72 Summit Series against the Rooskies was in the early years Imlach told him to just play offense in order to get the fannies in the seats. So he was lacking in defensive responsibility and unfortunately Sinden chose a player like JP Parise to replace Perreault,,,of course that decision sucked.

 

 

Considering you couldn't get a ticket without knowing someone in those early years, I doubt he was told to play offense to put fannies in the seats not to mention that Pinch couldn't give a rats ass about ownership requests if they would be so daring to try.

[Stoner]

Considering you couldn't get a ticket without knowing someone in those early years, I doubt he was told to play offense to put fannies in the seats not to mention that Pinch couldn't give a rats ass about ownership requests if they would be so daring to try.

The sellout streak started in October 1972, the team's third season. Before that, attendance was strong. But was it strong because of Perreault's flash and dazzle? I wouldn't be surprised if Imlach used Perreault to sell hockey in Buffalo, at the expense of his defensive play. It was no sure thing that the community would embrace the Sabres in those very early days — Buffalo was used to top-notch hockey in the form of the Bisons, who had won the Calder Trophy the season before the Sabres arrived.

 

In his book, Paul Wieland talks about how Ted Darling would go out to "rubber chicken" dinners and any other community event they could think of and talk up the team; and how the team's vice president for business, Dave Forman, would grab people in the lobby of the Aud who were buying single game tickets and take them back to his office to sell them on seasons. They had to work hard to build an affinity for the team, an emotional connection that really bloomed in 72-73 when they made the playoffs for the first time.

Edited May 30, 2015 by PASabreFan

[deluca67]

I remember waiting for the mail to arrive with my Sabres open practice tickets just for the honor of taking a bus down to the Aud before the sun was up just to watch #11 practice. My old man worked two jobs so we there wasn't much time or money to take me to Sabres games so the open practices were my only real chance to see the Sabres up close. We got there real early and were able to sit in the reds.  

[tom webster]

The sellout streak started in October 1972, the team's third season. Before that, attendance was strong. But was it strong because of Perreault's flash and dazzle? I wouldn't be surprised if Imlach used Perreault to sell hockey in Buffalo, at the expense of his defensive play. It was no sure thing that the community would embrace the Sabres in those very early days — Buffalo was used to top-notch hockey in the form of the Bisons, who had won the Calder Trophy the season before the Sabres arrived.

 

In his book, Paul Wieland talks about how Ted Darling would go out to "rubber chicken" dinners and any other community event they could think of and talk up the team; and how the team's vice president for business, Dave Forman, would grab people in the lobby of the Aud who were buying single game tickets and take them back to his office to sell them on seasons. They had to work hard to build an affinity for the team, an emotional connection that really bloomed in 72-73 when they made the playoffs for the first time.

I will defer to you but I am surprised to hear that they didn't sell out the first year considering they still hadn't added the oranges to the Aud.

As far as Imlach, I just can't see him in the role hockey ambassador.

 

OK, I'm at my daughter's dance recital do no links but a quick internet search shows average attendance near capacity right from the beginning. 9700 first year, over 15K every year till capacity was increased to 16433. Again, with the Bison fans and all the Canadien fans dying for live action I still have to question Gil being told he needed to help sell tickets.

Edited May 30, 2015 by tom webster

[Stoner]

I will defer to you but I am surprised to hear that they didn't sell out the first year considering they still hadn't added the oranges to the Aud.

As far as Imlach, I just can't see him in the role hockey ambassador.

 

OK, I'm at my daughter's dance recital do no links but a quick internet search shows average attendance near capacity right from the beginning. 9700 first year, over 15K every year till capacity was increased to 16433. Again, with the Bison fans and all the Canadien fans dying for live action I still have to question Gil being told he needed to help sell tickets.

The following link has a link to the 71-72 media guide, which has game by game attendance for the first season. http://sabresdigitalpressbox.com/media-guide/ 

 

Second half was a little better than the first half; there were a handful of games with crowds under 8,000 in the first half when the opponent didn't have the cachet of a Montreal or Boston. The guide has a blurb that says tickets were a "black market commodity" by the end of the first season.

 

You don't think Imlach wanted Perreault to play it wide open to sell tickets, but do you agree that's how he wanted him to play?

Edited May 31, 2015 by PASabreFan

[tom webster]

The following link has a link to the 71-72 media guide, which has game by game attendance for the first season. http://sabresdigitalpressbox.com/media-guide/

 

Second half was a little better than the first half; there were a handful of games with crowds under 8,000 in the first half when the opponent didn't have the cachet of a Montreal or Boston. The guide has a blurb that says tickets were a "black market commodity" by the end of the first season.

 

You don't think Imlach wanted Perreault to play it wide open to sell tickets, but do you agree that's how he wanted him to play?

No doubt he played exactly how Punch wanted him to. I think he might have wanted him to shoot more but that's it

[Neo]

I remember waiting for the mail to arrive with my Sabres open practice tickets just for the honor of taking a bus down to the Aud before the sun was up just to watch #11 practice. My old man worked two jobs so we there wasn't much time or money to take me to Sabres games so the open practices were my only real chance to see the Sabres up close. We got there real early and were able to sit in the reds.

 

We have very similar memories and circumstances. The open practice was an annual event that I looked forward to for months. If I remember correctly, we clipped a milk carton for the request, filled out a form, mailed it in and waited. I lived in Blasdell at the time and took a bus in, as well. You arrived earlier than I did. I sat in the blues.

[Taro T]

Open practice was a blast.

[LabattBlue]

For those not fortunate to get their hands on tix, the open practice was as good as being at a game.  

[Eleven]

I think some perspective is necessary.  Perreault is, quite obviously, my favorite hockey player ever.  But let's look at some stuff:

 

--His speed in 1970 would be a joke now.

 

--If he tried his tricks from then, now, you'd all be bitching like you did with Afinogenov.

 

--He was NOT known for being a two-way player.  He was a center who looked for that puck coming out of the zone.  I'm not saying he never banged around behind Crozier, of course he did, but that was not his thing.  His thing was to let Schoeny loosen that up so he could carry it.

 

--And he CARRIED IT.  Not Bylsma hockey.  Perreault, Martin, and Robert CARRIED IT.  I don't know that they ever dumped it if not for a change.  Ever.

[Marvelo]

I think some perspective is necessary.  Perreault is, quite obviously, my favorite hockey player ever.  But let's look at some stuff:

 

--His speed in 1970 would be a joke now.

 

--If he tried his tricks from then, now, you'd all be bitching like you did with Afinogenov.

 

--He was NOT known for being a two-way player.  He was a center who looked for that puck coming out of the zone.  I'm not saying he never banged around behind Crozier, of course he did, but that was not his thing.  His thing was to let Schoeny loosen that up so he could carry it.

 

--And he CARRIED IT.  Not Bylsma hockey.  Perreault, Martin, and Robert CARRIED IT.  I don't know that they ever dumped it if not for a change.  Ever.

 

Don't agree. He had amazing speed and would have amazing speed today plus he was elusive. He cut through defenses. He was an assist machine. And he had brains. He didn't spin his wheels like Afinogenov, who was probably faster. Perreault had many more moves and actually got around and through people and made plays that actually resulted in goals. Afinogenov was so fast he didnt know what to do. He is really known for only one play. Perreault made hundreds of plays like that, especially the kind cutting through defenses and faking out the goalie. To me, there's no comparison between Perreault and Afinogenov as players…Perreault had five times as many goals and eight times as many assists. He's a Hall of Famer; a Mario Lemieux prototype. I'm sure any team today would love to have a Perreault. 

Edited June 2, 2015 by 716