Richard Sévigny

Richard Sévigny
Born (1957-04-11) April 11, 1957 (age 67)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 178 lb (81 kg; 12 st 10 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Montreal Canadiens
Quebec Nordiques
NHL draft 124th overall, 1977
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1977–1990

Joseph Francis Richard Sévigny (born April 11, 1957) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens and Quebec Nordiques in the National Hockey League.[1] He then moved to France to be coach of Chamonix HC (1989–90), Diables Rouges de Briançon (1990–91) and Angers (1994–95), and then returned to the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey. He is noted for being the last Montreal Canadien to wear #33 prior to Patrick Roy.

Playing career

Before making the NHL, Sevigny played for 5 different teams. He spent his junior career in the QMJHL with the Granby Vicks and the Sherbrooke Castors. In 1976, Sevigny was selected to the QMJHL West First All-Star Team by playing in 55 games and posting a 3.85 GAA. His strong play made Team Canada notice him and he was selected to play in the 1976 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships where he won a silver medal. Sevigny's play at the international level caught the attention of the Montreal Canadiens and in 1977, he was selected 124th overall in the 1977 NHL amateur draft. The Canadiens also picked seven other goalies creating some competition to join the roster.

In 1978, Sevigny played for the Kalamazoo Wings in the IHL. He played in 35 games and recorded a 3.01 GAA, good enough to be selected to the Second All-Star Team. He then spent the next season in the AHL, with the Springfield Indians, and the Nova Scotia Voyageurs.

In the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals, Michel Larocque was scheduled to start game two. Larocque was injured during the pre-game warm up and Sevigny was dressed as a backup in his place. The Canadiens would win that year and Sevigny's name was engraved on the Stanley Cup before ever playing an NHL game.

With Ken Dryden, retiring in the off-season in 1979, spots opened up on the Canadiens roster. Sevigny attended training camp and played well enough to start in eleven regular season games in the 1979-80 season. The following season, he played in 33 games, won 20 of them and had a league best 2.40 GAA. He won the Vezina Trophy along with Denis Herron and Michel Larocque with Montreal that season. On April 20, 1984, Sevigny took part in the "Vendredi Saint" brawl against the Quebec Nordiques. The two benches cleared twice during the game and delayed the game for more than an hour. Sevigny fought the Nordiques' backup goalie Clint Malarchuk and was given a game misconduct.

The next two seasons saw Sevigny post back to back winning records but he was not offered a contract by the Canadiens. They released him and he was quickly picked up by the Quebec Nordiques. He signed a four-year deal and spent the next three seasons with the Nordiques and their AHL affiliate, the Fredericton Express before finishing his career in France in 1990.

Richard Sévigny
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Men's ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 1976 Finland Ice hockey

Retirement

According to hockey lore, Sevigny was quoted as saying that Guy Lafleur would have Wayne Gretzky in his back pocket during the 1981 playoffs, a quote that motivated the Oilers team to victory over the fabled Habs.[2] Sevigny has involved himself in old-timers charity hockey games and has coached the semi-pro Verdun Dragons.

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1974–75 Granby Vicks QJHL 50 — — — 2966 240 2 4.85 — — — — — — — — —
1974–75 Sherbrooke Castors QMJHL 2 — — — 62 4 0 3.87 .895 — — — — — — — —
1975–76 Sherbrooke Castors QMJHL 55 — — — 3058 196 2 3.85 .874 15 — — 797 56 0 4.22 .858
1976–77 Sherbrooke Castors QMJHL 65 — — — 3656 248 2 4.07 .863 18 — — 1058 60 2 3.40 .890
1976–77 Sherbrooke Castors M-Cup — — — — — — — — — 4 0 4 240 19 0 4.75 —
1977–78 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 35 — — — 1897 95 1 3.01 — 7 — — 296 12 0 2.43 —
1978–79 Springfield Indians AHL 22 6 12 3 1302 77 0 3.55 — — — — — — — — —
1978–79 Nova Scotia Voyageurs AHL 20 12 6 1 1169 57 1 2.93 — 10 5 5 607 37 0 3.66 —
1979–80 Montreal Canadiens NHL 11 5 4 2 632 31 0 2.94 .900 — — — — — — — —
1979–80 Nova Scotia Voyageurs AHL 35 17 12 4 2104 114 3 3.25 — 4 1 3 239 15 0 3.77 —
1980–81 Montreal Canadiens NHL 33 20 4 3 1777 71 2 2.40 .908 3 0 3 180 13 0 4.33 .845
1981–82 Montreal Canadiens NHL 19 11 4 2 1027 53 0 3.10 .892 — — — — — — — —
1982–83 Montreal Canadiens NHL 38 15 11 8 2130 122 1 3.44 .883 1 0 0 28 0 0 0.00 1.000
1983–84 Montreal Canadiens NHL 40 16 18 2 2203 124 1 3.38 .869 — — — — — — — —
1984–85 Quebec Nordiques NHL 20 10 6 2 1104 62 1 3.37 .874 — — — — — — — —
1985–86 Quebec Nordiques NHL 11 3 5 1 468 33 0 4.23 .864 — — — — — — — —
1985–86 Fredericton Express AHL 6 3 3 0 362 21 0 3.48 .881 — — — — — — — —
1986–87 Quebec Nordiques NHL 4 0 2 0 144 11 0 4.58 .804 — — — — — — — —
1986–87 Fredericton Express AHL 16 4 10 0 884 62 0 4.21 .876 — — — — — — — —
1987–88 Fredericton Express AHL 1 0 0 0 16 2 0 7.50 .600 — — — — — — — —
1989–90 Chamonix HC FRA-2 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
1990–91 HC Briançon FRA — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
AHL totals 100 42 43 7 5837 333 4 3.42 — 14 6 8 846 52 0 3.69 —
NHL totals 176 80 54 20 9485 507 5 3.21 .884 4 0 3 208 13 0 3.75 .859

International

Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1976 Canada WJC 4 — — — 226 23 0 6.10

"Sévigny's stats". The Goaltender Home Page. Retrieved 2017-08-08.

References

  1. ^ Mémoires de Richard Sévigny
  2. ^ (Miracle over Montreal heralded Oiler dynasty Jim Matheson. Edmonton Journal. Edmonton, Alta.: Nov 21, 2003. pg. I.5
Preceded by Winner of the Vezina Trophy
with Denis Herron and Michel Larocque
1981 		Succeeded by