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Continued from Page 1 Suc and Andrew, along with their wives, also were on hand. “To my family, this night is your night, too, because without you this night would be impossible,” Savard said. “To my (late) mom and dad, I know they’re watching tonight. The only thing they would expect from me tonight is two words: thank you.” After the game, won by the Hawks 1-0, Savard still was on a high. “I got out there and I felt like I was talking to friends,” Savard said. “To be honest with you, I don’t even remember what I said. All have to sit back at home one night, have a party and watch the tape.” Prior to the ceremony, Pulford remembered how close Savard came to never becoming a Hawk not once, but twice. The Hawks drafted Savard third overall in 1980, a pick given to them by the Quebec Nordiques as com pensation for Real Cloutier. Cloutier played for the Nordiques in the World Hockey Association, but when the WHA folded and merged with the NHL, it was the Hawks who owned Cloutier’s rights. “When the Quebec people decided to keep Cloutier, they gave us their first-round draft pick, but they had the choice to give it to us either the year before (in 1979), or in 1980,” Pulford said. “It was the 19th pick in ’79, and I remember sitting there asking (chief scout) Mike Dumas if he was ready. He said yes, we’re tak ing Michel Goulet. “But Quebec decided to keep the pick and they took Goulet.” The Hawks then automatically got Quebec’s first pick in 1980, and it turned out to be third overall. “Doug Wickenheiser, Dave Babych and Savard were the three best players, and we liked Babych and Savard,” Pulford said. Montreal picked first and sur prised the hockey world by passing on the French Canadian Savard, taking instead the bigger center, Wickenheiser. Winnipeg, drafting second, select ed the defenseman Babych, and Savard fell to the Hawks. “We wouldn’t have taken Wicken heiser,” said Pulford, admitting that the Hawks probably would have selected Babych over Savard if it came to that. Babych, 36, still is playing with Van couver and has been a dependable NHL defenseman for 18 seasons. But he’s no Denis Savard.
Newspaper Details
Arlington Heights Daily Herald Suburban Chicago
Arlington Heights, Illinois, US
Fri, Mar 20, 1998
Page 32
Full Page
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USA 28 Apr 2026
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