| Rick Martin | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1951-07-26)July 26, 1951 Verdun, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Died | March 13, 2011(2011-03-13) (aged 59) Clarence, New York, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 179 lb (81 kg; 12 st 11 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Buffalo Sabres Los Angeles Kings | ||
| NHL draft | 5th overall,1971 Buffalo Sabres | ||
| Playing career | 1971–1982 | ||
Richard Lionel Martin (/mɑːrˈtæn/;French:[maʁtɛ̃]; July 26, 1951 – March 13, 2011) was aCanadian professionalice hockeywinger who played in theNHL with theBuffalo Sabres andLos Angeles Kings for 11 seasons between 1971 and 1982. He featured in the1975 Stanley Cup Finals with the Sabres. He was most famous for playing on the Sabres'French Connection line withGilbert Perreault andRene Robert.
Martin was drafted fifth overall by theBuffalo Sabres in the1971 NHL amateur draft after ajunior career with theMontreal Junior Canadiens of theOntario Hockey Association (OHA). He played 685 career NHL games, scoring 384 goals and 317 assists for 701 points. His best season was the1974–75 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 was selected to play in seven consecutiveAll Star Games (1971–72 through1977–78) and was selected as the officialNHL All-Star first team left wing in1973–74 and1974–75 and the official NHL All-Star second team left wing in 1975–76 and 1976–77.[1] Martin holds the Buffalo Sabres franchise career records forhat tricks, four-goal games, 40-goal seasons, consecutive 40-goal seasons, 50-goal seasons (tied withDanny Gare), consecutive 50-goal seasons.[2][3] Martin is also #11 all-time in career goals per game average (.56) in NHL regular-season history.
Midway through the third period of the Sabres' 2–0 home win on February 9, 1978,Dave Farrish of theNew 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.[4] 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 theWashington Capitals at theAud, Martin was racing in on a breakaway. Capitals forwardRyan Walter managed to trip Martin and no penalty was called. Capitals goalieMike Palmateer, already way out of his crease, knocked Martin back down by kicking his knee, causing severecartilage damage that kept him out of all but 11 games for the remainder of the season.[5]
Martin underwent surgery in Toronto and on March 10, 1981,Scotty Bowman traded Martin andDon Luce to theLos Angeles Kings for a pair of draft picks, one of which the Sabres used to get goalieTom Barrasso in1983. 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.[5]
In 1989 he, along with the other two members of the French Connection, were inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame.[6] His #7 was retired along withRené Robert's #14 on November 15, 1995, flanking the #11 ofGilbert Perreault under a French Connection banner. On Oct. 25, 2005, Martin was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.[7] In 2010, in commemoration of the Sabres' 40th season,The Buffalo News ranked Martin fourth out of the top 40 Sabres of all time, while he was voted fifth by fans.[8] After his death in 2011, the Sabres honored his memory by painting the number 7, the number Martin wore for most of his career with Buffalo, behind each goal at theHSBC Arena for the remainder of the2010–11 season.[9]
In 2012, a statue of "The French Connection" was unveiled[10] in front of the Sabres' arena, today known as KeyBank Center.[11]
Martin was selected to play in theNHL All-Star Game in seven consecutive seasons from 1972 to 1978. He was a1st 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.[12][13] While he never won aStanley Cup, he was part of the roster on Team Canada for their victorious1976 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.[14]
Martin and his wife, Mikey, were owners of Globalquest Solutions and Globalquest Staffing Solutions in Williamsville, New York.[15] The couple had three children together, sons Cory, Josh, and Erick.[16]
Martin owned a bar/restaurant called Slapshot on Niagara Falls Boulevard in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Martin died on March 13, 2011, inClarence, New York, from aheart attack while driving, a complication ofhypertensive arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.[17] He was 59 years old.[18][19] Later analysis revealed that Martin had stage 2chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a disease normally associated withenforcers; the damage was believed to stem from a severe concussion Martin sustained in 1978, and it had no effect on his cognitive abilities. Martin was the first non-enforcer to have been diagnosed with the disease, which can only be diagnosed posthumously.[20]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1967–68 | Thetford Mines Canadiens | QJHL | 40 | 38 | 35 | 73 | — | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1968–69 | Montreal Junior Canadiens | OHA-Jr. | 52 | 22 | 21 | 43 | 27 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1968–69 | Montreal Junior Canadiens | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 12 | ||
| 1969–70 | Montreal Junior Canadiens | OHA-Jr. | 34 | 23 | 32 | 55 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 12 | ||
| 1969–70 | Montreal Junior Canadiens | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 8 | ||
| 1970–71 | Montreal Junior Canadiens | OHA-Jr. | 60 | 71 | 50 | 121 | 106 | 11 | 17 | 7 | 24 | 10 | ||
| 1971–72 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 73 | 44 | 30 | 74 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 75 | 37 | 36 | 73 | 79 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | ||
| 1973–74 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 78 | 52 | 34 | 86 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 68 | 52 | 43 | 95 | 72 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 20 | ||
| 1975–76 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 80 | 49 | 37 | 86 | 67 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 12 | ||
| 1976–77 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 66 | 36 | 29 | 65 | 58 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 1977–78 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 65 | 28 | 35 | 63 | 16 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 13 | ||
| 1978–79 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 73 | 32 | 21 | 53 | 35 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1979–80 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 80 | 45 | 34 | 79 | 54 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 8 | ||
| 1980–81 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 23 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1981–82 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 685 | 384 | 317 | 701 | 477 | 63 | 24 | 29 | 53 | 74 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Canada | CC | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Preceded by | Buffalo Sabres first round draft pick 1971 | Succeeded by |