Rene Robert Sabres
Rene Robert was a Canadian professional hockey player who played 12 seasons in the NHL. Robert was born on December 31, 1948, in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada. He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Colorado Rockies. He is known as the player that scored the game-winning goal in the infamous “Fog Game,” game three of the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers. He was also a member of the Buffalo Sabres “French Connection Line,” one of the most prolific scoring lines in NHL history; the line was made up of Hall of farmer Gilbert Perreault at center and All-Stars Rick Martin on the left-wing and Rene Robert on the right-wing.
Youth Hockey
As a youth growing up in Quebec, Robert played in the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament in 1961 with Trois-Rivieres. he later played three seasons for the Trois-Rivieres Leafs (1965-68) of the Quebec Junior Hockey League, registering 116 goals and 260 points in 132 games. In his third season, he scored 69 goals in 49 games, setting a record that would later be broken. The Toronto Maple Leafs took notice and signed him as an undrafted free agent to a five-game tryout on March 20, 1968.
NHL Career
Rene Robert broke into the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs playing five games and recording no points during the 1970-71 season. On June 8, 1971, he was acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL Intra-League Draft. He played in 49 games for the Penguins before being traded to the Buffalo Sabres for Eddie Shack on March 4, 1972. Once in Buffalo, he was blessed to be placed on the top line, playing with stars Gilbert Perreault and Rick Martin. The line later became known as the “French Connection Line.”
Robert flourished in his inaugural season with the Sabres. Scoring 40 goals and being named to the NHL All-Star Game. The Buffalo Sabres made their first playoff appearance in 1973, falling in six games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadians. In-game five of the series, Robert would score the Sabre’s first overtime playoff goal on April 10, 1973. During the 1974-75 season, Robert had his finest season in the NHL, recording 40 goals and 100 points, becoming the Sabre’s first 100 point player in franchise history. He was also named to the Second NHL All-Star that year. Robert and the Sabres would advance all the way to the Stanley Cup Final that year, facing the Philadelphia Flyers in the first-ever match-up between two expansion teams. Robert would be remembered as the player that scored the game-winning goal in game three of the “Fog Game.” The goal was scored at 18:29 of the first overtime period. After a successful tenure in Buffalo, Robert was traded to the Colorado Rockies on October 5, 1979, in exchange for John Van Boxmeer. On January 30, 1981, he was traded back to Toronto, where his NHL career began and where he ended it after the 1981-82 Maple Leafs season. He finished his NHL career with 284 goals, 418 assists for 702 points in 744 games.
After Hockey
After hockey, Robert took on the role of the NHL Alumni Association. In 1989, he was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame, joining former teammates Gilbert Perreault and Rick Martin. In a ceremony at the Buffalo Auditorium, his number 14 jersey was retired along with Rick Martins number 7 on November 15, 1995, joining superstar teammate Gilbert Perreault, whose number 11 was retired in 1990.
After the Buffalo Auditorium was demolished in 2009, Robert used pieces of the former hockey palace as construction material to build his new driveway. On June 18, 2021, Rene Robert Suffered a heart attack and was placed on life support. Robert died four days later on June 22 he passed away in hosp[ital at Port Charlotte, Florida, he was 72.
Career statistics Rene Robert Sabres
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1965–66 | Trois-Rivières Leafs | QJHL | 42 | 13 | 38 | 51 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 1966–67 | Trois-Rivières Leafs | QJHL | 41 | 34 | 32 | 66 | 73 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 15 |
| 1967–68 | Trois-Rivières Leafs | QJHL | 49 | 69 | 74 | 143 | — | 4 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| 1967–68 | Tulsa Oilers | CPHL | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 14 |
| 1968–69 | Tulsa Oilers | CHL | 59 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 57 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
| 1969–70 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1969–70 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 49 | 23 | 40 | 63 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1970–71 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1970–71 | Tulsa Oilers | CHL | 58 | 26 | 36 | 62 | 85 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1970–71 | Phoenix Roadrunners | WHL | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 7 |
| 1971–72 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 49 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1971–72 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 12 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1972–73 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 75 | 40 | 43 | 83 | 83 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 2 |
| 1973–74 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 76 | 21 | 44 | 65 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1974–75 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 74 | 40 | 60 | 100 | 75 | 16 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 16 |
| 1975–76 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 72 | 35 | 52 | 87 | 53 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| 1976–77 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 80 | 33 | 40 | 73 | 46 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 20 |
| 1977–78 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 67 | 25 | 48 | 73 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 23 |
| 1978–79 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 68 | 22 | 40 | 62 | 46 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 1979–80 | Colorado Rockies | NHL | 69 | 28 | 35 | 63 | 79 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1980–81 | Colorado Rockies | NHL | 28 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1980–81 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 14 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 1981–82 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 55 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | 744 | 284 | 418 | 702 | 597 | 50 | 22 | 19 | 41 | 73 |
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