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— Buffalo Sabres Alumni Plaza —
The combination of center Gilbert Perreault, left wing Rick Martin and right wing Rene Robert is widely considered to be one of the greatest forward lines in NHL history and remains the most celebrated offensive unit in Buffalo Sabres history. The trio, all of whom were French-Canadian, was dubbed 'The French Connection' and played together in Buffalo from the team's acquisition of Robert on March 4, 1972 until his departure on October 5, 1979. Between them, the members of The French Connection played 2,396 games for the Sabres, scoring 1,116 goals and registering 2,573 total points. During their tenure in Buffalo, the three were honored with a combined 15 NHL All-Star Game appearances and seven selections to the First and Second NHL All-Star Teams. All three are members of the Sabres Hall of Fame and have had their numbers officially retired from use by the Sabres. Perreault, the franchise's first ever draft pick, served as the team's captain for five seasons and retired after 17 NHL seasons - all with the Sabres. Inspiration for the statue came from a Ron Mascati photograph taken during a playoff game at Memorial Auditorium on April 27, 1975 which features all three members of The French Connection. During the game in which the photograph was taken, all three members of the French Connection scored a goal to lead the Sabres to a playoff victory against the Montreal Canadiens. To design and construct the statue, the Sabres commissioned distinguished American sculptor Jerry McKenna.| HM Number | HM1IL5 |
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| Tags | |
| Year Placed | 2012 |
| Placed By | The Buffalo Sabres |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Wednesday, December 31st, 2014 at 9:02am PST -08:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 17T E 673505 N 4749185 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 42.87556667, -78.87563333 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 42° 52.534', W 78° 52.538' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 42° 52' 32.04" N, 78° 52' 32.28" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 716 |
| Which side of the road? | Marker is on the right when traveling East |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 37-77 Perry St, Buffalo NY 14203, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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