René Robert

René Paul Robert (December 31, 1948 – June 22, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, and Colorado Rockies from 1970 to 1982. He made two All-Star appearances and was selected as the second NHL All-Star team right wing in 1974–75. He also played in the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals with the Sabres, in which he scored the game-winning goal in Game 3.

Early life Robert was born in Trois-Rivières, on December 31, 1948. While playing for the Trois-Rivieres Maple Leafs of the Quebec Junior A Hockey League in 1967–68, he set the QJAHL record with 69 goals in 49 games, a record that has subsequently been broken. He was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs to a five-game tryout contract on March 20, 1968. A statue of the famous forward line, unveiled in 2012, is located in front the Sabres arena, KeyBank Center.

In his first season with the Sabres, Robert led the franchise in goals with 40, Robert led the league in games played (80) and hat-tricks (3) the following season. He was traded to the Colorado Rockies on October 5, 1979, in exchange for defenceman John Van Boxmeer. before being traded on January 30, 1981, to the Maple Leafs, with whom he played his final season in 1981–82. He finished his NHL career with 744 games, recording 284 goals and 418 assists for 702 points. He was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame along with Perreault and Martin in 1989. His number 14 was retired by the Sabres on November 15, 1995,

Robert divided his time between Western New York and Florida. The driveway at his home in Buffalo was constructed from pieces of the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium after its demolition in 2009. He had a heart attack on June 18, 2021, and was placed on life support. He died four days later on June 22 at a hospital in Port Charlotte, Florida, at the age of 72.

Career statistics Source:

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs 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