Richard Sévigny

Richard Sévigny
Born	(1957-04-11) April 11, 1957 Montreal, QC, CAN
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight	178 lb (81 kg; 12 st 10 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Left
Played for	Montreal Canadiens Quebec Nordiques
NHL Draft	124th overall, 1977 Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	1977–1990

Joseph Francis Richard Sévigny (born April 11, 1957 in Montreal, Quebec) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens and Quebec Nordiques in the National Hockey League. He then moved to France to be coach of Chamonix HC (1989-90), Diables Rouges de Briançon (1990-91) and Angers (1994-1995), and then returned to the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey. He is noted for being the last Montreal Canadien to wear #33 prior to Patrick Roy.

Playing career

Before making the NHL, Sevigny played for 5 different teams. He spent his junior career in the QMJHL with the Granby Vicks and the Sherbrooke Castors. In 1976, Sevigny was selected to the QMJHL West First All-Star Team by playing in 55 games and posting a 3.85 GAA. His strong play made Team Canada notice him and he was selected to play in the 1976 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships where he won a silver medal. Sevigny's play at the international level caught the attention of the Montreal Canadiens and in 1977, he was selected 124th overall in the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft. The Canadiens also picked seven other goalies creating some competition to join the roster.

In 1978, Sevigny played for the Kalamazoo Wings in the IHL. He played in 35 games and recorded a 3.01 GAA, good enough to be selected to the Second All-Star Team. He then spent the next season in the AHL, with the Springfield Indians, and the Nova Scotia Voyageurs.

In the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals, Michel Larocque was scheduled to start game two. Larocque was injured during the pre-game warm up and Sevigny was dressed as a backup in his place. The Canadiens would win that year and Sevigny's name was engraved on the Stanley Cup before ever playing an NHL game.

With Ken Dryden, retiring in the off-season in 1979, spots opened up on the Canadiens roster. Sevigny attended training camp and played well enough to start in eleven regular season games in the 1979-80 season. The following season, he played in 33 games, won 20 of them and had a league best 2.40 GAA. He won the Vezina Trophy along with Denis Herron and Michel Larocque with Montreal that season. On April 20, 1984, Sevigny took part in the "Vendredi Saint" brawl against the Quebec Nordiques. The two benches cleared twice during the game and delayed the game for more than an hour. Sevigny fought the Nordiques' backup goalie Clint Malarchuk and was given a game misconduct.

The next two seasons saw Sevigny post back to back winning records but he was not offered a contract by the Canadiens. They released him and he was quickly picked up by the Quebec Nordiques. He signed a four-year deal and spent the next three seasons with the Nordiques and their AHL affiliate, the Fredericton Express before finishing his career in France in 1990.

Richard Sévigny

Medal record
Representing Canada
Men's ice hockey
World Junior Championships
	1976 Finland	Ice hockey

Retirement

According to hockey lore, Sevigny was quoted as saying that Guy Lafleur would have Wayne Gretzky in his back pocket during the 1981 playoffs, a quote that motivated the Oilers team to victory over the fabled Habs. Sevigny has involved himself in old-timers charity hockey games and has coached the semi-pro Verdun Dragons.

Awards and achievements

• Selected to the QMJHL First All-Star Team in 1976.
• Selected to the IHL Second All-Star Team in 1978.
• Stanley Cup championship in 1979.
• Vezina Trophy winner in 1981 (shared with Michel Larocque and Denis Herron).

Career statistics

Regular season

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1974–75	Granby Vicks	QJHL		50	—	—	—	2966	240	2	4.85	—
1974–75	Sherbrooke Castors	QMJHL		2	—	—	—	62	4	0	3.87	.895
1975–76	Sherbrooke Castors	QMJHL		55	—	—	—	3058	196	2	3.85	.874
1976–77	Sherbrooke Castors	QMJHL		65	—	—	—	3656	248	2	4.07	.863
1977–78	Kalamazoo Wings	IHL		35	—	—	—	1897	95	1	3.01	—
1978–79	Springfield Indians	AHL		22	6	12	3	1302	77	0	3.55	—
1978–79	Nova Scotia Voyageurs	AHL		20	12	6	1	1169	57	1	2.93	—
1979–80	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		11	5	4	2	632	31	0	2.94	.900
1979–80	Nova Scotia Voyageurs	AHL		35	17	12	4	2104	114	3	3.25	—
1980–81	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		33	20	4	3	1777	71	2	2.40	.908
1981–82	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		19	11	4	2	1027	53	0	3.10	.892
1982–83	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		38	15	11	8	2130	122	1	3.44	.883
1983–84	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		40	16	18	2	2203	124	1	3.38	.869
1984–85	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		20	10	6	2	1104	62	1	3.37	.874
1985–86	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		11	3	5	1	468	33	0	4.23	.864
1985–86	Fredericton Express	AHL		6	3	3	0	362	21	0	3.48	.881
1986–87	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		4	0	2	0	144	11	0	4.58	.804
1986–87	Fredericton Express	AHL		16	4	10	0	884	62	0	4.21	.876
1987–88	Fredericton Express	AHL		1	0	0	0	16	2	0	7.50	.600
1989–90	Chamonix HC	France-2		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	HC Briançon	France		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AHL totals				100	42	43	7	5837	333	4	3.42	—
NHL totals				176	80	54	20	9485	507	5	3.21	.884

Playoffs

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1975–76	Sherbrooke Castors	QMJHL		15	—	—	797	56	0	4.22	.858
1976–77	Sherbrooke Castors	QMJHL		18	—	—	1058	60	2	3.40	.890
1976–77	Sherbrooke Castors	M-Cup		4	0	4	240	19	0	4.75	—
1977–78	Kalamazoo Wings	IHL		7	—	—	296	12	0	2.43	—
1978–79	Nova Scotia Voyageurs	AHL		10	5	5	607	37	0	3.66	—
1979–80	Nova Scotia Voyageurs	AHL		4	1	3	239	15	0	3.77	—
1980–81	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		3	0	3	180	13	0	4.33	.845
1982–83	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		1	0	0	28	0	0	0.00	1.000
AHL totals				14	6	8	846	52	0	3.69	—
NHL totals				4	0	3	208	13	0	3.75	.859

International

Year	Team	Event			GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
1976	Canada	WJC			4	—	—	—	226	23	0	6.10
Junior totals					4	—	—	—	226	23	0	6.10

External links

• Richard Sévigny's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Richard Sévigny's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Don Edwards and Bob Sauve

Winner of the Vezina Trophy with Denis Herron and Michel Larocque 1981

Succeeded by Billy Smith