Dale Hawerchuk called Serge Savard three days ago

Serge Savard instantly fell in love with player Dale Hawerchuk when he joined the Winnipeg Jets in December 1981.

• Read also: Hockey legend Dale Hawerchuk dies

The 18-year-old Cornwall Royals product was already wreaking havoc on National Hockey League (NHL) rinks en route to a 103-point season and the Calder Trophy, awarded to the rookie of the l ‘year.

“I thought he was possibly the second best player in the League after [Wayne] Gretzky, and if he was not at this level, he would get there, ”responded in a telephone interview with“ Le Journal de Quebec ”the former star defender and winner of eight Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens.

Savard had retired in the summer of 1981 in the Habs uniform before returning to the game a few months later with the Jets at the insistence of his good friend and general manager of the team, John Ferguson. At 35, the Senator played the role of big brother to the young Jets led by their first-round pick.

“The [Hawerchuk] lacked a bit of speed, but he was a player of superior intelligence. I found it so good. At one point, his left winger was Larry Hopkins, a guy who was almost no match for the NHL. You had to be good to produce 103 points with these guys! He was the kind of guy who makes a team better. ”

«Fergie [John Ferguson] called me every week to convince me. He told me he needed a veteran to come and help his youth team. I have never regretted. I had fun with them. Let’s say that at 35 years old and eight Stanley Cups, these young people looked at me like an extraterrestrial ”, underlined with a laugh the former general manager of the Canadiens.

Despite the age difference between Savard and Hawerchuk, a deep friendship had developed between the two men over time.

“He had bought a house on the same street as me in Winnipeg and he lived with Scott Arniel and Brian Mullen. I had a one-year-old daughter and he babysat her a few times. Again last year, I went to his golf tournament in Winnipeg, ”said the Hall of Fame member.

Hawerchuk had also taken the trouble to phone his former teammate a few days ago to tell him that he was about to take his last breath.

“Three days ago, he called me to tell me it was over. He wanted to say hello to me […] I’ve never had a call like this in my whole life. He was very positive and he accepted what was happening to him. ”

In addition, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (LHJMQ) reacted to the death by offering its condolences to the family, recalling that he had been voted as the seventh best player in the history of the circuit in 2019.

“Dale Hawerchuk showed during his junior internship that he was not only going to be a great player, but also a great man,” wrote the League on his Twitter account.

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