Buffalo Sabres’ Hall of Famer the No. 7 Rick Martin dies at the age of 59 – NHL Updates
Rick Martin, Hall of Famer and member of the Buffalo Sabres’ famed ‘French Connection’ died on Sunday in a car crash caused by a heart attack while driving. The 59-year-old lost control of the car due to the stroke.
The New York police department issued a statement after he was pronounced dead at a hospital in Buffalo at about 1:00pm that Martin’s car had skid of the road and hit a nearby utility pole after rolling down the shoulder and finally coming to a halt after
smashing into a tree.
Nearby drivers and passengers witnessed Martin driving with his head drooped and eyes closed before finally going off road. It came as a shock to Sabres who were preparing for a match with Ottawa that night.
"We lost a heck of a guy today", Sabres’ coach and an old friend and teammate, Lindy Ruff, said. "It's tough when you lose anybody, and we lost a real good person today. It's a tough one to take".
Preceding the game, Buffalo honoured him with a video tribute on the score board, and observing a moment of silence in his name and the whole stadium gave him a standing ovation.
Rick Jeanneret who has been a team broadcaster for Buffalo Sabres since 1971 commemorated “Rico” with an emotional speech during the tribute.
The Quebec native was drafted fifth overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 1971, setting a record of scoring 44 goals in his second season as a rookie, playing along with teammates, Gilbert Perreault and Rene Robert, they were termed as “The French Connection”.
All three were together on the ice for the last time while taking part in a welcoming ceremony at the HSBC arena in Buffalo for Terry Pegula after the billionaire purchased the franchise before an inaugurating game with Atlanta Thrashers.
"I was told when they were together in the players' lounge; it was like three kindergarten kids in there. I guess they had a good time", said franchise owner, Pegula, who himself became a Sabres’ fan during Martin’s days."We had a lot of plans in the future
for these guys, I guess we'll just have an empty chair around, but it'll be there".
Rick Martin played with Buffalo for over 10 seasons. It was cut off early due to a harsh knee injury in 1980, when playing against Washington Capitals, which was followed by a trade to LA the next season, only being able to play a couple of games and then
finally retiring.
He then settled in New York with his family, finishing a career that boasted 384 goals and 317 assists for 701 points in 685 NHL games.
Martin leaves behind a loving family, his wife, Mickey, and sons, Corey and Josh.
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