Rick Martin

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Rick Martin (born 26 July 1951 in Verdun, Quebec, Canada) is a retired professional ice hockey winger who played in the NHL for 11 seasons between 1971 and 1982. He is perhaps most famous for playing on The French Connection line with Gilbert Perreault and Rene Robert for the Buffalo Sabres.

Martin was drafted 5th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft. He played 685 career NHL games, scoring 384 goals and 317 assists for 701 points. His best season was the 1974-75 NHL season when he scored 52 goals and 95 points in only 68 games. Martin scored at least 44 goals five times in his NHL career.

Martin was involved in probably one of the two most frightening injuries on Buffalo home ice (the other when Clint Malarchuk's jugular was lacerated). Dave Farrish of the New York Rangers checked Martin at mid-ice and Martin went down, hitting his head on the ice. He was knocked unconscious, and went into convulsions. After that play, helmets became a much more common sight on the heads of his Sabre teammates.

On November 8, 1980 his career was dealt a cataclysmic blow. In a game against the Washington Capitals in the Aud, Martin was racing in on a breakaway. Capitals forward Ryan Walter managed to trip Martin and no penalty was called. Capitals goalie Mike Palmateer, already way out of his crease, knocked Martin back down by kicking his knee, causing career-ending cartilage damage from which Martin would never fully recover.

Martin got surgery in Toronto and on March 10, 1981, Scotty Bowman traded Martin and Don Luce to the Kings for a pair of draft picks, one of which the Sabres used to get goalie Tom Barrasso in 1983. Martin played four games for the Los Angeles Kings before hanging up the skates. His number 7 was retired along with Rene Robert on November 15, 1995 to hang alongside Perreault for eternity.