We’ve looked at the other two members of the famed French Connection Line of the Buffalo Sabres, Gilbert Perreault and Rick Martin. Finally, we look at the right winger, Rene Robert.
Robert was the first Buffalo Sabres player to reach the 100 point plateau in a single season. His number 14 is retired by the club and he still ranks high for career regular season and playoff points in a Buffalo jersey. A privilege many others haven’t been honoured with, Rene was team captain of the Colorado Rockies, if only for 28 games.
Junior and Minor Pro
Hockey Card Collection
NHL Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Rene Robert – Junior and Minor Pro
In the pre QMJHL days in Quebec, Rene Robert played three years of junior hockey with the Trois Rivieres Maple Leafs from 1965-66 to 1967-68. In 1966-67, the Maple Leafs lost in the QJHL finals to the Thetford Mines Canadiens.
Rene Robert Collection
Robert set a QJHL mark with 69 goals in just 49 games in 1967-68. That mark was shattered a few years later by Guy Lafleur. He led the league in goals and finished second with 143 points behind just Michel Briere of the Shawinigan Falls Bruins.
Trois Rivieres finished fourth in the seven team league and fell in the semi-finals to the Drummondville Rangers. Rene was named a First Team All-Star Centre. At left wing was his future French Connection linemate Rick Martin, then playing for Thetford Mines. That year, Robert also saw his first pro hockey action, appearing in three CPHL games with the Tulsa Oilers.
In his rookie pro season, 1968-69, Rene put up great numbers with the Tulsa Oilers. He scored 21 and assisted for 30 for 57 points over 59 games. However, it was Jim Lorentz of the Oklahoma City Blazers that took home the Ken McKenzie Trophy as CHL rookie of the year.
The following year, Robert moved to the American Hockey League to play for the Rochester Americans. His numbers improve with 63 points in 49 games for the Amerks. He was third on the team in scoring, despite playing just 49 of the team’s 72 regular season games.
1970-71 saw him back in Tulsa. He contributed 62 points over 58 games. Rene finished the season in the WHL with the Phoenix Roadrunners. He played seven regular season and ten playoff games for Phoenix, helping the Roadrunners to the finals before losing to the Portland Buckaroos. That year, Robert also played his first five games in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Rene Robert – NHL
Between 1970-71 and 1981-82, Rene Robert played in 744 regular season NHL games with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres and Colorado Rockies. Over that time, he scored 284 and assisted on 418 for 702 points. In the playoffs, Robert added another 41 points in 50 games.
Property of the Toronto Maple Leafs since junior, Robert played just five games with the NHL team in 1970-71 before ending up in Pittsburgh. He would return to Toronto late in his career.
Rene’s time in Pittsburgh was also short. He played 49 games for the Penguins in 1971-72 before being traded to the Sabres for Eddie Shack. Robert appeared in 12 games for the Sabres that year. In his 49 games with Pittsburgh, he put up just 18 points. In his 12 games with Buffalo he added nine.
He was a 20+ goal scorer in eight consecutive seasons with Buffalo. In both 1972-73 and the 1974-75 NHL seasons he scored exactly 40 goals. In 1972-73, Robert finished tied for ninth in goals with Yvan Cournoyer of the Montreal Canadiens, Marcel Dionne of the Detroit Red Wings and Johnny Bucyk of the Boston Bruins.
In 1974-75, Rene had a career year. His 40 goals placed him tenth in the NHL while his 60 assists also put him tenth and his 100 points placed him seventh in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. He was the first Buffalo player to reach the 100 point plateau and was selected a Second Team All-Star Left Winger, behind Guy Lafleur of the Habs. Buffalo reached the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the Philadelphia Flyers.
On October 5, 1979, Rene was traded from the Sabres to Colorado for John Van Boxmeer. Robert was named Rockies team captain at the start of the 1980-81 season. After playing 28 games that year, Rene was traded on January 30, 1981 to the Maple Leafs in exchange for a third round draft pick.
In 1989, Rene Robert was inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame. His number 14 was retired by the team in 1995. To date, his is one of just seven to be retired by Buffalo. Rene remains sixth all-time with 552 regular season points for the Sabres. He is fifth in team history with 39 career playoff points in a Buffalo jersey.
Rene Robert – Rookie Card
The Rene Robert rookie card appears as number 2 in the 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee set. His last card is included in the 1982-83 O-Pee-Chee NHL hockey card set. He appears with the Maple Leafs but didn’t play a game after the 1981-82 season. On the front of the card, it states ‘Free agent as of Nov 9/82’.
Rene’s 1973-74 O-Pee-Chee card (shown above) features an excellent action shot on the front. Robert is shown chasing the puck while Buffalo defenseman Tim Horton ties up St. Louis Blues forward Garry Unger.
Rene Robert Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1965-66 | Trois-Rivieres Reds | QJHL | 42 | 13 | 38 | 51 | 31 |
| 1966-67 | Trois-Rivieres Maple Leafs | QJHL | 41 | 34 | 32 | 66 | 73 |
| 1967-68 | Trois-Rivieres Maple Leafs | QJHL | 49 | 69 | 74 | 143 | 0 |
| 1967-68 | Tulsa Oilers | CPHL | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1968-69 | Tulsa Oilers | CHL | 59 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 57 |
| 1969-70 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 49 | 23 | 40 | 63 | 57 |
| 1969-70 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1970-71 | Phoenix Roadrunners | WHL | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 |
| 1970-71 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1970-71 | Tulsa Oilers | CHL | 58 | 26 | 36 | 62 | 85 |
| 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 |
| 1973-74 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 76 | 21 | 44 | 65 | 71 |
| 1974-75 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 74 | 40 | 60 | 100 | 75 |
| 1975-76 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 72 | 35 | 52 | 87 | 53 |
| 1976-77 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 80 | 33 | 40 | 73 | 46 |
| 1977-78 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 67 | 25 | 48 | 73 | 25 |
| 1978-79 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 68 | 22 | 40 | 62 | 46 |
| 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 |
| 1981-82 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 55 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 37 |
| NHL Totals | 744 | 284 | 418 | 702 | 597 |