The French Connection

In professional sports, "expansion team" usually means pushover. The handy euphemism applies to a new franchise that is expected to spend the better part of a decade trying to "expand" an assortment of castoffs and apprentices into a respectable team. Not in Buffalo, however. In only their third year in the National Hockey League, the Buffalo Sabres have a chance to win a Stanley Cup play-off berth. There are three main reasons: Gilbert Perreault, Richard Martin and Rene Robert. Together they make up what Buffalo hockey fans call the "French Connection," the most formidable young line in the N.H.L.

Swooping and slashing down the ice, the shaggy-haired trio is a French Canadian version of a banzai attack. Perreault, 22, from Victoriaville, Que., centers the line with an extraordinary swift and shifty verve. On his left is Martin, 21, from Montreal, a deceptive dervish with an overpowering slapshot. And on the right is Robert, 24, from Trois Rivieres, Que., a stylish sharpshooter who is the line's leading scorer. So far this season, the three have collectively scored 212 points (92 goals, 120 assists) and are the principal reason why the Sabres are battling the Detroit Red Wings for fourth place in the N.H.L.'s East division. Last week the Sabres played a pair of 2-2 ties with the California Golden Seals and the Los Angeles Kings to maintain a slim lead over Detroit. After being victimized by the French Connection, New York Islanders' Goalie Billy Smith marveled: "How they walked around me I'll never know. They're better skaters, better shooters and faster than [Boston's] Esposito's line."*

The existence of the French Connection reflects the recruiting skill of Sabres' General Manager "Punch" Imlach, the savvy former coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. "I've always considered myself lucky," says Imlach, whose Toronto teams won four Stanley Cups, "but I've never been so fortunate as with the Sabres." To determine which expansion team would get first choice in the 1970 player draft, Imlach gained the rights to Perreault by winning a spin on a numbered gaming wheel. Perreault, who, Imlach predicts, "is going to be the greatest hockey player in the world," scored a first-year record of 38 goals and skated off with Rookie of the Year honors.

The next year Imlach drafted Martin, who proceeded to break Perreault's record with 44 goals in his freshman season. Then, in a crafty trade late last season, Imlach rescued Robert from the Pittsburgh Penguins' bench. After experimenting with a half-dozen possibilities, Sabres' Coach Joe Crozier matched Robert with Perreault and Martin, and the French Connection clicked.

All three are superior stick men, all are fast, all are smart. Says Minnesota North Stars' Defenseman Barry Gibbs: "Perreault is certainly among the best centers in the game, if not the best.) He's really quick." Perreault and Martin played together for two years in Canadian junior hockey and thus know each other's moves almost instinctively. Robert has adapted quickly and is the line's best backchecker. Defense against them is a problem. "You can put out a checking line against some other team's best line," says Gibbs, "but it's foolish to try to check these guys--Perreault's just too good with the puck."

Good as Perreault and his wingers are, the Sabres still have some way to go. The other Buffalo lines lack scoring punch, the defense is inconsistent and the team has done poorly on the road --all of which means that the Sabres are unlikely to win the Stanley Cup this year. But with the proven quality of the French Connection and Imlach's building skills, Buffalo may soon be challenging the old, established N.H.L. teams for pro hockey's biggest prize.

*Center Phil Esposito, Wingers Wayne Cashman and Ken Hodge.

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