Editing Gilbert Perreault (section)

===Professional career===
In [[1969–70 NHL season|1970]], two new franchises were awarded in the NHL &mdash; the Buffalo Sabres and the [[Vancouver Canucks]].  It was a foregone conclusion Perreault would be the first selection in the 1970 amateur draft. The two new teams took part in a [[roulette wheel]] spin to determine who would get the first pick. Ultimately, the Canucks were allocated numbers 2–6 on the wheel, while the Sabres had 8–12 (The number 7 spot was neutral, meaning the pointer landing on it would have required a re-spin). When league president [[Clarence Campbell]] spun the wheel, he initially thought the pointer landed on 1 (in reality, the wheel had no number 1 spot) and started to congratulate the Vancouver delegation. However, Sabres coach/general manager [[Punch Imlach]] asked Campbell to check again. As it turned out, the pointer was on 11.<ref>{{cite book |last=Duhatschek |first=Eric |title=Hockey Chronicles |year=2001 |publisher=Checkmark Books |location=New York City |isbn=0-8160-4697-2 |display-authors=etal |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/hockeychronicles00tren }}</ref> Imlach had chosen 8-12 for the roulette wheel spin because it included 11, which was his favourite number.<ref name=LoHOoOGP/> This was the first year the [[Montreal Canadiens]] did not have a priority right to draft [[French-speaking Quebecer|Québécois]] junior players. Consequently, Perreault was available and taken first overall by the Sabres.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nhl.com/futures/firstoverall.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703185809/http://www.nhl.com/futures/firstoverall.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-07-03 |title=First Overall Selections |access-date=2008-06-20 |publisher=[[National Hockey League]]}}</ref>

Coincidentally, Perreault had worn #11 throughout his junior career, and kept it in Buffalo in honour of the roulette wheel choice. As expected, he became an immediate star.  He scored a goal in the franchise's very first game, which was a 2–1 victory on October 10, 1970, against the [[Pittsburgh Penguins]].<ref name=TP>{{cite web|url=http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/buffalo/sabres.html|access-date=2007-07-24|title=Buffalo Sabres|publisher=Tank Productions|date=2007-05-10}}</ref> During his first season, he led the Sabres in scoring (with 38 goals and added 34 assists) &mdash; a feat he would never fail to accomplish in any season in which he did not miss significant time to injury before his penultimate year &mdash; and won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year.<ref name="Calder Trophy">{{cite web |url=http://www.nhl.com/trophies/calder.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060423011518/http://www.nhl.com/trophies/calder.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2006-04-23 |title=Calder Memorial Trophy |access-date=2007-08-21 |publisher=NHL }}</ref>

Perreault developed a reputation as a superb stickhandler,<ref name=HNT100/> and scored a goal on his first shift in a professional scrimmage.<ref>Bailey, p. 12.</ref>  [[Bobby Orr]] once said of Perreault: "His head and shoulders go one way, his legs go the other way, and the puck is doing something else. When I first saw it I couldn't believe it."<ref>McKinley, p. 180.</ref> His popularity and respect surpassed [[O. J. Simpson]] in a poll of Buffalonians about the best Buffalo athlete.<ref name=HNT100/> [[Phil Esposito]] once said if anyone was to break his 76-goal, 152 point season records "It will be Gilbert Perreault."<ref name=HNT100/>

Before the [[1971–72 NHL season]] the Sabres drafted Perreault's Junior Canadiens teammate, [[Rick Martin]], with their first pick. The two jelled as a tandem with each scoring 74 points.  Late in the season the Sabres traded [[Eddie Shack]] for [[René Robert|Rene Robert]].<ref name=TP/> The trio formed one of the decade's most memorable and exciting [[line (ice hockey)|lines]], known as "[[The French Connection (hockey)|The French Connection]]" with Robert on right wing and Martin on left wing. They ended the following 1972–73 season sweeping the top three scoring positions for the team and leading the franchise to its first playoff appearance with Perreault winning the Lady Byng Trophy as the most gentlemanly player. In 1973–74, Perreault endured a broken leg that limited him to 55 games.<ref name=LoHGP/>

The [[1974–75 NHL season]] was memorable for the Sabres' [[Stanley Cup Finals]] appearance. The Sabres finished first in the newly reformatted league's [[Adams Division]], and the French Connection members each finished in the top ten in league scoring. The Sabres defeated original six teams [[Chicago Blackhawks|Chicago Black Hawks]] and [[Montreal Canadiens]] on their way to a Finals appearance against the [[Philadelphia Flyers]].<ref name=TP/> The Sabres lost the series four games to two. 1975 was the closest Perreault would come to winning the Stanley Cup.