Denis Savard was about 10 years into his NHL career with the Chicago Blackhawks when Jeremy Roenick arrived, and the two were teammates from 1988-90 and again from 1994-96. Savard also faced Roenick many times in his career before retiring after the 1996-97 season. The forward, who won the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov. 13, 2000.
Here, Savard shares his thoughts on Roenick, who will be inducted into the Hall on Monday.
It's been a long time waiting for this, but Jeremy Roenick had a career that deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. I mean, he played 20 years and nearly 1,400 games (1,363). He's been in many, many All-Star games, 500-plus goals (513) and had two 50-goal seasons.
When the United States won the gold medal at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics, obviously that really sparked its hockey growth, big time. Then you look at the U.S. a few years later and now you have Mike Modano, you have Joe Mullen, you have Jeremy, and they were a huge part of the continued growth of U.S. hockey.