Sam Pollock
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- This article is about Sam Pollock, hockey manager. For Sam Pollock, the American labor leader, see Sam Pollock.
Samuel Patterson Smyth "Sam" Pollock, OC , CQ (December 25, 1925 – August 15, 2007) was a legendary general manager in the National Hockey League.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Sam was a keen evaluator of talent. In 1950, with the Montreal Junior Canadiens and in 1958, with the Ottawa Junior Canadiens, he won the Memorial Cup. The Montreal Canadiens saw potential in Pollock and quickly hired him to be the successor to Frank J. Selke, serving as Personnel Director from 1959 to 1963, In 1963, Selke finally retired and Sam took over his job as general manager of the Habs.
He spent 14 years with the club as General Manager giving up the job in summer of 1978. He spent one last season with Montreal on their board of directors, before retiring in summer of 1979. Pollock name was included on the Stanley Cup, 12 times, including a NHL record 9 as a Manager. Sam Pollock and head coach Scotty Bowman not only presided over a Canadiens dynasty, but many of their players went on to having successful coaching and managing roles with their own teams.
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[edit] Key Trades
Among one of his biggest moves, was a series of trades in which the Canadiens obtained the first overall pick in the 1971 NHL Entry Draft. [1] That was initially held by the California Golden Seals. He persuaded Seals owner Charlie Finley to trade the Seals' pick and Francois Lacombe in return for Montreal's first round pick and a veteran Ernie Hicke. It turned out to be one of the most lopsided deals in NHL history. Pollock hesitated between Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne, but chose Lafleur with his overall no.1 pick.
Right after New York Islanders GM Bill Torrey drafted Denis Potvin first overall in the 1973 entry draft, Pollock approached Torrey, hoping to trade for Potvin. Pollock's strategy was to offer a "quick-fix" package of mature players to exchange for the top draft pick. Although it was tempting, as the Islanders would immediately benefit from the trade, Torrey ultimately turned down the offer since he felt that Potvin would be a long-term asset to the team.
[edit] Accolades
- In 1976, he was the General Manager for Team Canada which won the inaugural Canada Cup.
- Stanley Cup Champion - 1959-60 as Personnel Director
- Stanely Cup Champion 1965-66-68-69-71-73-76-77-78 as Vice President/General Manager
- Stanley Cup Champion 1979 as a member of Board of Directors. (all 12 with the Montreal Canadiens)
- In 1978, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder and later into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
- In 1985, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Knight of the National Order of Quebec in 2002.
- He was also Chairman and CEO of Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays from 1995 – 2000. The Blue Jays are honoring him by wearing a patch bearing his initials on the sleeve of their jerseys.
