Reggie Savage, a forward for the Washington Capitals and the Quebec Nordiques, lost his fight with cancer last Sunday, according to his family. His age was 53.
Although Savage only played in a small number of games for the NHL, he nevertheless managed to rack up an impressive minor league and international resume and earn a spot in the league’s record books. Following his 68-goal, 68-game QMJHL season with the Victoriaville Tigres, the Washington Capitals drafted Savage fifteenth overall.
The following year, at the World Junior Championship, Savage scored nine points in seven games for Canada, surpassing the scoring totals of Andrew Cassels, Rod Brind’Amour, Éric Desjardins, Martin Gélinas, and Mike Ricci, all of whom would go on to play in the National Hockey League.
Though Savage played in one NHL game with the Capitals in 1990–91, he had to wait a few more seasons before he got his chance. Savage made a triumphant return to the National Hockey League two years later.
He beat Minnesota North Stars goalie Jon Casey on a penalty shot on November 18, 1992, making him one of five players in league history to do so. That season, he saw action in 16 games for the Redskins, scoring twice and adding five points.
He had a good year with the Nordiques after being moved by the Capitals the next winter. In 1993–94, he appeared in 17 games, scoring seven points.
While Savage did continue to play until 2005, those were his final games at the top level of the sport. He stayed on two-way NHL contracts for several teams throughout the decade. Over the course of ten seasons in the AHL, Savage amassed 557 penalty minutes, scored 259 goals, and had 442 points in 481 games played.
While playing abroad, he scored twice in four games for Team Canada at the 2001 Spengler Cup and finished the season with 28 points in 31 games for EHC Biel-Bienne and EHC Visp, both of which were part of the second-tier Swiss National League.
Savage was a devastating offensive danger for the Italian league club Asiago from 1998–99 and 2002–03, appearing in 67 games and accumulating 112 points.
A permanent tribute was unveiled at Capital One Arena early last year to Savage, one of eleven Black players in Capitals history, and he will continue to be remembered.
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