Robert Picard

Robert Rene Joseph Picard (born May 25, 1957 in Montreal, Quebec) is a retired Canadian professional player.

Career
Robert Picard established himself as a highly regarded defensive prospect with the Montreal Juniors and Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge from 1973 to 1977. He was selected 3rd overall by the Washington Capitals in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft.

In Washington, expectations were high due to the team's abysmal performance, and Picard was expected to single-handedly reverse the losing fortunes. Picard played well, but after three seasons of unrealistic expectations he was traded to Toronto in exchange for goaltender Mike Palmateer. Toronto management gave Picard little opportunity to show what he was capable of, sending him to his hometown Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Michel Larocque in March, 1981. In his hometown, the expectations were raised even higher and, as before, Picard, in his sensitivity, tried to do more than he could.

In 1983, he was traded to the Winnipeg Jets and was paired with fellow defender Randy Carlyle, with whom he found an opportunity to play within his means. The time in Winnipeg was good but short. Just over two seasons later, he was again on the move, this time to the Quebec Nordiques, where he was a regular on the blueline for four seasons before retiring after a 20 game stint with the Red Wings in 1990.

Picard played in 899 NHL regular season games and scored 104 goals and 319 assists. In 36 playoff games he scored 5 goals and 10 assists. He never played a game of minor pro hockey.

Trivia
Picard was traded to the Winnipeg Jets by the Montreal Canadiens for Winnipeg's 3rd round choice in the 1984 Entry Draft, November 4, 1983. Montreal would use that draft pick to select goaltender Patrick Roy, who would go on to a Hall of Fame career.