Craig Rivet

Craig Rivet (born September 13, 1974 in North Bay, Ontario) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is the current captain of the Buffalo Sabres in the National Hockey League. He has previously played for the Montreal Canadiens and San Jose Sharks.

Playing career
Rivet played major junior in the Ontario Hockey League with the Kingston Frontenacs. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft in the third round, 68th overall. Upon being drafted, he recorded junior career highs in 1992–93 with 19 goals, 55 assists and 74 points. He added 12 points in the playoffs as Kingston advanced to the semi-finals but were eliminated by the Peterborough Petes in five games.

After spending his first few professional seasons with Montreal's AHL affiliate, the Fredericton Canadiens, Rivet earned a full-time roster spot with Montreal in 1997–98 and became an alternate captain to Saku Koivu during his time with the team. After a 25-point season with a career-high 8 goals in 2001–02, he re-signed with the Canadiens to a four-year, $12 million contract extension. In 2005–06, Rivet improved to 34 points, his best offensive output with the Canadiens.

With his contract set to expire at the end of the 2006–07 season, Rivet was traded on February 25, 2007, to the San Jose Sharks with a fifth round draft pick in 2008 for Josh Gorges and a first round draft pick in 2007. Before becoming an unrestricted free agent in the off-season, he re-signed with the Sharks to a four-year, $14 million contract, citing San Jose's fan base and competitiveness as major factors in staying with the club. In the first season of his new contract, he recorded a career-high 30 assists and 35 points, topping all team defencemen in scoring (Brian Campbell finished with more points overall during the season, but only scored 19 of his points with San Jose).

On July 4, 2008, Rivet was traded to the Buffalo Sabres with a 2010 seventh round draft pick in exchange for two second round selections in the 2009 and 2010 drafts. Before making his 2008–09 debut with the Sabres, he was named team captain on October 8, replacing Jason Pominville, the last to be named captain as part of the Sabres rotating captaincy the previous season.

International play
Rivet has made one international appearance for Team Canada at the 2003 World Championships in Finland. He recorded 1 assist in 9 games as Team Canada captured the gold medal against Sweden 3-2 in the final.