Congratulations are in order for former Sabres great Dominik Hasek. The Sabres announced on Monday that Hasek's #39 will be retired and raised to the rafters inside the First Niagara Center for posterity. The ceremony will take place when the team Buffalo traded him to so that he could realize his dream of winning the Stanley Cup, the Detroit Red Wings, visit Buffalo on January 13, 2015.
The "Dominator" brand was invented in Buffalo in the '90s, then was marketed worldwide. The guy was a phenomena. A super nova. He's the only NHL goalie ever to play the game with a Slinky for a spine. Seriously. Dominik Hasek was a straight up freak from another planet with his acrobatic, unorthodox ice-level style. He was part goalie, part MMA fighter, part warrior. The guy refused to lose and he maximized the gifts that he was given.
The Sabres have honored six of its legendary players over the years by officially retiring their numbers. I have had the privilege and honor of watching all six of them, and Hasek, thrill and captivate the imaginations of the city of Buffalo and Western New York.
Hasek's sweater will reside beside those of:
Gilbert Perreault ( #11, retired in 1990)
Rick Martin (# 7, retired in 1995)
Rene Robert (# 14, retired in 1995)
Tim Horton ( #2, retired in 1996)
Danny Gare (# 18, retired in 2005)
Pat Lafontaine (# 16, retired in 2006)
Haek's #39 certainly deserves to be accepted into this special fraternity of fantastic Sabres players.
Were it not for Iron Mike Keenan and his propensity to play his goalies like an Ipod on shuffle, Then Hasek never would have become a Sabres.
Believe it or not, Hasek was a 10th round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks (207th overall) in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. He left his home in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia to pursue his NHL dreams.
At the time of the trade in early August 1992, Keenan had settled on Eddie Belfour as his #1 net minder, and a great one he was. The Blackhawks were content to trade Hasek because of the emergence of Eddie Belfour. The Hawks Stephane Beauregard in the deal for Hasek.
There was only one net in Chicago and Kennan felt like Belfur gave the Hawks the better chance to win.
The rest is history.
In a bizarre twist of fate, it was Belfour who back stopped the Dallas Stars to their Stanley Cup win over Hasek and the Sabres in the "No Goal" Cup Finals in 1999.
Hasek appeared in a total of 491 games for the Sabres during a span of nine seasons from 1992-2001. While backstopping the Sabres, he became the first goaltender in NHL history to win the Hart Trophy twice (1997 & 1998), while also capturing six Vezina Trophies (1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999 & 2001) as well as the William M. Jennings Trophy (1994 & 2001) and the Lester B. Pearson Award twice (1997 & 1998).
Those were the days, my friends. We thought they'd never end. We'd sing and dance for ever and a day.
Hasek in goal made the Sabres a legitimate chance to win every night, despite the fact that they were short on offensive talent. Hasek would routinely win games 1-0 and 2-1.
During his time in Buffalo, Hasek earned numerous franchise records and, upon his departure from the Sabres, owned the records for most all-time games played (491), wins (234), shutouts (55) and lowest career GAA (2.22). Hasek appeared in a career-high 72 games for the club in the 1997-98 season, setting a team record with 13 shutouts, only to follow that up with a career-best 1.87 GAA, .937 save percentage and a Stanley Cup Final berth in 1998-99.
After he demanded and orchestrated his trade from the Sabres, he spent a total of four seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, where he earned a pair of Stanley Cup championships (2002 & 2008) and also suited up for the Ottawa Senators during the 2005-06 season, when the Sabres defeated the Senators to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against Carolina.
When he retired from the NHL in 2008, Hasek finished with 389 career wins, and also ranked inside the top 10 in several statistical categories, including highest career save percentage (.922), most games played by a European born goaltender (735), most career shutouts (81) and lowest career goals-against average (2.13). In international competition, the Pardubice, Czech Republic native won a gold medal in the 1998 Winter Olympic Games and a bronze medal in the 2006 Games.
I didn't always like his moodiness, antics and his selfish ways, however, I loved that he gave the Sabres a chance to win every time that he took the net.
Perhaps Hasek's greatest achievement ever in his spectacular career was singlehandedly defeating Team Canada, in the shootout, at the 1998 Nagano Olympics to earn the gold medal.
Congrats, Dom
***
When your team is shutout in back to back home games, its time to go back to basics. That's what Ted Nolan and his coaches did on Monday morning.
The Sabres were on the practice ice bright and early on Monday morning. The team is en route to Orange County where they will kick off a four game roadie on Wednesday night with a rematch with the Anaheim Ducks. The Sabres were flattened by the Ducks 5-1 in a Columbus Day matinee in Buffalo. The Sabres will play Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose and Toronto before they return home to face Boston on October 30.
What new in Pegulaville today?
* Samson Reinhart will be joining the Sabres on this four game roadie. There had been some speculation that the 18 year old would be sent back to his junior club in Kootenay after Nolan healthy scratched him for the 4-0 Boston shutout on Saturday night. It remains to be seen if the kid will play in games or if he will be a healthy scratch.
There still is a chance that Reinhart could be sent back to Kootenay during this road trip. He's been centering the fourth line and skating only 5-6 minutes per game in his past few starts. The Ducks, Kings, and Sharks are some mean hombres and play hockey like a NFL team on ice. They are big, strong and skilled. Reinhart could face more heavy body checks and possible injury should he play against some of the best of the West. Reinhart is pointless in his five games played this season, and is -1 with only 2 shots on goal.
Nolan says Reinhart will make the upcoming 4-game road trip with the team. #Sabres
* Nikita Zadorov was on the ice at Monday's practice. Will he remain in Buffalo or will he be heading home to Russia in the days to come? That's still to be determined. Buffalo Hockey Beat reported Sunday night that Zadorov does not have a release to play with his OHL club the London Knights. The former first rounder (2013 16th pick) had a release to oplay in London last season, however, does not have on in place for this season. KHL club CSKA St. Petersburg owns Zadorov's player rights and if he doesn't stick and stay in Buffalo, he'll play in St. Petersburg since he cannot play with AHL Rochester right now.
* Patrick Kaleta skated with the team and will make the trip to the left coast. After the skate, Nolan said that Kaleta is making progress and is a couple weeks away from re-joining the team. On September 28 in Toronto, PK36 did what he always does when he stepped into a shot lane and took a Morgan Rielly clapper to the face. The face! Needless to say, Kaleta suffered broken bones. He skated with a full cage last week and is wearing the red pinny sweater in practices. He hasn't been cleared for contact yet. I'm told that he will wear the full face cage when he is cleared to return to the lineup.
**
I'm banging my bass drum and gong loudly for a benching of Meszaros and Benoit.
Play Zadorov and Strachan instead, Teddy.
Whats the worst that will happen?
Meszaros is -8 and Benoit is -5.
Watching them play together gives me acid reflux and anxiety.
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