The Sabres unveiled their new reverse retro jersey today to the delight of the portion of the fan base that loves the goat head crest. Here's the new sweater in all its blue-and-gold glory:
The #ReverseRetro jersey will be available November 15!#LetsGoBuffalo x @adidashockey pic.twitter.com/vZFJOdfvHK
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) October 20, 2022
There seems to be a generational divide as to whether the goat head jersey is good, with the traditionalists who watched the ‘70s and ‘80s Sabres on one side and those who grew up watching the one true GOAT (Dominik Hasek) on the other.
The apocryphal story as to why the Sabres changed their logo and colors in 1996 from blue and gold to red and black traces its origins to the change in ownership from the Knox family to the Rigas family in the ‘90s. As the story goes, new owner of the Sabres and owner of Adelphia Cable, John Rigas, wanted to integrate the color scheme of his cable company with that of his hockey team.
It’s a good tale but substantially untrue. The Sabres were still owned by the Knox family at the time of the jersey change. According to a Buffalo News article written by Budd Bailey in April of 1996, the reason for the uniform switch had more to do with rejuvenating the brand with the blessing of Seymour and Norty Knox. Then-President of the Sabres Doug Moss told Bailey the reason was to bring some new energy to the squad.
“We wanted to be bigger, younger, stronger, confident, and that’s what went into the logo,… said Doug Moss. “I think it sets a tone for what the image of the team is and what the attitude is.…
It was the golden age of gaudy, cartoonish NHL jerseys and the Sabres leaned into it with perfect WWF “Attitude Era… confidence.
The Sabres aren’t content with merely bringing back one goat head jersey this year, though, as they will also debut their semi-permanent, red-and-black alternate jersey in November. That jersey will feature a slightly updated but mostly original black-and-red goat head, and while we don’t know for sure what color the jersey will be, it’s widely speculated that it will be black rather than red.
Long live the goat head.
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Below are some assorted musings on the Sabres 2-1 record so far and their 9:30 pm matchup in Calgary against the Flames.
- Ilya Lyubushkin is quickly becoming a fan favorite with his rock ‘em sock ‘em brand of truculent hockey. He laid out Leon Draisaitl and Dylan Holloway with a pair of clean, crunching hits in Edmonton on Tuesday before leaving the game following a blocked shot. Two enormous hits and an injury from a blocked shot will quickly endear a player to the Sabres’ faithful who have often clamored for more physicality among their players. Lyubushkin reportedly participated in the morning skate so it appears he avoided significant injury on the blocked shot.
OH MY GOD pic.twitter.com/YQTSyovOkv
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) October 19, 2022
- Eric Comrie is likely getting a second-straight start tonight for the Sabres following his 46-save performance against the Oilers. Comrie kept the Sabres in the game in the first period and then shut the door on the Oilers in the third period in a game where the Oilers controlled for long stretches. While no one should count on their goalie to make 46 saves in a game, the young Sabres squad must feel pretty good with their goaltending tandem currently.
- JJ Peterka looks like a composed vet out there. His speed, tenacity, touch, vision and overall game looks much more mature than would be expected from a 20-year-old, and it’s not a stretch to say he’s been one of the Sabres’ best forwards so far this season. Below is a chart which helps show just how effective the combination of Peterka and Cozens was against the Oilers on Tuesday.
- Rasmus Dahlin has made some more team history as the first defenseman for the Sabres to ever score a goal in the first three games of the season. Dahlin has undoubtedly worked on his shot over the past year or so, and it absolutely shows. He’s firing some bullets out there.
- Jack Quinn will likely be a healthy scratch for the second game in a row while Vinnie Hinostroza will remain in the lineup. A scratch here or there for Quinn is no big deal, but if he continues to be scratched for even three games in a row, it may be time to start wondering if the team is better off sending him back to Rochester. It will do Quinn less good to sit around watching the Sabres than it would to having him playing big minutes with Seth Appert’s Americans. He needs to get into at least one game on this four-game road trip.
- Shoutout to the Edmonton Oilers broadcast team. Their presentation was clean, informative, insightful and entertaining. Sometimes when you tune into an away broadcast, there is a ton of snark about how awful the Sabres have been for over a decade. Not so here. Jack Michaels and Louie DeBrusk were well-versed on the Sabres roster and they talked very knowledgeably about the current makeup of the team.