Buffalo Sabres Legends

Buffalo Sabres Greatest Players

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:16:00 +0000

Tom Barrasso
Real Cloutier
Adam Creighton
Rick Dudley
Dave Dryden
Don Edwards
Mike Foligno
Danny Gare
Bill Hajt
Dominik Hasek
Pat Lafontaine
Don Lever
Jim Lorentz
Don Luce
Clint Malarchuk
Rick Martin
Tony McKegney

Alexander Mogilny
Mark Napier
Gilbert Perreault
Larry Playfair
Craig Ramsay
Mike Ramsey
Rob Ray
Rene Robert
Lindy Ruff
Bob Sauve
Jim Schoenfeld
Ric Seiling
Ray Sheppard
Brian "Spinner" Spencer
Pierre Turgeon

Alexander Mogilny

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 02:01:00 +0000

Alexander Mogilny, "Mogs" as he was known to many of his teammates, was known as a happy-go-lucky, carefree spirit. He has a world of talent but on some nights a thimble of execution. On any given night he could dance all over the rink, wow the crowd and make the opposition drool. He was just that good.

Yet on many other nights he was simply invisible - floating across the ice, not doing much of anything. On those nights you just hoped he did not wake up if you were a fan of the opposition.

Alexander Mogilny represented the best of two worlds, almost literally. He was born in Khabarovsk USSR, and was raised in the old Soviet hockey system. Based on his skating and puck handling skills, he could rank among the very elite in Russia's hockey history. Based on talent alone he is in the top 1 or 2 per cent of all hockey players ever.

Even though the walls of communism were literally on the verge of falling in 1989, Mogilny desperately wanted out of the Soviet Union. At that time Soviet hockey veterans such as Viacheslav Fetisov and Sergei Makarov were finally being freed to play outside of the Motherland. It was a reward for their years of service, they were publicly told.

Yet for a young star like Mogilny, who was named as the best forward at the 1988 World Junior Championships in 1988, it meant little. It still appeared he would have to go through several years with Red Army and the Soviet national teams. Little did he know that in just a couple of years he too would have been allowed to go anywhere he pleased.

But Mogilny, who was drafted in 1988 by the Buffalo Sabres, was impatient. He wanted to go to the United States as badly as he wanted to get away from Viktor Tikhonov.

Tikhonov was a mercilessly tough coach, particularly on his star players. It was his way of pushing his players to perform even better. Tikhonov was tough on Mogs, and his linemates Sergei Federov and Pavel Bure. The last straw for Mogs was in February 1989. He was struck in the face by the stick of Spartak defenseman Yuri Yaschin. Mogilny felt the blow was deliberate, and immediately dropped his gloves and stormed over to Yaschin, and belted him. Such an act of undiscipline landed him a 10 game suspension and his beloved title of "Merited Master of Sport For The Soviet Union" was stripped from him. He earned that while playing with the Red Army as a junior aged player at the 1988 winter Olympics.

Rather than expose himself to what he thought would be years of such degradation like so many before him, Mogilny decided to defect his beloved mother country. Mogilny vanished into the night during the 1989 World Junior championships in Stockholm, Sweden. Tikhonov, in the meantime, boarded the plane to go home, and was shocked to see an empty seat where his star of the future was supposed to be.

"Today I feel nothing but happiness," he said shortly after defecting. "Perhaps this season was a rough one for me. I wouldn't wish what I went through on my worst enemy. The conflict with the players cost me a lot. I'm not made of steel, you know"

Years later, Mogilny looked back on his decision.

"I've always had an independent streak, and that was not tolerated by the Soviet authorities. I came to the NHL when I couldn't see any future in the Russian League. So many things were happening politically. Hockey officials could control many aspects of my life beyond the ice rink, from what rank I could hold in the army to what kind of apartment I could live in. I thought I had to defect to maintain any hope of extending my hockey career."

Initially it was feared that Mogilny's defection would have adverse consequences for Soviet players trying to get to North America or western European club teams. Russian hockey officials cried foul and threaten to cancel any further allowances. However that proved to be empty threats as "Glastnost" could not be stopped.

When Mogilny arrived in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres, he had a special present awaiting him.

"Buffalo Sabres owner Seymour H. Knox gave me sweater number 89 when I joined his team. I was the 89th pick in the draft, and I came to North America in 1989. Wearing 89 on my back is special to me; it's more than just a number."

For a 20 year old rookie, Mogilny had an okay season in year one. He scored 16 times and had 43 points. At times he showed brilliance that no other rookie and few other NHLers could display, but at other times he was obviously having a tough time adjusting to life in North America.

"It was a huge adjustment to come to the NHL. The language barrier was the toughest part. Lack of communication affected me both on and off the ice. It also took some time to get used tot he airline travel. I had to deal with a fear of flying."

Alex gradually became a steady 30+ goal threat, but it wasn't until the Sabres traded star center Pierre Turgeon to the New York Islanders in exchange for Pat Lafontaine in 1992 that Mogilny blossomed. Lafontaine and Mogilny worked like clockwork. The result - Mogilny exploded to share the NHL lead with 76 goals (with Teemu Selanne) in 77 games! He added 51 assists for 127 points. With Lafontaine Mogilny was almost scoring at will. Finally Mogilny was living up to this highest potential.

"Offensive hockey is my game, and Pat and I explored a lot of ways to put the puck in the net. It was so enjoyable to play with him. He's such a talent hockey player that he made my job easier," recalls Mogilny fondly.

He also credits his coach for his success that season.

"John Muckler didn't hold us back. He told us to play hard and do whatever worked for us."

Unfortunately for Mogilny, the Sabres, hockey fans everywhere and especially Lafontaine, the star center got hurt in 1993-94. He only participated in 16 games, and Mogs production fell big time. He put up respectable numbers with 32 goals and 79 points in 66 games, but clearly it was disappointing to have your goal production dip by 44 goals!

After the lockout shortened season of 1995, Mogilny was traded, largely due to financial reasons. The Sabres quite frankly couldn't afford the contract that both he and Lafontaine commanded. And since Mogilny's production fell off drastically when Lafontaine wasn't there, he was the first to go. He was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for a spunky young center named Mike Peca. Also going to Buffalo was gigantic defenseman Mike Wilson and a 1st round pick which turned out to be another big blueliner in Jay McKee.

Hockey experts immediately claimed the deal was a landslide for Vancouver. Wilson was a decent prospect, and the 1st round pick was 14th overall, and everyone knew Mike Peca was going to be a good player, although no one probably knew he'd be as good as he became. But it was a very small price to pay to get one of the most skilled players in the league. In addition, the Canucks already had Pavel Bure, Mogs old junior linemate. Reuniting those two would be a most certain unstoppable force!

Things never did work out that way for the Canucks though. In that first year Pavel tore ligaments in his knee and missed the entire season. Mogilny, playing with creative smurf Cliff Ronning, picked up the slack with a big 55 goal season. It was a huge season for Mogilny, as he silenced many of his most vocal critics.

"I'm paid to score goals and make plays. That's what I do best. I was saddened to see Pavel miss most of the 1995-96 season due to injury, but it was nice to show some of my critics that I could still rack up some points without Pat Lafontaine or Pavel. I proved them wrong. That was the best part of the season for me. We had a lot of injuries on the team, so it was a poor year for the club, but it was a good year, a rebound year for me."

Unfortunately that good year was never followed up in Vancouver. He dipped to 31 goals the following year. Pavel had returned and took up a lot of his ice time. By 1997-98 Pavel had returned to his usual form and had 50+ goals. Mogilny only had 18 in an injury shortened year. With Pavel sitting out the 1998-99 season in a contract dispute, Mogs only scored 14 times.

Clearly Mogilny had become a huge disappointment in Vancouver. In the meanwhile Jay McKee and especially Mike Peca developed into big parts of a strong Buffalo Sabres organization that went to the Cup finals in 1999. Five years after the traded that was supposed to be lopsided in Vancouver's favor had taken place, you would be hard pressed to find someone who would trade Peca for Mogilny straight up.

The Canucks finally gave up on Mogilny in 1999-2000. He was traded to the New Jersey Devils for Brendan Morrison and Denis Pederson. There was no doubting that Mogilny was the most talented player on the team, perhaps more so than Pavel Bure ever was even, but he was too inconsistent. Many nights he was simply invisible. Not helping matters was an array of injuries and a good playmaking center which he publicly begged for.

Mogilny was acquired by the Devils to be the game breaking scorer in the playoffs that they have always lacked. Though he did not immediately provide offense, he did help the Devils win the 2000 Stanley Cup. Mogilny only scored 4 goals in 24 games.

Mogilny did find his game the following year, notching 43 goals and leading the Devils on another long playoff run, just falling short in successfully defending the Stanley Cup championship.

A free agent in the summer of 2001, Mogilny signed on with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Mogilny would put in seasons of 24 and 33 goals, but the Leafs never did find post-season magic they so greatly craved.

The 2003-04 season was the beginning of the end for Mogilny. A chronic hip injury limited him to just 37 games and eventually would force him into retirement. The New Jersey Devils did give him another shot following the lockout, but when it was clear his injuries greatly hampered his ability, he was waived to the minor leagues, albeit in large part due to salary cap considerations with Patrik Elias return from long term illness. For Mogilny, it was a sad ending for a great hockey player.

Mogilny was an extremely popular player. He has a zest for life, perhaps because he grew up in the old Soviet Union. He appreciates freedom more than us who take it for granted. So it's hard to knock him for being a bit carefree.

Here's some highlight reel goals by Alexander Mogilny:

Rob Ray

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 06:19:00 +0000

Let's face it. Based on hockey skill alone, the only way Rob Ray belong in a NHL rink was to buy a ticket like the rest of us.

But what he lacked in skating, shooting and scoring skills, he made up for in intangibles.

He contributed through two intangibles in particular: He was a great teammate, and he was a fearless fighter.

He ended up playing in 900 games, accumulating over 3200 minutes in penalty minutes, including over 235 fights. He went toe-to-toe with every tough guy, likely multiple times, in 14 NHL seasons. He had memorable fights with Tie Domi, Paul Laus, Chris Nilan and former teammate Matthew Barnaby.

No, it was not an easy way to earn a NHL pay check. But it certainly beat working in the family farm equipment dealership back home in Sterling, Ontario.

Off Goes The Shirt

Some of those tilts were pretty wild, and often ended with Ray half naked on the ice. That was cleverly by design. He would deliberately wear his jersey and equipment in a fashion where he could easily discard the gear so that his opponent had nothing to grab on to. The NHL quickly installed the "Rob Ray Rule" - any player who does not have his jersey tied down and is involved in an altercation is banned for the rest of the game.

Ray is also well remembered for his role in subduing a drunken fan who hopped onto the ice and charged the Buffalo bench.

"There was a fight on the ice. Clint Malarchuk was sitting up on the glass behind the bench. All of a sudden we turned around and there's this guy sitting there. And Muck (former Sabres head coach John Muckler) says, 'Give me a stick, I'll get him down!' He was going to go hit him. Just at the last second, the guy dove onto the bench where the defensemen were. They threw him onto the ice and I came from the other end of the bench. And he came right at me. He had to be stoned or drunk or something. I had a hold of him ... I had like his head on the boards. I think I hit him like 17 or 18 times before the cops finally got in there. The cops were right there on the ice, falling all over the ice. By the time everything was done, there was hair, there was bullets, there was everything laying all over the ice because the cops kept slipping and falling and stuff coming out of their pockets."

He Did Not Start Out Being A Goon

But Ray was not always a pure goon. He made the OHL Cornwall Royals because of his physical play, but it was not until he turned pro that he embraced fighting.

"In junior I wasn't really a fighter. I was more or less a role player. In Rochester, they more or less said that's the way you've got to play if you're going to make it up there, so you started doing that. So you fought, but even when I got to the NHL, I wasn't real comfortable doing it. So one night I fought Dave Brown in Philadelphia. And I buckled him good. That was where I got the confidence I can fight the big guys. It was kind of a turning point in my career."

Ray's most common dance partner was Toronto's Tie Domi, who he figured he dropped the gloves with over 20 times. Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun once asked him to describe his relationship with Domi.

"He's helped me out with stuff and I've helped him out with stuff. We have an understanding, on the ice, you know, a respect level for each other. We're both past the point of showing off after a fight or anything like that. Once we get it done, it's over with."

He also asked about his worst injury in a fight, and about injuring others.

"I have a steel plate and screws in my (right) thumb. And I was once hit on the side of the head so hard that it drove my eyeball into my orbital bone. It's hard to say how badly you hurt someone. Knockouts? Sure, a bunch of them. There was Dennis Bonvie when he was in Chicago, and Jim Kyte ... that one was pretty bad. They had to carry him off the ice.

He Had Game, Too

You get the picture - Ray could fight. But he did score the odd goal, 40 in total in 900 NHL games. He remembers his first goal and first game like it was yesterday.

I got called up from Rochester to Pittsburgh and scored a goal and an assist in Pittsburgh against Barrasso. I was on a line with Scott Arniel and Kevin Maguire and Mike Ramsey was on the point. Ramsey assisted on it. For them, Paul Coffey was on, Mario Lemieux was on, the whole thing was on. I look back now, why was I even on the ice when those guys were on? I still have the game sheet. I had a goal and an assist and was +3 in my first NHL game. And I just sort of sat back and thought, "Where have I been?" "Why didn't I got here sooner? This is gonna be easy." And 27 games later I had a goal and two assists and got sent back down to Rochester.

Yet the man they call "Rayzor" was a teddy bear off the ice, avoiding the rough stuff.

"Actually, I've never been in a fight off the ice in my life. Came close one night in a bar back home. Kinda walked over to see what was going on and this guy hit me. I went flying backwards over a table, my shoes came flying off my feet ... I didn't even look for my shoes, I just bolted out the door. I said, screw this, I'm outta here."

But Rob Ray brought more to the table than just fisticuffs. He was a great teammate and leader, a player the whole dressing room loved to having him be a part of.

Big Heart In The Community

Ray was extremely popular in Buffalo because of his great work in the community. He was constantly visiting hospital rooms, delivering Christmas presents to the less fortunate, or appearing at charity fundraisers any number of organizations were putting on. He was especially fond of the Make-A-Wish foundation where he organized his own fundraisers through motorcycle rides.

Through all the charity work Ray has never asked for anything in return. He always felt fortunate to find himself where he did.

"I was raised to do things with integrity and honest. I've never been after individual glory or recognition for what I do on or off the ice."

Rob Ray definitely made an impact in Buffalo - both on and off the ice.

Dominik Hasek

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:06:00 +0000

"I just try to stop the puck"

The knock against European goalies used to be that they could not succeed in the NHL. Dominik Hasek played the biggest role in dispelling that myth.

Only Vladislav Tretiak is regarded as a greater European goaltender. In fact Hasek, born in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia, is the all time leader among European goalies in NHL games played and is regarded as not only the best European goalie, but one of the greatest goalies of any generation.

When he was on top of his game in Buffalo, Hasek may have been the most entertaining goalie ever to watch. His style is so indescribable and unorthodox yet so entertaining to watch. He has been known to do somersaults and back-strokes to stop the puck.

Hasek's greatness was hindered by politics. Until the fall of the Iron Curtain in the early 1990s, superstar players from Communist Europe had little hope of ever playing in the NHL. Therefore, Hasek, who grew up idolizing Czech goaltending legend Jiri Holecek, spent some of his best years as the top goalie outside of the NHL.

His pre-NHL resume is impressive:

* Czechoslovakian Goaltender of the Year: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990
* Czechoslovakian Player of the Year: 1987, 1989, 1990
* Czechoslovakian First-Team All-Star: 1988, 1989, 1990
* Czechoslovakian goalie in the 1984, 1987 and 1991 Canada Cup.

Perhaps his greatest pre-olympic moment was in 1983 when he led the Czech team to the silver medal in the World Championships, his first major tournament not including his junior career. Hasek was the best junior goalie in Europe in his day, winning the Top Goalie status in almost every tournament he participated in. In the 1983 World Championships, he was robbed of Top Goalie honours but was recognized by those in the media and hockey world as the best goalie in that tournament.

Hasek's North American career is much more well documented. He was drafted in 1983, 199th pick overall by Chicago but didn't come to North America until 1991 when he played with Chicago's farm team in Indianapolis. The following season he split between Chicago and Indianapolis, but because of Eddie Belfour's unquestioned status as the Hawk's goalie he would be moved to Buffalo in exchange for Stephane Beauregard and a draft pick, one of the most one sided trades ever.

The rest of the story, as they say, is history. Awe-inspiring history.

By 1993-94 he won the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goalie and was a First Team All Star. He became the first NHL backstop since Bernie Parent in 1973-74 to finish the season with a GAA below 2.00 (1.95).

In 1994-95 he duplicated his Vezina and All Star accomplishments as he led the league with an incredible .930 save percentage.

1996-97 was his greatest year while at the same time his most controversial. He posted a career high 37 wins and led Buffalo to first place in their division. Hasek was named to the First All Star team and won his third Vezina. More importantly he was name the Hart Trophy winner, becoming the first goaltender to be name the league's most valuable player since Jacques Plante in 1962. He also won the Lester Pearson trophy as voted by his peers as the best player in the league that season. However all was not rosy for the Dominator, as he became involved in off ice problems with reporters and his popular coach. In his greatest season he lost some of support from loyal fans.

CZECHS DOM-INATE 1998 OLYMPICS

In the post-Mario Lemieux era, the NHL had desperately waited for one of its collection of stars to rise to the level above everyone else. In the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano Japan, Dominik Hasek established himself as the best player in hockey.

The tournament was considered to be a 4 horse race with Canada and the USA as co-favorites and Sweden and Russia as definite threats. Even a strong Finnish team was expected to finish ahead of the Czech Republic.

But no one counted out the Czech Republic for two reasons: Jaromir Jagr and Dominik Hasek. Jagr, who many expected to establish himself as the best player in hockey this year, scored just one goal in the tournament but was his usual incredible self. But make no mistake - Dominik Hasek almost single-handedly won his country the gold medal, and he did it in legendary fashion.

After going 2-1 in the round robin, the Czechs were forced to take on the defending World Cup champions USA in the first game of the lose-and-you're-out medal round. With a great defensive system in front of him, Hasek stole a victory away from the heavily favored yet disgruntled US team.

However things certainly didn't get any easier for Hasek as the Czechs were then even bigger underdogs in the next game. Canada was the opponent, and the rules were simple - winner plays for gold, loser plays for bronze.

In what easily classifies as one of the greatest international hockey games of all time, Dominik Hasek emerged victorious, not only over Canada but over his arch rival of goaltending supremacy, Patrick Roy.

In the classic goaltending battle, the two teams entered the third period deadlocked at zero. Nearing the half-way mark of the third period Jiri Slegr's point shot managed to elude Patrick Roy, and the Czech's fell into their defensive shell, thinking one goal would be enough - thinking there's no way anyone could score on Hasek that night.

However, in typical Canadian dramatic style, Trevor Linden managed to roof a shot above Dominik Hasek's shoulder with just a minute left to play. It would have been a goal that would rival Paul Henderson's 1972 goal for Canada's greatest international moment if they had gone on to win. Except that goal only tied the game, and Hasek had no intention of letting in another.

The game went into overtime, and the Czechs basically played the trap, trying to force the dreaded Olympic shootout. Unlike in the NHL playoffs, international hockey would have games decided by a breakaway competition instead of endless overtime.

Hasek, considered perhaps to be the greatest breakaway goalie in history, stopped all 5 shooters. Patrick Roy stopped 4 of 5 shots. The unthinkable had happened - Hasek had done it again. Dominik Hasek was playing the role of giant killer in Nagano.

The gold medal game showcased a young Russian squad against the Czech Republic. The Russians had handed the Czechs their only loss, a 2-1 win during the round robin. Again, the Czechs were underdogs, and this time Hasek had to face the hottest shooter in the Olympics - 9 goal scorer Pavel Bure.

The Czechs checked and Hasek was perfect. He posted another shutout, as the Czechs won their first Olympic hockey gold medal, 1-0.

Hasek was simply unbeatable. His performance on the world's biggest stage, and established himself as hockey's new best player.

ALL HART

Following the Olympic break Hasek returned to NHL action and finished out another amazing season. He posted a record of 33-23-13 for the underdog Sabres. He recorded 13 shutouts, a .932 save percentage and 2.09 GAA. Hasek would add his second Hart and Pearson trophies in as many years, and also picked up his 4th Vezina trophy.

Unlike in the past, Hasek and the Sabres found some playoff success in 1998 as well. The Sabres played into the Eastern Conference finals before bowing to the overtime magic of the Washington Capitals.

The Sabres were a hard working, lunch pail team without a lot of skilled players or scoring superstars, but with perhaps the greatest goalie ever in nets, the Sabres were destined to challenge for the Stanley Cup. Their chance came in 1999.

The Sabres had a fantastic season, again led by Hasek's Vezina-worthy season. Hasek went 30-18-14 with 9 shutouts, a GAA of a minuscule 1.87 and a career best .937 save percentage. Hasek stepped up his play in the playoffs as the Sabres, blessed with some timely scoring, knocked off the Leafs, Hurricanes and Senators to earn the right to challenge the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup final.

Despite Hasek's 1.77 playoff GAA and .939 save percentage, the Sabres would fall controversially short in their bid for their first Stanley Cup.

All season long the NHL had strictly enforced a rule that prevent players from entering the goalie's crease. The play was to be whistled dead if any player occupied any of the blue ice without the puck having previously entered the area.

The rule was a disaster. So many goals had to be reviewed, taking out a lot of the crowd's enthusiasm whenever a goal was scored. Many goals were reversed for the tiniest of infractions. The players didn't like it. The coaches didn't like it. Most importantly the fans didn't like it. Only the goalies liked it.

When Hull scored the Stanley Cup winning goal, his left skate (perhaps more accurately a toe or two) was in the forbidden blue paint. But lost in the overtime euphoria of the Stanley Cup winning goals was the proper video review of the goal. The NHL's season-long zero tolerance policy likely would have disallowed the goal. But with celebrations ensuing and the dejected Sabres retreating, the NHL did not have the guts to call down and disallow the goal.

The raging controversy overshadowed two great teams in the finals.

Hasek would play two more years in Buffalo, though a nagging groin injury meant the Sabres window of Stanley Cup opportunity had essentially closed. Hasek, who at times had a love-hate relationship with fans, did not endear himself to Sabres faithful when he demanded a trade and bolted town for Detroit, publicly declaring he wanted to go to a winning team. But his time in Buffalo was simply spectacular. With 6 Vezinas in 7 years, 2 Harts, 2 Pearsons, 1 Stanley Cup finals appearance and 46 shutouts, no goaltender had ever reached a higher zenith for such a long period of time.

DOM LIFTS THE CUP

The Wings were definitely a winning team, but Hasek made them better. In his first season in Detroit he posted a career high 41 wins against just 15 losses, helping the Red Wings earn the regular season championship. Despite the long season due to another Olympics, Hasek's play never wavered and he carried the Wings past the Vancouver Canucks, the St. Louis Blues, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Carolina Hurricanes to win the Stanley Cup. He posted a NHL record six shutouts that spring.

With his Stanley Cup ring on his finger, Dominik Hasek had accomplished it all. He announced his retirement and his intention to return to the Czech Republic where his legendary status was undoubted.

The absence of hockey in his life created a deep void for Hasek, and he decided to return to the NHL again in 2003-04. By doing so, he placed the Detroit Red Wings in a difficult situation. Hasek still had a contract for $8M and a no trade clause. But they also had Curtis Joseph and Manny Legacy on the roster. The situation was resolved when Hasek was forced to sit out much of the season due to a severe groin injury. To his credit, he refused much of his salary that season due to his inability to play.

After season ending surgery and a summer of rehab, Hasek was determined not to end his career that way. He would sign on with the Ottawa Senators in 2004. Given his advanced age and recent injury history, Ottawa was taking a gamble. That gamble never paid off, as Hasek missed the remainder of the regular season after injuring his groin again after just 9 minutes of play at the Olympic games.

Detroit took a similar gamble on Hasek in 2006-07, bringing back Hasek. For two seasons he was able to stay injury free, but would lose his starting job to fellow veteran Chris Osgood. In 2008, Osgood led the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup. Hasek had to watch from the bench.

Hasek was a great teammate during what must have been a difficult time for him. He wanted to end his career by winning the Stanley Cup, but he did not expect it to be in this fashion. Regardless, he was a Stanley Cup champion yet again.

THE BEST EVER?

When all is said and done Hasek posted a 389-223-82 record overall with Buffalo, Detroit and Ottawa, with 81 shutouts and a career goals against average of 2.20. He is tied for sixth in shutouts and 10th in wins. The numbers are made even more impressive by the fact Hasek didn't come to North America until seven years after he was drafted, not gaining a foothold as an NHL starter until age 28.

There is little doubt that his resume ranks him as one of the greatest goalies of all time. Comparing goalies from different eras is almost impossible, but Hasek had Patrick Roy as a great peer in an era where the art of goaltending evolved to a perfected science.

Let's compare Hasek to Patrick Roy:

	Patrick Roy	Dominik Hasek
Seasons	19	16
Games	1029	581
W-L-T-OTL	551-315-131-0	389-223-82-9
SO	66	81
GAA	2.54	2.2
Playoff Games	247	119
Playoff W-L	151-94	65-49
Playoff GAA	2.3	2.02
Stanley Cups	4	2
Olympic Golds	0	1
Smythe Trophies	3	0
Hart Trophies	0	2
Vezina Trophies	3	6

Who was better? That will likely be an eternal debate. Most people will side with Roy for his playoff success and consistency. Hasek had the Olympic gold and international resume, but his career started late and perhaps he hung on too long.

But even if I were to concede Roy was the better goalie over the course of a career, I firmly believe no goalie in hockey history had as high a peak performance than "The Dominator." And he did it for years during Patrick Roy's reign.

Roger Crozier

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Thu, 08 May 2008 05:12:00 +0000

"I like everything about hockey,'' Crozier told Jim Hunt in the 1967 book The Men in the Nets. "The travelling, the friends I've met, the interviews. I like everything but the games.''

The game of hockey was more torture than joy Bracebridge, Ontario native Roger Crozier.

Crozier developed his first ulcer playing junior for the St. Catharines Teepees from 1959-62, winning the Memorial Cup in 1960. He would be hospitalized with pancreatitis more than 30 times during his NHL career. An early infection nearly killed him.

He made his big-league debut in 1963 as a 21-year-old call-up from the AHL Pittsburgh Hornets. Maskless, he had his cheekbone fractured by a Frank Mahovlich slapshot early in his first game, yet toughed it out to finish with a 1-1 tie before being sidelined for two weeks.

Unlike a lot of goaltenders Crozier never had great self esteem., especially after Detroit waived the great Terry Sawchuk. "Detroit have had such great goalies - Sawchuk, Glenn Hall and Harry Lumley. Now they're stuck with a little runt like me,'' he said.

But the runt earned the Calder Trophy as the NHL's best rookie in 1964-65, playing all 70 games, winning 40, earning six shutouts and losing the Vezina as the league's top goaltender to Bower and Sawchuk by two goals in the season's final game, a 4-0 Toronto victory over Detroit.

An acrobat on skates, he took Detroit to the 1966 Stanley Cup final against the Canadiens, a six-game loss, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy and its $1,000 bonus and gold Mustang convertible as the playoffs' most valuable player. He starred in every match, despite an ankle badly sprained in Game 4.

Crozier's frayed nerves were legendary. Having lost three straight games at age 25, he quit hockey and returned home to Bracebridge to work as a carpenter. He had a change of heart four months later, and in June 1970 was traded to the expansion Buffalo Sabres for Tom Webster.

In Buffalo he again led a team to the Stanley Cup finals, this time losing a six-game Stanley Cup final to the Philadelphia Flyers in 1974-75. Crozier retired in 1977 after three games, having being dealt to Washington Capitals.

The reluctant Crozier endured a 518-game NHL career that included 206 victories and 30 shutouts.

On January 11, 1996 Roger Crozier died after a long bout with cancer. He was just 53 years old.

Four years later, the NHL and MBNA Bank America, who Crozier worked for in hockey retirement, combined to honor Crozier's memory by awarding the MBNA Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award. The award is presented to the goaltender who finishes the season with the highest save precentage.

Adam Creighton

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:09:00 +0000

Adam Creighton is the son of Dave Creighton, an NHL star throughout the 1950s and an AHL star throughout the 1960s. Dave even spent 1 season, 1961-62, in the city of Buffalo while playing with the AHL Bisons. Adam's uncle Fred was also a professional hockey player and later an award winning coach.

With those bloodlines it comes as no surprise that Adam Creighton was a highly talented hockey player. A giant of a hockey player at 6'5" and 220 pounds, Creighton was drafted 11th overall in the 1983 Entry Draft by Scotty Bowman following a fantastic junior career. The following season he led his junior team, the Ottawa 67's, to the Memorial Cup championship. He led all players in scoring and was named as the tournament MVP. His performance in that 1984 tournament ranks as one of the greatest in the storied history of the Memorial Cup.

The beginning to Adam's professional career was not as smooth however. He never seemed to get untracked under coach Scotty Bowman, and was quickly dubbed as one "Bowman's Busts" as a high draft pick who didn't appear to be working out. He split his first 2 pro seasons between the AHL and NHL. Despite his obvious puck skills and sense of the game, the big man lacked speed and agility to be a true scoring star at the NHL level. .

Adam didn't make it the NHL on a full time basis until 1986-87 when he scored 18 goals and 40 points in 56 games. He seemed to find some real confidence under new coach Ted Sator. However Adam did battle injuries and missed 24 games.

In 1987-88 the injury problems continued as a severe shoulder and knee wounds limited Adam to just 36 games. He may have been one of the biggest players in the National Hockey League, but he appeared to be fragile and shied away from the physical play.

In 1988-89 Adam was shifted to left wing because of the emergence of players like Pierre Turgeon and Benoit Hogue at center ice. Adam never adjusted and the Sabres traded Creighton away to Chicago in exchange for veteran sniper Rick Vaive.

In Chicago Adam played under Mike Keenan. Keenan is a dictatorial coach who has broken many players, but Adam thrived under him. In his first full season in Chicago, 1990-91, Adam erupted for his best season. He scored 34 goals and 70 points. His new found success was in large part because he embraced the physical game, picking up 224 penalty minutes. Although his offensive production tailed off in the playoffs, he remained as a physical force as the Blackhawks went to the Stanley Cup finals.

Creighton came back to earth somewhat in 1990-91, as he continued to struggle with the one thing that prevented him from being a very good player in the National Hockey League - consistency. The Hawks moved Adam to the New York Islanders late in the 1991-92 season in a trade for Brent Sutter.

Adam's stay on Long Island was brief. He finished the year with 12 points in 11 games, but was exposed on waivers prior to the 1992-93 season. The Tampa Bay Lightning selected him and employed him with little fanfare through 1994.

Adam returned from anonymity when he was reunited with Mike Keenan in St. Louis staring in 1995, but he became a low scoring role player at that point of his career.

Adam would end his NHL career with a return to Chicago for the 1996-97 season but appear in only 19 games. He would later round out his career playing in Germany.
Adam Creighton scored 187 goals and 403 points in 708 National Hockey League games.

Mark Napier

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:31:00 +0000

As an 18-year old Napier was rated as the top player in Canada born in 1957 by pro scouts. He had an impressive 223 points in 131 games during two seasons for his hometown team Toronto Marlboros in the OHA. In his last season with the Marlies, 1974-75, Napier led the team to the Memorial Cup as well as being named to the 1st All-Star team. He also led all scorers in goals (24) and points (48) in the playoffs.

Despite still having two years of junior eligibility remaining, he signed as an under-age junior with the WHA Toronto Toro's May 1975. Napier was an instant hit in the WHA, recording 93 points, and was the only rookie to finish among the league's top 50 scorers. He also was voted as the WHA rookie of the year. In his sophomore season Mark exploded for 60 goals, one of only 8 players to do so in WHA history.

Napier was a spectacular skater, blessed with tremendous speed and acceleration. He also had good balance, skating with his legs wide apart forming a low center of gravity. He maintained his fine speed until he was well past 30. Mark thrived on fast-breaks, transition offense and two-on-one situations.

He was drafted from the Birmingham Bulls (WHA) by Montreal Canadiens in the 1st round,10th overall of the 1977 entry draft. The Montreal fans loved his eye-pleasing end-to-end rushes and his streaky goal scoring exploits.

Often paired with fiery Doug Risebrough, Napier led Montreal in goals three consecutive season with 35 tallies in 1980-81 and 40 in back to back seasons in 1982 and 1983. On January 23rd, 1982 he set the team record for fastest two goals from the start of a game, scoring twice in the opening 38 seconds against Calgary.

Early into the 1983-84 season Napier Mark was traded to Minnesota together with fellow speedster Keith Acton a draft pick for strapping center Bobby Smith. After a short stint in Minnesota, Mark was traded to Edmonton for Gord Sherven and Terry Martin on January 24, 1985. The deal to Edmonton was a jackpot since it gave him two Stanley Cup rings. He also got to play with brother in law Pat Hughes.

His last stop in the NHL came when he was traded from Edmonton to Buffalo on March 6, 1987 with Lee Fogolin in exchange for Normand Lacombe, Wayne van Dorp and future considerations. Mark closed out his solid NHL career in 1988-89, totaling 767 games and 541 points (235 goals and 306 assists). In the WHA he had 254 points in 237 games.

Interestingly, Napier finished his career wearing jersey #65 back when such NASCAR numbers were not so common place. Since his favored #9 was already in use courtesy of Danny Gare, Napier chose 65 because of his involvement with the charitable Cystic Fibrosis Foundation where he was an honorary chairman. The terrible disease is often mispronounced by its youngest victims as Sixty Five Roses, leading to the annual fundraising and awareness campaign by the same tagline. Napier brought further attention to the cause by donning the jersey number.

Napier went on to play in Italy between 1989-93 where he continued to rely on his fine speed. He played for Bolzano, Varese and Milano becoming the Italian champ three out of the four years. Mark led the league in goals and points in both 1990 and 91, as well as assists in 1991. In 128 games Mark scored a whopping 376 points.

Craig Ramsay

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 22:02:00 +0000

Craig Ramsay has to be considered one of the finest defensive forwards of all time.

"Rammer" grew up in Toronto and developed his fine defensive qualities while playing for the Peterborough Petes in the OHA. Craig credited his Peterborough coach Roger Neilson for turning him into such a solid defensive player. Craig scored 232 pts (74 goals plus 158 assists) in 206 OHA games and was selected by Buffalo in the 2nd round (19th overall) in 1971.

Ramsay didn't have a great amount of natural ability. He wasn't very fast and wasn't a great stickhandler or shooter by NHL standards. But he was a smart player who worked hard. He was an intense competitor who did a lot of hard work that went unnoticed by the average fan but to his teammates he was invaluable. Craig showed up night after night shutting down the opposition. You didn't see Ramsay make many mistakes

At one point Ramsay had the 4th longest consecutive game streak in NHL history. He played 776 straight games between 1973 and 1983. Also worth noting is that he only had 201 PIMs in 1070 regular season games, and he was also a +328 during his career. Never in a single season was Ramsay a minus player during his 14-year career, which is quite remarkable given the fact that he was matched against the oppositions star players on most nights.

Often paired on a dynamite line with Don Luce and Danny Gare, Ramsay was noticed throughout the league. For his fine defensive play Craig was awarded with the Selke Trophy in 1985. He also finished as the runner-up for the Selke Trophy on three other occasions. He was also selected to play in the 1976 All-Star game.

Ramsay not only played stellar defense but he chipped in with some goals as well. He cracked the 20-goal plateau eight times and managed to score over 70 points twice. Craig scored 672 points, including 252 goals and 420 assists in 1070 NHL regular season games. In 89 playoff contests he scored 17 goals, 31 assists and 48 points.

Ramsay retired as a 34 year old in 1985, the same year as he won the Selke Trophy. He didn't provide a lot of sizzle or fanfare, but what he did provide will forever rank him among the top players in Buffalo hockey history. This pretty much sums up the story of Craig Ramsay, one of the finest defensive players of all time.

Pierre Turgeon

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:29:00 +0000

Though the news broke earlier this summer, Pierre Turgeon has officially retired.

Turgeon hangs up his blades with 19 NHL seasons under his belt. The 1987 1st overall draft choice of the Buffalo Sabres scored 515 goals, 1,327 points in 1,294 games. Although he didn't have the reputation as a great playoff producer, he had a very respectable 97 points in 109 post season contests.

The Sabres made Turgeon the face of their franchise, immediately drawing comparisons to the team's only previous franchise player, Quebecois Gilbert Perreault. To Sabres selected Turgeon over the likes of Brendan Shanahan and Joe Sakic. Based on skill and ability, #77 deserved that lofty status, but I believe his legacy will not match that of those two fine players.

A gifted natural athlete, Turgeon excelled at the finesse game. The strength of his game was his hockey sense and play making ability. Though he had an excellent shot with a quick release, he was always a playmaker first, then a goal scorer. His vision and creativity combined to make him a lethal setup man and tough to defend.

I would go as far as to say Turgeon was beyond amazing when he had the puck. He never looked at the puck, ut he always had it in perfect control. Without the puck, in typical quiet Pierre Turgeon form, he was so elusive, appearing out of nowhere and disappearing from checks.

Turgeon was very efficient on the ice, which led to some detractors. He was uncanny with his positioning, which he undoubtedly learned in order to make up for a lack of foot speed. Since he was usually in the right spot at the right time, Turgeon never had to scramble to get into the play. Critics called him lazy, when in fact he was extremely economical.

Many critics also pointed to his lack of a physical game, and with merit. Turgeon was a big pivot at 6'1" and 205 lbs, but he never really imposed himself on the opposition. He was never afraid to go into traffic areas to score goals, and he took checks while making plays with the pucks, but he really needed to initiate more of a physical game for him to have reached his full potential. Had he been able to, he would be remembered as one of the best of his generation.

I think what his critics don't point out enough though is rarely did Turgeon have a strong supporting cast. There's no doubting he had the ability, and make no mistake he had the desire to be a dominating NHL figure. He just didn't have the temperament to be a dominating solitary force. Too often in his career, especially in Buffalo and Long Island, and even to some degree in Montreal, he was asked to turn an average team into a Stanley Cup contender. He just wasn't that lone-warrior type of player.

Unable to win in the post season, the Sabres moved Turgeon in 1991 in a 7 player trade that also headlined Pat Lafontaine. Playing with Derek King and Steve Thomas on his wings, Turgeon erupted for his best season in 1992-93 when he recorded a career-best 58 goals and 132 points in his first full season on Long Island. The NHL awarded him the Lady Byng Trophy as he only picked up 13 minor penalties. More importantly, Turgeon was enjoying his first taste of post season success and leading the Islanders to the Conference Finals. En route, however, Turgeon the recipient of one of the ugliest muggings in hockey history. As Turgeon celebrated a goal in a blowout playoff win against the Washington Capitals, Dale Hunter came up behind him and flung him into the boards. Turgeon injured his shoulder and Hunter received a 21-game suspension. The Islanders, and particularly Turgeon, were never the same.

Hunter's mugging may have altered hockey history, suggested New York Daily News writer Frank Brown. He wrote:

"Pierre Turgeon had been a dynamic, involved personality. He was becoming the emblem of the Islanders and the Club was saying 'This is our symbol of future greatness to come. This is the offensive superstar we haven't had since Mike Bossy and this is the hope for a bring new arena on Long Island and million dollar visibility in the marketplace.

"Everything changed by one mean-spirited little prick. When Pierre Turgeon got up, he left some piece of himself on the Nassau pond. From the minute he returned, he was hesitant; he was a perimeter guy; he was a guy who was not activating the energy level of his team the way he had been. He didn't have that drive to the front of the net."

That year turned out to be more of the exception to the new rule as opposed to his arrival as a superstar. He returned to the 90 point level and below. Much like the Sabres, the Islanders must have felt Turgeon was not going to live up to that franchise player designation and moved him to Montreal for Kirk Muller and Mathieu Schneider.

Montreal was an odd destination for a French Canadian player with a reputation for shunning the spotlight. But Montreal, and more importantly Montreal fans, wanted a French Canadian scoring star to lead them back to glory. To make matters worse, Turgeon was burdened with the team's captaincy.

Though his stay was brief, Turgeon put up some good numbers in Montreal. He only played one full season, leading the team in scoring in 1995-96 with 38 goals and 96 points. He teamed well with fellow Frenchman Vincent Damphousse. But the captain's spotlight, especially in media-crazy Montreal, never sat well with Turgeon's quiet and reserved temperament. He handled it all gracefully, especially during the closing of the Montreal Forum, but there was always a hit of reluctance as well.

As brilliant as he could be, he just never had the personality to take his image and his game to the highest level. Unappreciative and unfair Montreal fans quickly turned on their captain, booing him out of town.

Turgeon went to St. Louis, where he could play in some anonymity. Playoff success was easier to find, three times playing 10 or more games. Injuries capped Turgeon around the 60 game mark in St. Louis, therefore making the likes of Chris Pronger, Al MacInnis, Pavol Dimetra and Brett Hull as the go-to guys. It was quite unfortunate that Turgeon couldn't have enjoyed his previous injury free seasons in St. Louis, though ultimately, for all their money spending ways, the Blues were never a true Stanley Cup contender.

From 2001 through 2007 Turgeon spent his seasons miscast and injury prone in Dallas then Colorado. His career came a quiet end in 2007, having played in just 17 games in what proved to be his final season.

Comfortable out of the limelight, Turgeon was always cast in someone's shadow. In Buffalo it was the franchise's previous French Canadian superstar Gilbert Perreault. In Long Island it was the shadow of the man he was traded for, Pat Lafontaine, who possessed natural flair and speed and erupted in Buffalo. In Montreal he was in the shadow of all the French Canadien greats who came before him.

Without doubt he had the ability and talent to stand side by side with his shadow makers. He just never quite had the desire to make it happen. Perhaps if it wasn't for Dale Hunter, he would have emerged as a true superstar.

Though he was as talented and as brilliant as most any of his peers, I suspect Pierre Turgeon's legacy will not see him land in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Interestingly, in 2007 Turgeon was inducted into another Hall of Fame. He was the first Canadian enshrined in the Little League World Series Hall of Fame.

Larry Playfair

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 05:03:00 +0000

One would think that the name Play fair would indicate that Larry was a gentle player on the ice. Well, far from it. On the ice Larry was one of the toughest blue liners in recent history of the NHL. It didn't take long for this punishing hitter and great fighter to have his opponents avoiding him. Off the ice however, few were nicer than Larry.

A native of Fort St. James, British Columbia, a town about 600 miles north of Vancouver, grew up with four brothers and one sister. Already as a junior Larry was an imposing 6'3" - 6'4". He first played for the Langley Thunder Hawks of the BCJHL and then for Portland Winter Hawks of the WHL. During his second season for Portland (77-78), Larry collected a hefty 402 minutes but also made the All-Star team.

NHL scouts liked what they saw and Buffalo drafted him in the 1st round, 13th overall in 1978. Larry got to play in 26 games for Buffalo as a rookie in 1978-79. He immediately displayed his bruising style of play that became his future trademark in the NHL.

As a rookie he naturally made a few mistakes and was sent down to Hershey (AHL) to further polish his play. In his first NHL game and first shift against Boston he was welcomed to the NHL by a John Wensink elbow that knocked him out cold.

Larry had a very good training camp in 1979 and became one of the steadiest defensemen in Buffalo. He was often paired with Mike Ramsay, and together they formed a very reliable defensive duo. At times he was used as a left wing when the Sabres needed some muscle up front.

Larry went on to lead the Sabres in penalty minutes for six straight seasons (1979-85) and was the Sabre nobody wanted to mess with. He was the first Sabre to reach the 1000 penalty minute mark in a career as well as the first to break the 200 PIM plateau in one season, which he did twice. He also set a club record for most PIMs in one season, 258 in 81-82.

Larry was extremely popular with his teammates and fans. He won both the Buffalo News Seventh Player Award (most inspirational player) and the Silver Stick Award (the player who best exemplifies the love of the game).

Despite his popularity he was traded to Los Angeles on January 30, 1986 together with Sean McKenna for Ken Baumgartner, Brian Engblom and Doug Smith. His play in Los Angeles was the same as in Buffalo. Heavy hitting and a few scraps along the way.

Less than three years later Larry was traded back "home" to Buffalo where he played until he retired in 1989-90. His 89-90 season lasted only 4 games until he had to retire due to chronic back injuries.

Larry will not be remembered for any offensive flare but rather for his punishing hits and heavy blows with his fists. He was a fierce competitor who earned every minute and shift in the NHL.

In retirement Larry Playfair has been extremely busy with the Buffalo Sabres Alumni Association and its many charitable causes.

Jim Schoenfeld

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 23:45:00 +0000

Jim Schoenfeld was a goaltender's best friend. A dominating defenseman in his own zone, Schoenfeld was a more unheralded version of Rod Langway in many ways.

The highest rated defenseman in the 1972 Entry Draft, Schoenfeld was drafted 5th overall by the young Buffalo Sabres franchise. Although they realized that Schoenfeld wouldn't do a whole lot offensively, they realized just how special this player truly was.

Schoeny was as tough as they come, and he solidified that reputation early in his career. On December 13, 1972 of his rookie season, Jim got into three fights in a game against the Big Bad Boston Bruins. Jim tangled with Bobby Orr first, which of course would make him a marked man instantly. Carol Vadnais and Wayne Cashman, two of the more rugged Bruins, would go at it with Schoenfeld by the end of the game. The fight with Cashman was particularly memorable as the two crashed against the Zamboni entrance doors. The doors opened up unexpectedly as the two exited the ice.

While Schoeny could handle his own against any of the NHL's toughest customers, don't think he was your stereotypical 1970's goons. He was a fan favorite in Buffalo because of his bone crunching bodychecks, his fearless shot blocking, his tenacity in front of his own net and his constant hustle and work ethic.

Schoefeld, as mentioned earlier, was not an offensive threat. His best season came in 1979-80 when he score 9 goals, 27 assists and 36 points, all career highs. He added 110 PIM and was an amazing +60 en route to being named to the NHL second All Star team. To give you an idea of his great year, the other defensemen named to the All Star Teams were Larry Robinson (First Team), Ray Bourque (First Team) and Borje Salming (Second Team).

Jim played over 9 outstanding years in Buffalo before a big trade took him to Detroit. Traded with Danny Gare and Derek Smith, the Sabres got Mike Foligno, Dale McCourt and Brent Peterson on December 2, 1981. Jim played the next two years with a the struggling Wings team before signing with the Boston Bruins for the 1983-84 season. In 1984-85 he resigned with Buffalo for one final season in the NHL.

After his playing days were over, Jim turned to the world of coaching. Jim enjoyed a long career behind the bench but will always be remembered for his role in "the Doughnut Incident."

Jim was the coach of the stubborn New Jersey Devils in their surprising playoff run in 1988. In game 3 of the Wales Conference finals against the Boston Bruins, Schoenfeld was incensed over the refereeing of Don Koharski, and searched for Koharski after the game. Schoeny caught up to Koharski in a narrow hallway and angry words were exchanged. Koharski somehow ended up on the floor, all though no one but the parties involved know if he was pushed or just lost his balance. Koharski got up and told Schoenfeld "You'll never coach again!" to which Schoenfeld came back with his now infamous reply "You're full of shit. You fell, you fat pig. Have another doughnut!."

NHL executive vice president Brian O'Neill suspended Schoenfeld for abuse of officials. But the Devils, in a surprise move, went to the courts and secured a judge's order that bound the NHL to allow Schoenfeld to coach the Devils in game 4.

Needless to say this didn't sit well with the officials. Just minutes prior to the opening face-off the on ice officials refused to work that game if Schoenfeld was allowed to coach. Desperate to get the situation under control, the NHL hired three amateur off ice officials to control the game. 52 year old Paul McInnis was the referee. He had to borrow Aaron Broten's skates to work the game though. 51 year old Vin Godleski and 50 year old Jim Sullivan were the linesmen. At the beginning of the game the linesmen wore yellow shirts and green sweatpants. New Jersey won the game 3-1 but lost the series 4 games to 3.

Don Luce

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 03:51:00 +0000

The first thing most fans think of when reminiscing about the Buffalo Sabres of the 1970s is the fantastic play of the French Connection. Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin and Rene Robert grabbed most of the spotlight with their creative artistry and production.

While they were the stars of the show, no team can achieve success without elite role players. The Sabres acquired one of those from Detroit in 1971, trading for Don Luce. In Buffalo Luce would develop into one of the best defensive centers and penalty killers of his era. Luce, who only missed 14 games in a decade of service with the Sabres, would often work with equally reliable left winger Craig Ramsay and sniper Danny Gare to form one of the best checking lines of the 1970s. The Sabres had perhaps the best #1 line and best #2 line in the entire league.

Luce was not so one dimensional that he could not score himself. He showed his versatility by becoming an important part of the Sabres power play. His offensive production was steady and significant, and he'd often push the 70 point plateau in his prime. In 1973-74 he bulged the twine 26 times, better than any Sabre other than Rick Martin. And in 1973-74 Luce achieved a career high 33 goals and 76 points. Eight of his goals came while shorthanded, then a NHL record. That was a magical season for Luce and the Sabres. Luce was named as the team's MVP, and the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winner for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the game of hockey. But more importantly Luce helped the Sabres get all the way to the Stanley Cup finals before bowing to the defending Cup champs from Philadelphia.

It is unfortunate that the NHL did not award a trophy for best defensive forward until 1978, as Luce likely would have won the trophy at least in 1974-75, if not in other years.

After brief stops in Toronto and Los Angeles, Luce retired after the 1982 season. In 1986 he was inducted into the Sabres Hall of Fame. He has continued to work for the Sabres in a variety of coaching and scouting assignments in his retirement.

Tony McKegney

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 22:34:00 +0000

In the summer of 1978, one of hockey's finest young prospects was Tony McKegney. Yet he was being overlooked at the NHL draft table that summer because it was assumed that he signed with the World Hockey Association's Birmingham Bulls.

At the last minute, the deal between Birmingham and McKegney fell through for political reasons. You see McKegney was black and that wouldn't go over very well in Alabama according to some. The Bull's hockey management team wanted McKegney's size and a laser-like shot, as did team owner John Bassett. However some of Bassett's supporters convinced the owner that having a black hockey player in Birmingham was a bad idea. A disappointed Bassett reluctantly agreed and shied away from McKegney

Word about McKegney's availability was slow to reach NHL circles. It wasn't until McKegney's agent Alan Eagleson started spreading the word in the second round of the NHL entry draft. The Buffalo Sabres eagerly snapped up the left winger. Tony was considered to be a definite first round pick, perhaps even a top 10 selection, if he wasn't tied up by the WHA. Needless to say the Sabres were more than happy to grab him with the 32nd selection.

McKegney was obviously disappointed by the circumstances involved in the Birmingham experience. He was later quoted as saying "All I want to do is be a good player in the NHL, and show those Birmingham people how wrong they were."

If that was McKegney's driving ambition as a hockey player, then he sure accomplished his goal. He went on to enjoy 13 years in the National Hockey League, scoring 320 goals and over 600 points in 912 career games.

In the process he became the first black hockey star. Willie O'Ree broke hockey's color barrier and was a star in the minor leagues for years, but not at the NHL level. It wasn't until McKegney's arrival that the NHL saw its first black scoring star. At approximately the same time, black goalie Grant Fuhr was performing heroics by establishing himself as the best puckstopper in the world.

After a spectacular junior career with the Kingston Canadiens, McKegney enjoyed 5 years in Buffalo. After an 8 goal rookie season he stepped up his production to 23 goals and then 37. He slipped in 1981-82 when he fell back to 23, but rebounded to 36 goals in 1982-83, his final year in Buffalo.

The off season saw McKegney be a part of a major trade with the Quebec Nordiques. Quebec traded troubled Real "Buddy" Cloutier and a first round draft pick (Adam Creighton) for McKegney, French center Andre Savard, Jean Sauve and a third round draft pick (Iiro Jarvi).

McKegney only lasted 1 and 1/2 seasons in Quebec, as he struggled for ice time behind prolific left wing scorers Michel Goulet and Anton Stastny. Despite being a third stringer, he did put up respectable numbers, including 36 goals in a total of 105 games.

Tony was sent to Minnesota in December of 1984 and he finished the year strongly in Minnesota, picking up nearly a point a game in 27 contests. He followed that up with a terrific playoff, scoring 8 goals and 14 points in 9 games. However he followed that up with perhaps his most disappointing NHL season in 1985-86. He tallied only 15 goals and 40 points.

Tony started the 1986-87 season with the North Stars, but 11 games into the season he was traded to the New York Rangers. He recaptured his consistent 30 goal form, notching 29 as a Ranger for 31 total.

Tony's stay on Broadway was short, as he was sent to St. Louis in 1987-88 and had his best NHL season. He scored a career high 40 goals, 38 assists and 78 points. An aging McKegney slipped to 25 goals and 42 points in 1988-89.

Tony slowed down after that season, never reaching the 20 goal level again. He had very brief stops in Detroit (14 games) and Chicago (9 games) as well as parts of two seasons in a second tour of duty with the Nordiques.

Tony left the NHL at the completion of 1991. He spent one year in Italy before returning to North America to play for the San Diego Gulls of the IHL in 1992-93.

Tony was a big left winger, who was effective at the physical game though not an overly physical player by nature. His strong legs gave him good up and down skating ability with good acceleration, but lacked great agility to outclass some of the better NHL defensemen. He was very effective in front of the net where his good balance made him nearly immovable. Many of his goals came from tipping in point shots or banging at loose pucks in the crease. Tony's best physical asset was his excellent shot which he was always able to get away with uncanny quickness.

So why did Tony travel so much? He was a consistent 25-30 goals scorer who every once in a while would break out to the next level, like he did in 1980-81, 1982-83, the latter half of 1984-85 and most especially in 1987-88. But his problem was he had a reputation of having two good years but then having a stinker. As this reputation spread and, rightly or wrongly, was accepted, he became a rent a player who was acquired to hit a home run, but if he didn't hit it quickly, he would be traded away.

An interesting side note about Tony McKegney: His brother Ian also played in the National Hockey League, appearing in three games with the Chicago Blackhawks back in 1976-77. The defenseman however was not black, but white. Tony was adopted by the McKegney family as an infant.

Lindy Ruff

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 04:24:00 +0000

Lindy Ruff lived up to his name. That's because rough is the perfect word to describe Lindy's style of play.

Ruff was a below average finesse player - with bad skating and puck skills for an NHLer. He was however a conscientious defensive forward who used his size and strength to bang pucks loose in the corners and in front of the net. He was one of the best role players in the league in the decade he played.

So how does a player of below average skills last in the NHL for 12 seasons and go on to be an excellent NHL coach?

Lindy was a tremendous team player and the perfect guy to have in the locker room. In fact his best contributions to his team may have been in the dressing room and away from the ice rather than on it. He was so good with young players and with creating team chemistry that he was almost as valuable as a 20 goal scorer. He was the obvious choice to replace Gilbert Perreault as team captain in 1986.

Plus Lindy had the rare ability to play defense as well as left wing. He was drafted as a defenseman but when it became obvious he didn't have the speed to play at the NHL level he was shifted to the wing. He did fill in on defense in case of injuries throughout his days on the wing. Later on in his career he shifted back to defense as a full time job.

Ruff was drafted by the Sabres with the 32nd overall pick in 1979 (despite suffering a career threatening hip injury in his last season of junior) and quickly became one of the most popular figures in this strong sporting town. For almost 10 seasons he bled the Blue and Gold of the Buffalo Sabres. In addition to all the intangibles he brought the team he chipped in with some timely offense. He averaged about 10-15 goals and 30-35 points when played left wing. This despite some serious injury problems. His three best years were all cut short by injuries - 1983-84 saw him on pace to set career highs in all categories with 14 goals, 31 assists and 45 points in just 58 games; 1984-85 had him on pace to score 27 goals but he only ended up playing in 39 games; and 1985-86 saw him eclipse the 20 goal mark for the only time in his career despite playing in just 54 games.

Lindy, who converted back to defense by 1987 and played there for most of the remainder of his career, was traded on the 1989 trading deadline for a 5th round draft pick (which turned out to be skilled defenseman Richard Smehlik) of the New York Rangers. He finished his career with the Rangers 2 1/2 seasons later but injuries continued to plague the effective grinder.

Lindy continued to play in the minor leagues for two seasons after his NHL days were done. He was being groomed for the coaching world while playing with AHL Rochester and IHL San Diego. By the time he officially hung up his blades in 1993 the expansion Florida Panthers came calling and offered Lindy an assistant coach position. Lindy was a big part of the quick rise of the Panthers and their surprising 1996 Stanley Cup finals appearance.

Lindy got a chance to run his own bench at the NHL level - despite having no head coaching experience - in 1997. It was a nice homecoming for Lindy, as the Buffalo Sabres offered Lindy their head coaching job. Lindy was the perfect choice in Buffalo - a long time ex Sabre who was so well liked in the community and who could continue to instill the lunch bucket, hard work attitude that so fitted the Sabres team. It was an excellent choice and Lindy, unlike many coaches in the NHL today, should be able to stay with the Sabres for some time with the success he's had.

Gilbert Perreault

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 23:43:00 +0000

For 17 glorious seasons, Gilbert Perreault was the Buffalo Sabres. As he went, so did the Sabres. An absolute magician with a hockey puck, Perreault ranks high on the NHL's all-time scoring list with 512 goals and 814 assists, for 1326 points in 1,191 games.

Perreault was the first draft choice in Buffalo Sabres history when selected first overall in the 1970 NHL draft. In 1971 he captured the Calder trophy as the NHL's rookie-of-the-year.

In the Sabres second year, the Perreault became the center of the famous "French Connection" line with Rick Martin and Rene Robert.

"Rick Martin joined the Sabres as their first round draft pick in the second year of the franchise. In the same year, Buffalo got Rene Robert in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins. We clicked right away. I was there to make the plays, Rick was there to score the goals, and Rene did a little of both. All three of us were good skaters. Our style was comparable to the European style, frequently crisscrossing with a lot of speed" said Perreault, the slickest of the three.

Gilbert was one of the greatest one-on-one players ever. He had more tricks up his sleeve than the rest of his teammates combined.

"In my day, offensive players did a lot more skating and stickhandling, changing speed, dekeing two guys and making plays in the offensive zone. I loved the thrill of beating everyone on the ice, dekeing through the opposition. When I got the puck, I'd dare them to try to get it away from me. Its rare to see that today, save for a few players like Mark Messier or Jaromir Jagr," said Perreault, who grew up admiring great stickhandlers Jean Beliveau and Dickie Moore.

Perreault was often compared to Marcel Dionne and Guy Lafleur, as those three were the top offensive players out of Quebec in their day. Perreault never reached the scoring plateaus that those two did, but many considered him to be the most individually talented. And later on in his career he became aware defensively. Lafleur of course was in Montreal and won many Cups with a great team, so he got the nod as the best Quebecer in the NHL. Dionne was way out in the obscurity of Los Angeles, and never got the recognition he deserved, so Perreault was often considered to be ranked in the middle of that French Trio.

Perreault got off to a blistering start in his NHL career, a career he credited a lot of his success to coach/gm Punch Imlach.

"In my first seasons, Imlach told me to go for goals and not worry about checking. That really helped me get my confidence. The first few years I was there, it was loose. I was rushing the puck a lot. We had style." He (Punch Imlach) showed me video tapes of me in games to prove I was shifting one way too much. He got me to shoot faster; not to nurse the puck for careful aiming. He also wanted me to shoot more and to cut down on what he called 'walking in' on the goalie, something I developed on finding my slap shot wasn't hard enough."

Perreault won the Lady Byng Trophy in 1973 and was a two-time member of the NHL Second All-Star team in 1976 and 1977. The closest Perreault and the Buffalo Sabres franchise has ever come to a Stanley Cup championship was in 1975 when the Sabres were defeated in the finals by the Flyers in six games. Those Sabres teams were special, as the entire team was built around size and solid defensive positioning, plus the explosiveness of Perreault and his linemates. He is an oft-forgotten member of Team Canada 1972, as well as Canada Cup squads.

Perreault never won a Cup, but that was his sole focus. At one point he even considered being traded in order to get that chance at the Cup.

"After 8 or 9 years in Buffalo, I thought about asking for a trade. I wondered if a change would help my career. I was also curious to see how things were done elsewhere. Even the thought of going to the Canadiens crept into my head. I had grown up being a part of winning teams. I knew it would take a few years to get to that point with buffalo, but from 1974-79 we had an especially good chance. We had a lot of good years in Buffalo, but every hockey player wants to win the Stanley Cup. There was a change in Sabres management in 1979 that revived the team, and my thoughts of moving disappeared. In the end I was glad to finish with the Sabres.

Perreault retired as the all time leader for the Buffalo Sabres in every offensive category - 512 goals and 814 assists for 1,326 points in 1,191 regular season games.

Always humble, Perreault's career landed him the ultimate acknowledgement - enshrinement in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

"I didn't enjoy attention when I played but the Hall of Fame is different. It's the greatest honour a player can have."

Rick Martin

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 23:27:00 +0000

Legendary GM Punch Imlach once called Richard Martin "the greatest natural goal scorer I've seen". Martin's slapshot was terrifying and struck fear in goalies everywhere.

His coach in Buffalo, Joe Crozier, once said: "Bobby Hull may shoot harder than Rick, but Rick gets his shot away quicker and he's always on target with it."

Former NHL player and coach Vic Stasiuk was also a big Rick Martin fan: "He's got a hair-trigger on his shot. It's uncanny how quick he shoots that puck. It just touches his stick and it's flying at the net. Few are really quick and none are quicker."

Rogatien Vachon, the veteran goalie added: " You make any mistake and he takes it. You let him see the slightest opening and he'll thread something through it." Another, Lyle Carter said: " Martin hit me with a shot and I thought it had gone through my skin and stuck in my ribs. He's got a hard, heavy shot and I felt it for a month. It can carry your glove right off your hand."

Richard Martin was born in Verdun,Que on July 26,1951. His grandparents were Swiss-French and Swiss-German. His mother was French, but his father was born in Scotland and was a proud Scotsman. When Rick first came to prominence around Montreal, they gave his name a French pronunciation, "Ree-SHAR Mar-TAHN," but he refused it, considering it pretentious, insisting on plain Rick Martin. But make no mistake, Rick was always proud of his half-French heritage. He went to French speaking schools and speaks it and English equally well.

Rick started playing hockey at the age of eight. "I knew I could make the majors some day when I was 13 and I was playing in both bantam and midget leagues at the same time and I was the top scorer in both. I was shooting, shooting, shooting every day. But I liked other sports, too. I was just as good at golf and might have played that professionally. I really wanted to be an engineer. I never thought about playing pro until I was 18. I went to Sir George William University (later renamed Concordia University) in Montreal a year, but dropped out after my freshman year. The financial opportunities in pro hockey were too god for me to pass up."

Rick played his junior hockey for Thetford Mines and the Montreal Jr. Canadiens. In his last season with the Jr. Canadiens in 1970-71 Rick scored a league leading 71 goals in only 60 games, breaking the old QMJHL record held by Brian Cullen (68). The year before Rick had played on the same line as Gilbert Perreault, showing great chemistry and perking interest in Buffalo early. They were quick to grab Martin 5th overall in the 1971 entry draft.

When Rick entered his first NHL training camp in September 1971 he was immediately teamed up with his old junior linemate Perreault.

"The only reason Punch (Imlach) teamed me with Gil is because Punch said I was the only one on the team at the time that could skate with him." Rick said. Rick scored an NHL record 44 goals as a rookie, breaking Perreault's old record from the year before.

The next season Rene Robert lined up beside the duo and the famed "French Connection" line was born. They went on to terrorize opponents for almost a decade.

"We were a nice blend. Gil was the guy who could set you up with the goals. Rene was a real good checker, who wasn't afraid to go into the corner to dig out the puck. And I guess I was the guy who was supposed to put the puck into the net. I was to be the big gun."

Rick certainly was the big gun of the Sabres, and the entire NHL for that matter. His scoring resumé is impressive: 44, 37, 52, 52, 49, 36, 28, 32 and 45 goals in consecutive season. All in all Rick scored 384 goals in 685 games which makes him one of the most productive goal scorers per game in NHL history. He was also a four time NHL All-Star on the left wing.

Don't mistake Martin as a one trick pony. His two way game was always overshadowed and over criticized.

"I worked on the defensive part of my game for quite some time. I thought by the time Punch left the team (78-79) I was playing good two-way hockey for the team. But my critics didn't see it that way. I guess that I was never supposed to be in the mold of a two-way hockey player according to them," Martin recalled.

Martin and his Buffalo Sabres never won the Stanley Cup, but Martin did get the chance to win the 1976 Canada Cup.

"My chance had finally come to play. I finally realized how much pressure there was playing for your country. Being part of a winning team is something I'll always remember," Rick said.

Unfortunately Rick had to retire when he was only 30. Had he been injury free then it's safe to say that he would have reached the 500 goal plateau.

On November 8, 1980 Rick injured his right knee in a collision with Washington Capitals' goalie Mike Palmateer. Rick's knee never was the same after that and he only played sparingly from then until March 10, 1981, when he was traded to Los Angeles. In LA he only played four games before retiring in December 1981.

In June 1982, Rick sued the Buffalo Sabres, contending that he received improper medical treatment for an injured knee that forced him to an early retirement. There were seven separate suits, including one against Scotty Bowman.

"My beef was never with the Knoxes (the Sabres owners). It was with Scotty, " Rick said.

Hockey fans who remembered "Rico" can't argue the fact that he was one of hockey's deadliest snipers of all time.

Special Thanks to Pat Houda

Rene Robert

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 23:09:00 +0000

Rene Robert exceeded pretty much everybody's expectations. Never drafted by the NHL, Robert worked hard every shift and eventually caught the attention of NHL scouts. Soon enough Robert was placed with Gilbert Perreault and Rick Martin to form one of the greatest lines in NHL history - The French Connection.

After playing three years in a unaffiliated minor leaguer, Rene's hard working, hard hitting style combined with consistent scoring caught the attention of the Toronto Maple Leafs who gave Rene a five-game tryout contract. He played in all 5 games but made little impact.

The following year the Pittsburgh Penguins plucked Rene off of the waiver list. Rene was played sparingly in Steeltown, scoring 7 goals and 18 points in 49 games. Late in the year he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for veteran tough guy Eddie Shack.

It was in Buffalo that Rene's career finally caught fire and he proved everybody wrong. He was the perfect complimentary right winger for Perreault and Martin. The two slick scoring sensations needed Robert's aggressive style. Robert would hustle into the corners and more often than not come out with the puck. He was killed enough to be able to do something with that puck too, often setting up his two marksmen linemates. His constant hustle and try not only made Perreault and Martin better players, but also made the Sabres into a true contender.

Of course, Robert is quick to downplay his importance to their success, and attributes his success to something other than hard work.

“Well, it makes your life a lot easier when you play with two tremendous hockey players. As you know back in the ‘70s, our line was very famous throughout the league. But a lot of people say, ‘What is it like to play with people like that?’ To be very honest with you, it takes an awful lot of luck. I believe everything in life comes to you with a reason and that there’s a meaning to everything that we do but the fact that I played with these guys, what made us click and what made us so good was pure luck. Chemistry was there, there’s no two ways about it. But, like I said earlier, when you play with people of that caliber, it’s a lot easier to play hockey.”

The 1972-73 season then marked the first of seven full seasons Robert would play with the Sabres. He tallied a career-high 40 goals that year and it was just a sign of things to come. Robert never failed to score fewer than 21 goals during his tenure in Buffalo.

1974-75 was a particularly strong year for Robert. He matched his career-high in goals with 40 while also registering career-bests with 60 assists and 100 points that year. Rene also helped lead the Sabres to the Stanley Cup Finals that season where they eventually fell short to the Philadelphia Flyers.

After seven-plus years in Buffalo, Rene was traded to the Colorado Rockies prior to the 1979-80 campaign. He scored 28 goals in his only full season with the Rockies. In Denver Rene was one of coach Don Cherry's favourite players, describing him as a "solid, hard nosed veteran."

"After I got Robert, and looked at some of the guys he had to work with, I'd feel sorry for the guy,” added Cherry. "He blocked shots, threw his weight around and fought. H even played though he had a broken thumb, a separated shoulder and a pulled groin! Considering our collection of players, I wouldn't have blamed Robert if he had just thrown in the towel, but he wouldn't quit."

Quit was the one thing Robert would never do. He never forgot how hard he had to work to make the NHL, and to work twice as hard to reach the dizzying heights that he achieved. As long as Robert laced up the skates, no one on the ice could out hustle him. Hard work and a little luck were Robert's trademarks.

Robert's career came full circle when a trade took him back to the Toronto Maple Leafs midway through the 1980-81 season. The Rockies traded Robert in exchange for a draft pick to end his "exile" in the Rocky Mountains. Robert finished out his NHL career by playing in 55 games with the Leafs in 1981-82, scoring 13 goals and 37 points.

Over his 12-year NHL career, Robert recorded eight 20-goal seasons and two 40-goal years. Rene was selected to the NHL’s Second All-Star Team in 1975 and he also played in the 1973 and 1975 All-Star Games. His career statistics include 284 goals, 418 assists and 702 points in 744 regular season games. He also added 22 goals and 41 points in 50 playoff contests.

Following his hockey career, Rene went on to work for Molson's and the NHLPA.

Brian "Spinner" Spencer

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 05:20:00 +0000

The life of Brian "Spinner" Spencer was turbulent, fast and tragic.

He grew up in the Canadian backwoods and as every kid in Canada he dreamed of becoming a hockey pro, spending many hours in the local rinks.

Brian's energetic gung-ho style was appreciated by his junior teams and coaches. He went on to play for the Calgary Centennials in the WHL 1967-68 and did quite well. The following season he played for both the Estevan Bruins and Swift Current Broncos (WHL), scoring almost a point per game combined with his aggressive in-your-face hockey.

Brian attended Toronto Maple Leafs training camp in 1969 but didn't make the final cut. He was assigned to the farm team in Tulsa where he played most of the season. He got his first recall to the Maple Leafs on December 9, 1969 but didn't play. He had to wait until March 14, 1970 before he made his debut (vs. Boston 2-1). Brian saw the odd shift in another 8 games that season.

The next season Brian was a regular in Toronto for most part of the season. Unfortunately tragedy struck, and it would haunt Brian for the rest of his life. Brian told his parents that he would be a second period guest during Hockey Night In Canada's telecast of the Leafs game against Chicago on December 12, 1970. Brian's parents were extremely proud to have a son in the NHL, especially his father Roy.

When Brian's father discovered that the CBC affiliate near the family's Fort St.James home was carrying the Vancouver-California game instead, he became enraged. He drove over two hours to Prince George Television station CKPG and held employees hostage with his pistol and forced them to cut the transmission power. After a short while the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrived and a shootout followed. Roy Spencer was shot and killed at the age of 57.

The death of his father hit Brian hard and it hurt Brian for the rest of his life according to people around him, although he tried not to show it. It was his father's dream to have one of his sons playing hockey. Brian's twin brother Byron did not make it, but Brian did, and it made his father almost burst of pride.

Brian split the 1971-72 season between Toronto and Tulsa. He was then left unprotected in the 1972 expansion draft and was picked by NY Islanders. Brian spent the next 1½ years on Long Island before being traded to Buffalo on March 10, 1974.

Brian had his best offensive production in a Sabres uniform when he had 41 points, including 12 goals, in 1974-75. Brian played well in Buffalo and was extremely popular with the fans. His hustle, aggressive play and ability to hit was something the fans loved. Brian developed to a pretty good all-around player.

Traded to Pittsburgh in September 1977, his offensive production fell as he became more specialized as a checking forward. Brian's last NHL season came in 1978-79 when he played 7 games for Pittsburgh. He then finished his playing career in the AHL (Binghamton, Springfield and Hershey) and retired after the 1979-80 season.

The story about Spinner Spencer should end here, but unfortunately his life after hockey became a mess. Brian moved to Palm Beach, Florida right after he retired. He met the wrong kind of people in Florida and got involved with drugs and crime. He moved in with a prostitute who worked for an escort service. She accused Brian of committing a 1982 murder against a Palm Beach Gardens restaurateur named Michael Dalfo.

Brian was arrested for a first degree murder in January 1987 but was acquitted in October 1987 after a 10-month trial. Needless to say, Brian didn't feel much better after that experience. In February 1988 Brian visited former Leaf teammate Jim McKenny, a friend of Brian who at the time was working as a Toronto sportscaster. Jim noticed how disillusioned Brian was.

"He walked down a lot of avenues people have never been. He experienced a lot of things people never have, " McKenny said later. " He thought he was the only bad person in the NHL, he felt he was the only person who failed. But I told him there were 200 other guys who messed up worse than he thought he had. I told him he shouldn't feel guilty. It's really tough to re-establish yourself after hockey. He was all alone. When he came here he was amazed at the interest of people. He was surprised people still cared about him. He thought he was the scum of the earth. But he really picked up when he visited Toronto. He wasn't your run-of-the-mill NHL'er. He was inquisitive about everything."

A book about Brian's life named Gross Misconduct: The life of Spinner Spencer by Martin O'Malley was due to be released and Brian was very happy about it. Finally his life seemed to turn around for the better.

But that never happened in Spencer's lifetime. On the night of June 2, 1988, Brian and his friend Gregory Scott Cook cruised around Riviera Beach, allegedly to buy a rock of cocaine. (which was later denied). After having made the buy they stopped a couple of blocks away when a stranger in a white car pulled up, walked to the driver's side window, demanded money (reportedly getting as little as $ 3) and shot the 38-year old Brian in the heart.

Cook, who escaped uninjured, rushed Brian to a nearby fire station. The paramedics took Brian to St. Mary's hospital in West Palm Beach where he was pronounced dead at 12:12 a.m. June 3, 1988.

Brian's hectic life came to an abrupt end just as he was turning his life around. The curly haired Spencer was survived by his twin brother Byron, mother Irene, his two ex-wives, Linda and Janet plus his five children, Andrea, Nicole, Kristin, Jason and Jarret.

Hockey fans will always remember that curly hair and wide smile on his face when he hustled down the ice to nail somebody to the boards, his energetic style that earned him the nickname "Spinner". People will always remember "Spinner", on the contrary to what he always thought.

Jim Lorentz

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 07:53:00 +0000

Waterloo, Ontario's Jim Lorentz was an NHLer for a full decade. He played with several teams but he is best known for his days when he skated for the Buffalo Sabres. He played the majority of his NHL career in the city, and enjoyed his finest seasons there. And of course he continues to live in the community and works on Buffalo Sabre broadcasts now many years after hanging up the blades.

Lorentz's career started in 1964 when he played the first of three years of junior hockey with the Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey Association before beginning his pro hockey career with the Oklahoma City Blazers of Central Hockey League in 1967-68. It wouldn't be long before Lorentz would make the NHL, as he tore up the CHL. He was named rookie of the year in his first season, and in his second and final season in the minor leagues he was an all star who led the league in scoring and was named as the most valuable player.

Lorentz's playing rights belonged to the Boston Bruins. The Bruins of the later 1960s and early 1970s were a powerhouse in the NHL, led by Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito. As a result Lorentz didn't get to play a whole lot. He was shuffled around from center ice and to the wing, but was always a minor player.

Jim never minded though, as he was in the NHL and on the league's best team. In fact in his rookie season Jim was able to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup.

“It’s very special." said Jim. "I know players will say this but I don’t think you really realize what you’ve done until after you’ve retired. You don’t really realize the impact of it."

Because the Bruins couldn't find a full time position for the young scoring star Jim was dealt to St. Louis after the 69-70 season, in exchange for the Blues first pick in the 1970 Amateur Draft (the pick was used to select Ron Plumb).

Jim played the 1970-71 campaign with St. Louis before splitting the 1971-72 season between the Blues, the New York Rangers and the Sabres. It was in Buffalo that he found a permanent home.

Over his six-plus seasons in Buffalo, Jim racked up 134 goals, 197 assists and 331 points in 487 games. Jim also enjoyed his best seasons in a Sabre uniform, recording a career-high 27 goals in 1972-73 and a personal-best 70 points in 1974-75, the same year he helped Buffalo reach the Stanley Cup Finals.

Jim helped a young expansion franchise in Buffalo become a league powerhouse in a very short time period. Jim has many memories of his playing days with the Sabres. One of the most exciting was the first time the team made the playoffs..

“I think the first year that we made the playoffs was very exciting. We ended up playing the Montreal Canadiens in the first round. No one gave us a prayer to win that series but we took them to six games. And one of the great moments in my career was in that sixth game in the Auditorium when the fans starting chanting in unison, ‘Thank you Sabres.’ It was a great feeling."

But of course the greatest memory was the Stanley Cup finals appearance of 1975. Jim played an important role in the Sabres improbable run, scoring 6 goals and 10 points in 16 playoff games.

That I think was one of the … next to going to the Finals in ’75, would rank right up there with the memorable moments. And of course just playing with some of the players that I did. There were great players. Gilbert Perreault, Richard Martin and Rene Robert. Jim Schoenfeld, Roger Crozier. We had a bunch of real character guys that liked to have a lot of fun and who were great players.”

He is also well remembered for a zany act that will go down in the rich folklore of Stanley Cup history..

Lorentz used his stick to slay a bat, of all things, that was annoying players and fans. Nobody was sure whether the bat had found its way into the arena or was brought into the building by a mischievous fan.

"It was dive-bombing the crowd, and a couple of times it came near the ice and I remember Parent taking a couple of swings at it with his goal stick and missing," Lorentz said.

Fans continually reacted to the bat when it swooped down toward them, and it was a clear distraction. When Lorentz was standing still getting ready for a face-off and spotted it zooming toward him, he reached up and killed it with a slash of his stick. The crowd and the players were happy until they realized they had another problem.

"No one wanted to pick it up," said Lorentz, who instantly was dubbed as Batman. "Finally, (Philadelphia's) Rick MacLeish picked it up and buried it in the penalty box."

Not everyone was pleased by Jim's actions though. He actually received several letters from animal rights activists.

Jim continued to play until 1978 when he retired from NHL duty. He retired with 659 games, 161 goals, 238 assists and 399 points under his belt, and a ton of stories. He turned to a brief stint of junior coaching before becoming the popular colour commentator for the Sabres radio and later television broadcasts.

Dale McCourt

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 07:52:00 +0000

Dale McCourt entered the NHL with impressive enough credentials to be dubbed the next NHL superstar. He would never achieve those lofty expectations, but had a productive NHL career followed by a lengthy career in Switzerland.

Born in Falconbridge, Ontario, McCourt was a junior superstar in the OHA. He was a perennial 50 goal scorer who captained the the Hamilton Fincups to the Memorial Cup in 1976. He was also honored as the Stafford Smythe Memorial trophy as Memorial Cup MVP. In 1977McCourt also represented Canada at the 1977 World Junior Championships where he was tournament all-star and helped the nation win a silver medal. That season he was named the Canadian Major Junior player-of-the-year in 1977. He graduated junior as the all time leader in many scoring categories in all of Ontario (all records since broken).

The struggling Detroit Red Wings opted to select McCourt with the first overall pick at the 1977 Amateur Draft, passing on the highly rated defenseman Barry Beck and a future Hall of Famer Mike Bossy. McCourt stepped in immediately, and playing on a line with Paul Woods and Bill Lochead, he impressed with 33 goals. He was the toast of Detroit after helping the Red Wings return to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

McCourt's sophomore year was marred by a weird court battle that went all the way to the US Supreme Court. McCourt became property of the Los Angeles Kings as it was ruled he would be the compensation for Detroit's signing of former Kings goalie Rogie Vachon. McCourt refused to report to Los Angeles, and after a lengthy legal debate that was resolved with McCourt remaining in Detroit. However the affair seemed to effect his play as he got off to a slow start. He finished strongly, with 28 goals and 71 points. McCourt would later say that the lengthy court battle and the subsequent blackballing by the NHL and many NHL players cost him his love of the NHL. That loss of love would become evident over the coming years.

McCourt continued to be a solid point producer for Detroit, upping his scoring totals to 81 and 86 points in the following years, but the team never built on its success enjoyed in 1977-78. With Detroits failure to make the playoffs, the Red Wings became impatient and traded youngsters McCourt and Mike Foligno to the Buffalo Sabres early in the 1981-82 season. The trade would be one of the most famous in Buffalo history, as Foligno became a team leader and fan favorite.

McCourt, meanwhile, was a bit of an enigmatic center in Buffalo, often playing with Tony McKegney and Alan Haworth. McCourt struggled under coach Scotty Bowman, and after two seasons of just 20 goals each, McCourt was released.

McCourt, the nephew of hockey hall of famer George Armstrong, signed as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1983-84, but his offensive struggles continued as he scored just 19 goals

With his NHL teams often missing the playoffs, McCourt had a taste of international hockey by twice representing Canada at the World Championships. In 1984-85, McCourt decided to give the European game his best, by joining Ambri Piotta of Switzerland. He would stay in Switzerland for seven seasons before retiring in 1991.

In retirement McCourt has remained in Europe, coaching in Italy, including as an assistant in 1994 Olympics, and in Germany. He returned to Canada in 2000 and got a job as a truck driver.

Benoit Hogue

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 07:51:00 +0000

Benoit Hogue had a loyal following of fans when he played for the Buffalo Sabres. A gritty player with explosive speed, the smallish Hogue was an entertaining player. Although he was not a polished puck handler or shooter, Hogue was always expected to contribute offensively, thanks largely to his speed and a willingness to get his nose dirty. But he was also a responsible defensive player, particularly on the penalty kill.

The Sabres selected Benoit Hogue 35th overall in the second round of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. Hogue played three years in the QMJHL with the St. Jean Castors. In his final year of junior, Hogue had 54 goals and 108 points.

The Sabres did not rush Hogue to the NHL, allowing him to apprentice with the Rochester Americans for the better part of two seasons. Following a strong training camp in 1988-89, Hogue earned a spot with the Sabres and played 69 games with the club, scoring 14 times while accumulating 44 points. He added a nice degree of zest to the roster as well, picking up 120 penalty minutes.

A competent player at all three forward positions, the popular #33 saw injuries limit his play to just 45 games the following year. But Hogue returned 1990-91 to play a full season, scoring a career high 19 goals and 47 points.

The Sabres liked what Hogue brought to the team, but always expected a little bit more offense from him. After just three games with the Sabres in 1991-92, Hogue was traded to the New York Islanders in the Pierre Turgeon/Pat Lafontaine blockbuster. The Islanders were astutely rewarded with their insistence that Hogue be included in the deal, as Hogue achieved the offensive expectations projected for him on Long Island. He enjoyed three seasons scoring over 30 goals and twice had 75 points.

Despite his success with the New York Islanders, Hogue was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the lock-out shortened 1994-95 campaign. It marked the beginning of a frequent period of address changing for Hogue. He would move on to play for the Dallas Stars three times, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Phoenix Coyotes, the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals. The highlight of his many journeys came during his second stint in Dallas as he helped the Stars win the Stanley Cup in 1999, oddly enough at the expense of the Buffalo Sabres.

After sitting out the 2002-03 season, Hogue attempted a come back but failed to make the Columbus Blue Jackets on a 2003-04 training camp try-out. He left the NHL with 222 goals, 321 assists, and 543 points in 863 career contests.

Bob Sauve

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 07:51:00 +0000

Goalie Bob Sauve was part of two dynamic goaltending duos in Buffalo.

The Buffalo Sabres drafted both Don Edwards and Bob Sauve in the 1975 NHL entry draft. Both would battle for the starters job for several seasons to come.

While Edwards quickly caught on in Buffalo, Sauve needed to wait for his chance to stay in the NHL. It wasn't until 1978-79 that Sauve finally was able to stick with the Sabres for good. He served as a back up that season, but by 1979-80 he was pushing Edwards for the starters job. He posted a 20-8-4 record with 4 shutouts while sharing the Vezina trophy with Edwards. Back in those days the Vezina was awarded to the goalie or goalies of the team who had the fewest goals against.

By 1981-82 the Sabres had decided to go another direction with their goaltending. Sauve was traded during the season to Detroit where he struggled with the lowly Red Wings. The Sabres then traded Edwards in the off season, but could not find an immediate replacement. Fortunately for the Sabres, the Wings and Sauve couldn't reach a deal, and Sauve became a free agent. He resigned with the Sabres.

1982-83 was the only season Sauve could really claim to be the undisputed #1 goalie in Buffalo. He played in 54 games with a 25-20-7 record which was quite impressive on a poor Sabres team. The Sabres unexpectedly made it to the second round of the playoffs that year, thanks largely to the play of Sauve. He posted back to back shutouts of the Montreal Canadiens in the Montreal Forum. As a Francophone who grew up idolizing the Habs and Jacques Plante, Sauve would always cherish that moment.

Sauve was relegated to back up and mentor status starting in 1983-84. A young phenom just out of high school named Tom Barrasso joined the Sabres, and took the league by storm. He would capture much of the NHL hardware that rookie season and followed it up with a strong sophomore campaign. He was always quick to credit Sauve for not only helping him but for challenging him with his own strong play.

Sauve was dealt to the Blackhawks for the 1985-86 season and stayed for two seasons before signing with the Devils in 1987. After two season in New Jersey, Sauve retired from the NHL because of chronic back problems. He remained active in hockey, first as the president of the Devil's alumni association, then as a goalie coach and later as a player agent. His list of clientele include many of Quebec's biggest names including Patrick Roy, Vincent Lecavalier, Jocelyn Thibault, Pierre Turgeon, Vincent Damphousse and Simon Gagne.

Hockey is a family affair in the Sauve family. Bob's brother Jean Francois played with the Buffalo Sabres, while Bob's American born son Phillippe, also a goalie, is now in the NHL.

Tom Barrasso

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 07:49:00 +0000

Tom Barrasso entered the NHL in the 1983-84 season as an 18 year old straight from high school. The Buffalo Sabres rookie not only succeeded at what is almost unheard of, he turned in one of the greatest individual seasons in the history of the league.

Barrasso originally planned to play for Providence College in Rhode Island, but after ending his high school season by representing Team USA at the World Championships. That confidence boost convinced the youngster to turn pro. In his rookie NHL season, Barrasso won the Vezina Trophy as the leagues best netminder and the Calder Trophy as the top rookie thanks to a 26-12-3 record and a 2.84 GAA. He was named to the first all star team.

After his spectacular season, Barrasso was being hailed as the best goalie in the world by many. He confirmed his elite status by representing Team USA at the 1984 Canada Cup, and then by improving his second season NHL totals to 25-28-10 and a 2.66 GAA. He shared the Jennings trophy and was named to the second team all stars.

The shine on Barrasso's short but brilliant career began to wear off in the 1985-86 season. Barrasso and Bob Sauve had battled for the starters job much of the previous two seasons, but the Sabres ended the goaltending controversy by trading Sauve and declaring Barrasso as their number one man. Barrasso's playing time increased but his numbers fell. In 60 games played, Barrasso posted a 3.61 GAA, and went 24-29-5. Most importantly the Sabres failed to make the playoffs for the first time since the 1973-74 season.

1986-87 wasn't any better. Barrasso got off to a terrible start, and the Sabres never recovered. The Sabres finished dead last in the NHL.

The Sabres stuck with Barrasso, and he rebounded in 1987-88, posting a 25-18-8 record and leading the Sabres back into the playoffs.

Early in the 1988-89 season, Barrasso was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh's powerful offense, led by Mario Lemieux and Paul Coffey, needed some defensive help. Barrasso proved to be that help, as he was an important part of back to back Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992.

Barrasso would stay with the Pens through 200, racking up huge win totals. He became the first American born goalie to win 300 career NHL games. He'd have 369 in all, compared to only 277 losses.

In the new century Barrasso ended his career by bouncing around with the Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues for very short stints. He was also named to Team USA for the 2002 Olympics and helped the team capture a silver medal.

Because of his spectacular start in Buffalo and his Stanley Cup brilliance in Pittsburgh, it is likely this Sabres legend will end up in Hockey's Hall of Fame.

Mike Foligno

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 07:48:00 +0000

Mike Foligno was a tireless work and team leader of the Buffalo Sabres for most of the 1980s. An extremely physical forward, excelled along the boards and in the corners, where he'd smash any opponent in site. But he was a valuable player in that he could make plays with the loose pucks his exuberance created. He had good anticipation who saw the ice fairly well. He was more of a power forward than an artist of the ice, so he relied more on his heavy shot than playmaking abilities. His wrist shot was particularly deadly.

Mike was born in Sudbury, Ontario, but spent his early years in Italy where he took up the traditional sport of soccer, where he participated in nets. When Mike returned with his family at the age of 10, he was introduced to hockey. He was instantly attracted to the physical game on ice.

Mike learned to skate and play in a small outdoor rink in Sudbury. In fact he played his entire minor and junior career in his hometown. He became a scoring sensation with the Sudbury Wolves (OHA). He scored a total of 347 pts (165 goals plus 182 assists) in 258 games for the Wolves, including a league leading 150 pts in his final season. His teammates in Sudbury included future NHLers Dale Hunter and Hector Marini. His coach in Sudbury was the former NHLer Jerry Toppazzini.

His final season of junior hockey impressed the NHL scouts who all had him very high on their lists. Mike was the complete package. He was a good scorer, good two-way player and had a mean streak that they loved. He was selected in the 1st round, 3rd overall in 1979 by Detroit and was an immediate hit in Hockeytown. Mike finished his rookie season in 1979-80 with 71 pts for the lowly Red Wings and finished as the runner-up for the rookie of the year honours behind legendary defenseman Ray Bourque.

Mike played 2½ seasons in Detroit before he was traded to Buffalo. And it was in Buffalo that Mike achieved the greatest success. He stayed there for 10-seasons and was extremely popular. A testament to this was that he won the Frank Eddolls Memorial Trophy five years in a row, given to Buffalo's most popular player.

People in Buffalo loved his never-say-die attitude on the ice. He was tough, mean and played hard every night and never complained. Mike was the ultimate professional in everything he did on the ice. He also became known for his scoring ceremony. He always used to make a high jump in the air after he scored a goal...He had the opportunity to jump 370 times in his career. Mike was a steady goal scorer and cracked the 40-goal barrier once, 30-plus goals four times and 20-plus goals five times. In total surpassed the 20 goal mark a total of ten times in his NHL career.

Mike was traded to Toronto late in 1990 when it was felt he was near the end of his career. The Sabres got Lou Franceschetti and Brian in return, but Foligno proved he could still play. He became a valuable checker and fourth line player Though he scored at just a fraction of his old production in Buffalo, he remained an exuberant force for the Leafs for parts of four seasons. However he missed the majority of the 1991-92 season due to a broken leg suffered just prior to Christmas 1991. Ironically, Foligno broke his leg in a game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Mike ended his career in 1993-94 after playing most of the season in sunny Florida for the Panthers. While playing in Florida he surpassed the magical 1000 game mark, something that further underlines the fact that he had a very successful NHL career although a Cup win eluded him.

Mike turned to coaching and scouting after his playing days were over.

Pat Lafontaine

noreply@blogger.com (Joe Pelletier) — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 07:47:00 +0000

Outside of Gilbert Perreault, Pat Lafontaine might have been the singularly most exciting skater to ever wear a Buffalo Sabres uniform.

As an 18 year old, the St. Louis, Missouri born Lafontaine took his game north of the border to Perreault's old stomping grounds - the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Lafontaine tore up the league in his only season there, scoring an mind-numbing 104 goals, 130 assists and 234 points in 70 games! Only Mario Lemieux has ever posted better numbers. His spectacular play convinced the New York Islanders to draft him 3rd overall in the 1983 entry draft.

Lafontaine then turned his attention the United States national team and the Olympics in 1984 and then turned professional with the 4 time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders.

Lafontaine was the next generation of Islanders greats. He was the guy expected to take the torch from Mike Bossy and Bryan Trottier and company. He was the top player in the post-championship era on Long Island. He scored 40-plu goals four consecutive years in a row, including a 54 goal season in 1989-90. In total LaFontaine scored 287 goals as an Islander, but none bigger than the 1987 quadruple overtime playoff game against Washington.

But it wasn't until a 1991 trade to Buffalo in exchange for Pierre Turgeon that Lafontaine blossomed into one of the greatest players in the league. Finding a unique chemistry with Alexander Mogilny. Lafontaine erupted with 46 goals and 93 points in just 57 games in 1991-92. In his second season, 1992093, he challenged Mario Lemieux for the NHL scoring title when he tallied 53 goals and 148 points. Mogilny shared the league lead in goal scoring with an amazing 76!

Sabres fans, and hockey fans everywhere, were robbed of one of the most electrifying players in recent memory. First reconstructive knee surgery caused Lafontaine to miss much of the 1993-94 and half of the 1994-95 season. When he did return, he was honored as the Bill Masterton trophy winner for his dedication and perseverance to the game.

Lafontaine gradually found his old form during the 1995-96 season, scoring 40 goals and 91 points. But in 1996-97 tragedy struck again. Pat only played in 13 contests as he was sidelined with post-concussion syndrome. Lafontaine wanted to play despite not having clearance from the Sabres doctors. Lafontaine demanded to be traded to a team who had doctors that would clear him to play. On September 29, 1997 he was traded to the New York Rangers.

Lafontaine made his return, but was always one hit away from having to retire for his own good. After 67 games which saw Lafontaine score 23 goals and 62 points, Lafontaine collided with one of his old teammates, and suffered his 5th serious concussion.

Pat Lafontaine was a 5 time all star who scored 468 goals and 1013 points in 865 games. He was a two-time Olympian and played in three Canada/World Cups.