[bottlecap]

The wounds are healed. Why not honor one of the greatest goalies ever, especially one who became a superstar from nothing right in front of our eyes. Hasek gave Buffalo all he could and when he figured the management wasn't committed enough, he bolted. Enough pettiness, Buffalo management! Don't drag this out. Hasek deserves to be honored immediately.

[NowDoYouBelieve]

bottlecap, on 12 March 2010 - 11:04 AM, said:

The wounds are healed. Why not honor one of the greatest goalies ever, especially one who became a superstar from nothing right in front of our eyes. Hasek gave Buffalo all he could and when he figured the management wasn't committed enough, he bolted. Enough pettiness, Buffalo management! Don't drag this out. Hasek deserves to be honored immediately.

+1

The second best player in Sabres history.

Just too bad it ended the way it did.

Fuggin Kozlov.

[sweeper]

I beg to differ...

Watching him skate off the ice like he knew that was his last game in Buffalo after Kasparaitis' goal in game 7 still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Maybe in another 10 years...

[elcrusho]

No

[inkman]

bottlecap, on 12 March 2010 - 11:04 AM, said:

The wounds are healed.

I never had any wounds. Always thought the guy was a tool. A tool that may have been the best goalie of all time but a tool none-the-less. Retire his jersey? Meh...

[spndnchz]

Has the Alumni Association let him in yet?

[pat989]

He had a spat with management, not with you or any fan. So let me get this straight some of you don't like him because of his issues on the business side of things. That's the typical Buffalo BS I'm glad I left behind me. Forget he did a TON of work in the community here even after he left, made Buffalo relevant after his Gold Medal, made the hockey team competitive because Lord knows they were not a scoring machine when he was here.. yeah you're right, F him for being pissy that they NEVER sold out and got the talent truly needed to win the whole thing and instead basically threw him to the wolves.

Enough with the petty BS none of you know a THING about really, and neither do I for that matter. Plus none of you know him, or any of the people hung in the rafters for that matter, personally, so enough with the moral character judgments. He was the greatest player the Buffalo Sabres ever had. Gilbert and Paddy were great and signify everything that is great about the team, but no one ever changed and evolved the game like Hasek did. He CHANGED how goaltending is done. He did in a Sabres uniform. Retire his number NOW.

I'm sorry I'm coming off like a douche, I know, I just am super heated about this topic (clearly).

[Patty16]

right... Hasek sets all sorts of franchise records, played for them longer than gare or Horton but we shouldnt retire his number bc he was prickly and ruffled some fans skirts? He was the best player in the league a few years he played for us, something that we can only say for one other guy whose number is retired....

Just reinforces the belief that some NHL players have about Buffalo... they are way harder on europeans here.
I mean some of you would keep one of the best goalies of all time from having his number retired???

[TM8-PL16]

I would love to see his number up there... as long as it's up there in the blue and gold ;)

seriously, let it all go... he deserves to be up there.
Gare played here 7 1/4 seasons and he was good, did a lot of things, scored 50 goals twice... Hasek was here 8 1/4 seasons and won the league MVP twice and the Vezina 6 times... come on people, if Gare is up there Hasek must be up there.

but for all we know, they approached him about it and said "no"... who knows, he is a freaking strange dude.

[LabattBlue]

Hasek should have his number retired ASAP for his ON ICE achievements. He is without a doubt, along with Perreault, one of the two greatest players to ever wear the blue & gold. Because he was goofy off the ice or wanted to be traded at the end is irrelevant.

Quinn f***ed everything up when he lowered the bar to allow #16 and #18 to be retired. Gare has absolutely no business being up there and while some believe a case can be made for LaFontaine, I wouldn't have done it because of his short playing career here in Buffalo.

I don't believe that the guy I am about to mention should have his number retired either, but if I had to choose someone other than #16 or #18, it would be Craig Ramsay and it wouldn't be close.

Now if they approached Hasek about doing this(which I would bet money they have not) and he stated that he wants no part of it, that is a completely different story.

[edited]I'd also rank Mike Ramsey ahead of Gare and LaFontaine.

[inkman]

pat989, on 12 March 2010 - 11:59 AM, said:

So let me get this straight some of you don't like him because of his issues on the business side of things.

I could care less how he handled his business. He had the charisma of a pile of poo. In an age when the Sabres employed guys like Peca, May, Ray, Barnaby and Boughner; real character likeable guys, Hasek came off like an arogant, standoffish dueche. Following the team pretty closely at the time, you always got the feeling his teammates weren't really down with their backstop but appreciated his all-world efforts.

[shrader]

pat989, on 12 March 2010 - 11:59 AM, said:

He had a spat with management, not with you or any fan. So let me get this straight some of you don't like him because of his issues on the business side of things. That's the typical Buffalo BS I'm glad I left behind me. Forget he did a TON of work in the community here even after he left, made Buffalo relevant after his Gold Medal, made the hockey team competitive because Lord knows they were not a scoring machine when he was here.. yeah you're right, F him for being pissy that they NEVER sold out and got the talent truly needed to win the whole thing and instead basically threw him to the wolves.

Enough with the petty BS none of you know a THING about really, and neither do I for that matter. Plus none of you know him, or any of the people hung in the rafters for that matter, personally, so enough with the moral character judgments. He was the greatest player the Buffalo Sabres ever had. Gilbert and Paddy were great and signify everything that is great about the team, but no one ever changed and evolved the game like Hasek did. He CHANGED how goaltending is done. He did in a Sabres uniform. Retire his number NOW.

I'm sorry I'm coming off like a douche, I know, I just am super heated about this topic (clearly).

He does belong up there, but you're wrong if you're saying his actions did not effect the fans. It is very well documented at this point that he limited the return the Sabres would get so that his new team would have the best chance at the cup. How would that not have an impact on the team? His leaving obviously made the team that those fans loved much weaker, but on top of that he made them even weaker yet with that move.

[NowDoYouBelieve]

inkman, on 12 March 2010 - 12:37 PM, said:

I could care less how he handled his business. He had the charisma of a pile of poo. In an age when the Sabres employed guys like Peca, May, Ray, Barnaby and Boughner; real character likeable guys, Hasek came off like an arogant, standoffish dueche. Following the team pretty closely at the time, you always got the feeling his teammates weren't really down with their backstop but appreciated his all-world efforts.

So he won't make the cut for the charisma hall of fame.

You know what the funny thing is about those likeable character guys? As likeable as they were, they didn't seem to score very much. With a mediocre goaltender in the place of Hasek, that could've been one of the most dismal periods in the history of the franchise. Instead, they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. Hasek had the entire team on his back...like Miller this year, but to an even greater extent.

They could put 39 up on the rafters tonight, and it wouldn't be soon enough.

[wjag]

No brainer decision for me, send him up there with Peca....

[inkman]

NowDoYouBelieve, on 12 March 2010 - 12:51 PM, said:

So he won't make the cut for the charisma hall of fame.

You know what the funny thing is about those likeable character guys? As likeable as they were, they didn't seem to score very much. With a mediocre goaltender in the place of Hasek, that could've been one of the most dismal periods in the history of the franchise. Instead, they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals. Hasek had the entire team on his back...like Miller this year, but to an even greater extent.

They could put 39 up on the rafters tonight, and it wouldn't be soon enough.

I'm going to try to be nice. Did you read the thread? Did you catch where I actually said he was one of the greatest goaltenders of all time? Put him up there. I don't care. He is still a dueche.

[static70]

wjag, on 12 March 2010 - 12:52 PM, said:

No brainer decision for me, send him up there with Peca....

Peca? Thats a joke, right? Please tell me that was a joke.
As for Hasek, ya, he deserves it, he played brilliantly with the Sabres and made history while doing it.

But, from what I understand, Detroit wants to do it as well. So a player can have his Jersey retired in 2 arena's?

[inkman]

static70, on 12 March 2010 - 01:05 PM, said:

So a player can have his Jersey retired in 2 arena's?

The rafter police are pretty strict but I think they might make an exception. :thumbsup:

[PASabreFan]

Dom said he would go into the Hall as a Red Wing. Not that that's how it works, but still...

As this thread shows, the fans have not forgotten, nor will they. And succeeding generations will probably hate the guy even more. The stories will get passed down. So I don't see time healing anything.

Remember, it takes two to... to... well, whatever. It takes two. Dom would have to want this.

I'm with ink. Blech. I don't care either way whether it's up there. LB is right as well. The Sabres have watered down the honor so much, right down to the cheesy middle school quality of the banners, that it's irrelevant.

[shrader]

static70, on 12 March 2010 - 01:05 PM, said:

Peca? Thats a joke, right? Please tell me that was a joke.
As for Hasek, ya, he deserves it, he played brilliantly with the Sabres and made history while doing it.

But, from what I understand, Detroit wants to do it as well. So a player can have his Jersey retired in 2 arena's?

Bourque
Bobby Hull (not sure if that number is still retired in the Phoenix organization)
Messier
Roy

Then there's Gretzky, which of course are different circumstances, but his number was retired in Edmonton and LA on different occasions.

[elcrusho]

pat989, on 12 March 2010 - 11:59 AM, said:

He had a spat with management, not with you or any fan. So let me get this straight some of you don't like him because of his issues on the business side of things. That's the typical Buffalo BS I'm glad I left behind me. Forget he did a TON of work in the community here even after he left, made Buffalo relevant after his Gold Medal, made the hockey team competitive because Lord knows they were not a scoring machine when he was here.. yeah you're right, F him for being pissy that they NEVER sold out and got the talent truly needed to win the whole thing and instead basically threw him to the wolves.

Enough with the petty BS none of you know a THING about really, and neither do I for that matter. Plus none of you know him, or any of the people hung in the rafters for that matter, personally, so enough with the moral character judgments. He was the greatest player the Buffalo Sabres ever had. Gilbert and Paddy were great and signify everything that is great about the team, but no one ever changed and evolved the game like Hasek did. He CHANGED how goaltending is done. He did in a Sabres uniform. Retire his number NOW.

I'm sorry I'm coming off like a douche, I know, I just am super heated about this topic (clearly).

<kick>
ROADHOUSE!