The Buffalo Sabres began their Hall of Fame in 1980 and have already inducted forty-one men in their Hall. Honestly, this is a high amount for a franchise that has never won a Stanley Cup (although they have been to two), but the 42nd inductee is someone that hockey fans should have no problem with.
That man is Czech born Goaltender, Dominik Hasek, who arrived in Buffalo via a trade from Chicago as the backup for Grant Fuhr in 1992. Hasek would ascend to the starting position following an injury to Grant early in the 1993-94 season, and he immediately became one of the elite Goaltenders in Hockey.
Hasek would have his best professional seasons in Buffalo where he would win the Vezina Trophy five times, the Hart Trophy twice and was named a First Team All Star six times. Hasek made the Buffalo Sabres a contender and willed them to a Stanley Cup Final in 1999. There is no argument that during the last half of the 1990’s that “The Dominator” was the best player in between the pipes (he won the Olympic Gold for the Czech Republic in this time frame too) and that he was Buffalo Sabres Hockey.
His time in Buffalo was not all sunshine, as he had a serious falling out with Head Coach, Ted Nolan, who despite being the Coach of the Year was essentially rode out of town by Hasek. He would be traded out of Buffalo in 2001 in a cost cutting move by the Sabres, and he would win a cup with the Detroit Red Wings shortly after.
Hasek may not have left Buffalo on the best of terms, but this team can’t have a Hall of Fame without him in it. We congratulate Hasek on this accolade and count the days until he is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto!
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