An All-Rookie with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1991-92, Chicago traded him to the Buffalo Sabres as they already had Ed Belfour. Hasek brought his unconventional goaltending style to Western New York, and what evolved was the best Goalie of the 1990s.
The Czech star was a backup initially in Buffalo, but he soon took over, and from the 1993-94 season until his departure in 2001, Hasek went on a stretch of dominance (he was the Dominator” after all) that few athletes regardless of sport can match. In that eight-year timeframe, Hasek won two Hart Trophies, two Lester B. Pearson Awards, six Vezinas, was a six-time First Team All-Star, a six-time leader in Save Percentage, and one-time leader in Goals Against Average. The only thing that he could not do was win a Stanley Cup, and it was not as if Hasek didn’t do everything he could to get the Sabres their first championship. Hasek did take them to the Finals against Dallas, but with all due respect to the rest of the Sabres, Hasek was their superstar, and nobody else on the team approached his level.
Nobody knew that fact better than Hasek himself. Growing old and frustrated, Hasek forced a trade out of Buffalo in 2001, and in his first year out, won the Cup with the Detroit Red Wings. Years later, all was forgiven, and his number 39 was retired by the team, as well being inducted into the Sabres Hall of Fame.
Hasek was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.
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