buffalosabresnow: The Buffalo Sabres will raise Hasek's No. 39 to the rafters tonight

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

The Buffalo Sabres will raise Hasek's No. 39 to the rafters tonight

Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com

Dominik Hasek's No. 39 will take it's rightful place in the rafters of the First Niagara Center in a ceremony tonight. Fittingly, the Buffalo Sabres will play the Detroit Red Wings, the team he was traded to for sole purpose of winning a Stanley Cup. Which he did with them, twice.

The 2014 Hockey Hall of Famer was a 1983 draft pick (199th overall) of the Chicago Blackhawks and was traded twice during his NHL career with both of the trades having significant impact on his legacy.

For posterity's sake, on August 8, 1992, the Chicago Blackhawks traded Hasek to the Buffalo Sabres for Stephane Beauregard, and a fourth-round pick (Eric Daze.) Hasek would play nine seasons in Buffalo and during that time he won the Hart Trophy for most valuable player twice (1997, 1998,) the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie six times (1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000,) the William Jennings Trophy for lowest goals against average twice (1994, 2001,) and the Lester B. Pearson Trophy (now Ted Lindsay Award) for most outstanding player as selected by his peers twice (1997, 1998.)

On June 30, 2001, Hasek was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for Vyacheslav Kozlov, a 2002 first-round draft choice and future considerations.

While in Detroit he would add one more Jennings Trophy (2002) but most importantly, and to put an exclamation point on his career, Hasek lifted the Stanley Cup twice (2002, 2008.)

Those trades and accolades are the principles of a NHL career from a player who arguably could be considered the best to ever play the position in the NHL or the world, for that matter. Also of note, Hasek lead his 1998 Czech Republic Hockey Team to a gold medal in Nagano, Japan. It was the first Olympics ever to allow professional players.

The internet is a wonderful place for photos, archival footage and if one wants to see for themselves, just Google it. No longer do those interested need to wait for an article or book from a long-time beat reporter weaving stories of legends into mythic proportions. It's all right there for us. When people talk about "Hasek the Slinky" and his incredible saves or when a stat needs to come up, it's right there.

But one thing that we won't get from a click or a touch are the behind the scenes stories that may define a player. When it comes to Hasek, nearly every person who's ever been around him in those mundane setting outside of the spotlight mentions two things that made him great--his work ethic and his fierce competitive nature.

Hasek's miraculous, Gumby-like saves using his slinky spine may be more the embodiment of his uber-compete level then they were of a slender, double jointed body. Hasek was driven to inhuman contortions to do one thing and one thing only--stop the puck from going in the net. While his pre-practice/pre-game ritual of stretching his body, he was also stretching his mind to get him into a zone. It was a mental thing as much as a physical thing, his body an extension of his mind.

While his practices were as legendary as his game-time performances it's something that rarely got attention. He never wanted to allow a goal in practice either and it gave full meaning to a cliche that's grows tiresome hear, yet is extremely important--you play the way you practice. How many times have we heard Sabres head coach Ted Nolan mention that in some capacity during his second tenure behind the bench during this very difficult portion of the rebuild.

In looking back at the hiring of Pat LaFontaine as President of Hockey Operations, it may have been Hasek's work ethic and competitive nature that became the focal point of the rebuild. Owner Terry Pegula had witnessed the play of Hasek and LaFontaine as a fan through the '90's and he saw how far a highly competitive team with minimal skill took the team. Conversely, he also witnessed how far skill without a high compete level got them as well.

LaFontaine and Hasek both had finely honed skills when they played the game, yet both were extremely driven by a strong work-ethic and fierce competitive nature. It's what made them one of the best at their positions when they played. On the bench, Nolan fully understands how important internal drive and fierce competitiveness are to a successful player and organization.

The rap on the LaFontaine/Nolan hires was nostalgia, but as Hasek's jersey gets raised to the rafters tonight, maybe it's best to look at it in the light of how Pegula and his charges wanted to define the future of the Sabres. And as young player looks up to the rafters during the national anthem, he'll be looking up to the jersey's that help define what it means to be a Buffalo Sabre.

"The Original Sabre," No. 11, for all his grace and skill, the inaugural pick and the greatest Sabre yet. The lethal shot and scoring prowess of No. 7. The drive, flash and scoring touch of the undrafted No. 14. All three hanging together as "The French Connection." How lucky we all were to see them skate together one more time at Pegula's inaugural game as owner.

Also whilst looking up, the No. 18 banner will be as big as the others, yet he was the smallest of the lot. With the most to prove, nothing to lose, and a heart that filled the Aud nightly, he was all-in, all of the time.

The No. 16 represents a combination skill level and humility along with a determination to keep pressing on despite injury. He and his high-flying linemates were a blast to watch and helped lead the Sabers out of the wilderness that was the late-80's.

No. 2 is up there as well. Although we only knew him for a short time he brought credibility and the presence of four Stanley Cup rings to a fledgling organization. He was a tough, strong, highly-competitive leader on the ice and in the locker room.

The raising of Hasek's No.39 to the rafters tonight signifies more than just a remembrance of what The Dominator did for the Buffalo Sabres franchise.

No.39 up high is one of the standards which represents a fierce competitiveness and work-ethic that was second to none and drove him to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, goalies of all time.