The game of hockey, like all sports, is filled with heroes. Most of the time, it is the superstars who have a reputation for coming up clutch. However, we are here to talk about the heroic performances that seem to come from nowhere. An unlikely hero can step up and chip in with a massive, Stanley Cup Playoff series-clinching goal, or maybe it is a season-long performance, the likes of which will never be seen again. These unlikely heroes become a part of hockey history. Today, we bring you our Last Word On Hockey summer series, as we look at the Bufflo Sabers Unlikely Heroes.
Credit Image: © Anthony Nesmith/Cal Sport Media)
Buffalo Sabres Unlikely Heroes
The Criteria
Some wonder what makes an unlikely hero. It can be a player who comes with a massive improvement out of nowhere. An unlikely hero can step up and chip in with a massive goal or a shutout that wasn’t expected. It can also be a player who steps up and has a season to remember. An unlikely hero can be a player who’s a youngster that gives a breakthrough performance. It can also be a star player that gives one last flash of greatness.
Dominik Hašek
Intro
Yes, we know it feels a bit silly to talk about potentially the best goalie in NHL history as an unlikely hero. But don’t let the Hall of Fame resumé fool you, not a lot of fans, pundits, or front office executives saw that coming. Hašek was traded to the Sabres in 1992 for backup goaltender Stephane Beauregard and a 1993 fourth-round draft pick.
That was the consensus around Hašek in the early 90s. He was a impressive goalie overseas who was a backup here in North America. Then the 1993-1994 season still came around. The Sabres came into the season with Hašek backing up Grant Fuhr, a very accomplished goalie in the NHL. And when Fuhr went down with a very serious knee injury, Hašek never gave the Sabres the opportunity to ever think about giving him his crease back.
The Moment(s)
Hašek went on to have one of his more impressive seasons in Buffalo. Starting 56 games with a .930 save percentage and a 1.95 goals-against average. He won his first of six Vezina Trophies that season, and finished second in Hart Memorial Trophy voting. Moreover, he’d go on to win two Hart’s in his time in Buffalo.
The singular moment that defines his breakout season was Game 6 of the 1994 Eastern Conference quarterfinal against the New Jersey Devils. Goaltender Martin Brodeur was also beginning his Hall of Fame career with the Devils. The two engaged in one of the largest goaltender duels in history. The Sabres won 1-0 in overtime, with Hašek turning in a 70 save performance in front of a raucus Sabres fanbase. It still stands as the most saves in a playoff shutout ever.
Aftermath
The Sabres ended up losing Game 7 of that series, with Hašek making 44 saves, to Brodeur’s 17. A sad way for an amazing season to end, but it wouldn’t be the last for Hašek with the Sabres. The then 29-year-old goalie turned one breakout season into a decade of dominance.
Hašek’s final season with Buffalo was in 2000-01. He was the starter every year in that stretch. His .919 save percentage in 1999-2000 would be the worst he had in a season throughout that stretch. As previously mentioned, he won the Vezina in ’94, ’95, ’97, ’98, ’99, and ’01. He won the Hart Trophy in ’97, and ’98. He also won a Gold Medal with Czech Republic at 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, stopping five Canadian shootout attempts in the Semi-Final. And then shutting out Russia 1-0 with 20 saves in the Gold Medal game.
One of the most accomplished goalies to ever play the game was once a 29-year-old backup goaltender with the Buffalo Sabres. Not many people saw it coming, but now people will never forget it.
Brad May
Intro
May was a staple of those 90s Sabres teams. Playing from the 1991-92 season to the 1997-98 season. Known primarily as an enforcer, only once in that stretch did he have fewer than 100 penalty minutes. His career-high season points was 45 points in the 1993-94 season.
However, his most iconic Sabres moment came the season before that, where the Sabres played the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs. May scored just one goal in that series, but it delivered one of the most iconinc moments in franchise history.
The Moment
Game 4 of the first round against the Bruins went into overtime with a 5-5 score. The Sabres were up 3-0 in the series, needing one goal for the series win. Pat Lafontaine made a pass to May in the neutral zone while laying on the ice, and May put the puck through Ray Bourque‘s legs, froze goaltender Andy Moog with a fake slapshot, and went around him and scored.
The goal marked the first series win for the Sabres in a decade. But what was most iconic was the call. The late great Sabres broadcaster Rick Jeanneret came bellowing over the air yelling “May Day! May Day! May Day! May Day! May Day! Brad May wins it in overtime.” Generally agreed as the legendary broadcasters most iconic call, it only met the energy and excitement of the Sabres crowd going bananas in the stands.
Aftermath
The Sabres were swept in the following round. With three of their loses to the Montreal Cnadiens coming in overtime. It seems that Sabres team cashed in all their overtime magic with May’s iconic goal. Nobody will ever forget the one goal that May scored that postseason. But more certainly, the call of the goal will go on in broadcasting fame, as one of Jeanneret’s best moments.
Jeanneret passed away in August of 2023. Serving as the voice of the Sabres for over 50 years, there is no more iconic personality in Buffalo sports history than his. The Sabres snapped their 14 year playoff drought last season, to play the Boston Bruins in the first round. Sandra Jeanneret, the wife of Rick, banged the pregame drum after the May Day call played through the arena.
Honourable Mention for Buffalo Sabres Unlikely Heroes
Jason Pominville
The Sabres selected Pominville 55th overall in the 2001 NHL Enrry Draft. Second round picks are rare to make it to NHL, and Pominville certainly made the most of his opportunity. He went on to be one of the Sabres leading contributors in the eight seasons he played with Buffalo in the first part of his career.
The Sabres had an unforgettable year right out of the lockout in 2005-06. In the second round against the Ottawa Senators, Pominville scored the series clinching goal shorthanded in overtime with a sweet move at the net. The goal punched the teams ticket to the Eastern Conference Final where they fell in seven games to the Stanley Cup-winning Carolina Hurricanes.
Once again, the moment brought one of Jeanneret’s best calls, calling the team scary good in the wake of the series winner. Pominville left the Sabres in 2012-13 for the Minnesota Wild. However he did return for his final two seasons in the NHL in 2017-18, and 2018-19. But overall, the second-round pick delivered for his teams in one of the bigger moments in their Franchise’ history.
Main Photo Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
