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50 for 50 - Best Sabre Players of All-Time


GASabresIUFAN

Best Sabres 21-25 (Please vote for 5)  

60 members have voted

  1. 1. Best Sabres 21-25 (Vote for 5)

    • Don Edwards
    • Tom Barrasso
    • Bill Hajt
    • Jerry Korab
    • Alexei Zhitnik
    • Brian Campbell
    • Doug Bodger
      0
    • Jay McKee
    • Larry Playfair
    • Jack Eichel
    • Danny Briere
    • Miro Satan
    • Chris Drury
    • Stu Barnes
    • Derek Roy
    • Sam Reinhart
      0
    • Other
      0


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I’m sure we’ve done similar things in the past, but during this 50th Anniversary Season, I think we should create our Sabrespace Top 50.

I figure with two polls a week should gets us there by season’s end.  
Where do guys like Ruff or Ray fit in, if at all?  What about current stars like Reinhart, Eichel and Dahlin? What about short timers like Drury, Turgeon and Briere?

Best 50 Sabres of all time

1) Dominik Hasek

2) Gilbert Perreault

3) Pat LaFontaine

4) Rick Martin

5) Danny Gare

6) Alexander Mogilny

7.  Phil Housley

8. Dave Andreychuk

9. Mike Ramsey

1.0 (tie) Rene Robert

10. (tie) Craig Ramsay

12. Ryan Miller

13. Jim Schoenfeld

14. Mike Foligno

15. Don Luce

16. Dale Hawerchuk

17. Pierre Turgeon

18. Mike Peca

19. Thomas Vanek

20. Jason Pominville

Edited by GASabresIUFAN
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Dudacek is right on.  You used "Top" at number one, and "Best" at number two.   My brain allows me to see them differently.

 

Top ... Gil

Best ... Dom

 

PS ... there was a VERY thorough and thoughtful deep dive a few years ago.  I like this for the Anniversary year, though, the prior thread notwithstanding.

 

Edited by Neo
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I have edited the thread to make everything consistent using “Best”.  No question Gilbert is “Mr. Sabre”, but the Dominator is the best player ever to play for the Sabres.  Hasek is arguably the best player ever to play his position.  Gilbert isn’t even close.

I’m using “best” because there are players like Briere and Drury who played here for only a short time but made a lasting impact.  I’d like to see where they fit it. 

Edited by GASabresIUFAN
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11 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Domi is the best player ever to wear a Sabre uniform, but that’s not the question here: commitment to the jersey means as much as skill. The only answer is Gilbert.

Hopefully you meant Dom and not that meathead from the great Satan.  ?

As for the sentiment above, I wholeheartedly agree.  I can’t vote a guy “top” when he forced his way out the way Dom did.  I’ll grudgingly call him #2 only because there is noone else remotely in the conversation.

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Hasek is best player to ever wear uniform.

Perreault is 2nd best, but, the most important and meant most to the franchise

I see the Bills the same way.

I think Bruce Smith was the best player to ever wear uniform.  

Jim Kelly is 2nd, but, was the most important and meant the most to the franchise.

Edited by Georgia Blizzard
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21 minutes ago, Weave said:

Hopefully you meant Dom and not that meathead from the great Satan.  ?

As for the sentiment above, I wholeheartedly agree.  I can’t vote a guy “top” when he forced his way out the way Dom did.  I’ll grudgingly call him #2 only because there is noone else remotely in the conversation.

Well said, although LaFontaine and Ramsey clearly deserve to be on the list of choices.

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12 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

For skaters should we have a 200 GM minimum?

I’m thinking about 30 forwards 16 D and 4 goalies.

Why force a set breakdown between F's, D's, and G's?

And 200 games seems kind of arbitrary.  What magically makes a 2-1/2 season player a Sabre and a 2.4 season Sabre something else?  Really doubt Clark Gillies will get any mentions, but if he does and the board votes that way, what's the harm?

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1 minute ago, Taro T said:

Why force a set breakdown between F's, D's, and G's?

And 200 games seems kind of arbitrary.  What magically makes a 2-1/2 season player a Sabre and a 2.4 season Sabre something else?  Really doubt Clark Gillies will get any mentions, but if he does and the board votes that way, what's the harm?

I’m not forcing a breakdown, just putting a suggestion out there because we have had some very good stay at home D like McKee and Hajt who usually don’t fare well in polls because people forget their contribution.

200 games is a little arbitrary but looking at my list, Dahlin is the only guy under 200 games who I can see getting some consideration.

By the way I’ll post 2 more polls each Monday or should we do it quicker? Also I’ll take suggestions for the next two players to be added to the polls.  I’m thinking Miller and Robert or Gare.

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13 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I’m not forcing a breakdown, just putting a suggestion out there because we have had some very good stay at home D like McKee and Hajt who usually don’t fare well in polls because people forget their contribution.

200 games is a little arbitrary but looking at my list, Dahlin is the only guy under 200 games who I can see getting some consideration.

By the way I’ll post 2 more polls each Monday or should we do it quicker? Also I’ll take suggestions for the next two players to be added to the polls.  I’m thinking Miller and Robert or Gare.

If the poll will allow more than 8 names under either poll, those 3 should be there along with Hawerchuck, Schoenfeld, and Ramsay at a minimum.  (And, realizing all will not agree, but I'd have any of those 3 listed before the past failed coach.)

Wouldn't be at all surprised to see McKee in the top 20 players (definitely top 25) even with a bias towards scorers.

And Robert is top 50 but not top 10.  He gets extra recognition due to complementing his linemates so well.

Edited by Taro T
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Just now, tom webster said:

Whenever I see LaFontaine automatically in the third slot, I wonder how far Turgeon can be. I also wonder how many people realize how good of a career he had.

 

His non-Sabres play shouldn't factor in.  He was only a Sabre for 5 years at the beginning of his career.  And rightly or wrongly, his being the leader of the team during the middle of its longest (previous) stretch of playoff futility seems to be held against him.

Plus he was softer than butter that was left out on the table all night.  In a town that nearly worships Ray & May, that is a huge faux pas.

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5 minutes ago, tom webster said:

Whenever I see LaFontaine automatically in the third slot, I wonder how far Turgeon can be. I also wonder how many people realize how good of a career he had.

 

I like Turgeon.  He is 8th in Pts/gp on the Sabres forward list at 1 pt per game.  He is 5th in assists per game and 12th in goals. He also quietly played 5 seasons for the Sabres.  
However Patty LaFontaine averaged 1.44 pts per game.  Turgeon isn’t in that class. 

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13 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I like Turgeon.  He is 8th in Pts/gp on the Sabres forward list at 1 pt per game.  He is 5th in assists per game and 12th in goals. He also quietly played 5 seasons for the Sabres.  
However Patty LaFontaine averaged 1.44 pts per game.  Turgeon isn’t in that class. 

Turgeon played in more games with Buffalo then LaFontaine and averaged over a point per game and that includes his rookie year. He also didn’t have 89 on his wing.

In his three full years in Buffalo he averaged 1.14 points per game, and in his prime years with the Islanders, he averaged 1.33 points per game.

For my money, Rick Martin, Danny Game and Mike Ramsey were better Sabre’s. 
And I loved Patty. 

Edited by tom webster
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18 hours ago, dudacek said:

Dom is the best player ever to wear a Sabre uniform, but that’s not the question here: commitment to the jersey means as much as skill. The only answer is Gilbert.

Oh whatever. The guy stood on his head for 8 seasons, often knowing that his team was never going to score.

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Best "Sabre" of all time is  Gilbert Perreault.  He was the franchise first player and has never played for any other NHL team.   He is a pure HOF Sabre and 500 goal scorer.  He is the player most responsible for the franchise fabulous early history.   To this day is he remains symbolic as a Sabre. 

Best "Sabres Player" all time is Hasek.  He has piles of Vezina's and Hart Trophy's to prove it.     His peak of his career and his best accomplishments were in a Sabres uniform.  He started with the Black Hawks, and he is most famous for winning Cups on stacked Detroit Teams.   He was the only Sabre player to consistently be the best at his position for a sustained period. 

Edited by Pimlach
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My very first experience with hockey dates back to hasek. I live in nj, and started watching an islanders game on TV. I forgot who they played. The next game they played the Sabres. I assumed I was going to be an islanders fan before then. 

I watched them play the Sabres and hasek made wild save after even more wilder saves. It was that moment I started rooting for the Sabres. I was only able to watch when the played the devils, islanders, rangers or flyers. hasek was the reason I fell in love with hockey. I was never more upset with a team then when he was traded

Edited by miles
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