Dominik Hasek

[Weave]

7 minutes ago, New Scotland (NS) said:

Hasek was fantastic.  Maybe the best Sabre ever.

I hate him for quiting on the team.  I can't forgive that.

Eye. To. Eye.

[The Jokeman]

23 hours ago, PerreaultForever said:

Ya, coincidentally, we took goalies that year. Barrasso and then Puppa in the same draft. 

They didn't scout those Euro leagues as much in those days and Hasek had a weird unorthodox style, Chicago was pretty much gambling when they drafted him. I doubt they ever thought he'd be much of anything. 

Even after we traded for him we later traded for Fuhr. You have to wonder how'd things go if had Andreychuk and 1st Rounder we gave Toronto.

Edited June 17, 2021 by The Jokeman

[gilbert11]

On 6/16/2021 at 10:42 AM, Kong said:

With all the chaos surrounding this organization, thinking of good things can't hurt.

To recap,Dominik Hasek's story is that Buffalo picked him up as a backup goalie from Chicago for next to nothing. In Buffalo, he developed into arguably the greatest goalie of all time. Listening to the Hockey Guy talk about Hasek on youtube brings it all back. One thing I realized in his talk about Hasek is that it's probably true Buffalo was not even a playoff team without Hasek. He took them to the Finals but...we know the rest. At the height of his fame, the Sabres paid Hasek a huge $9 million a year salary. Hasek enabled a team of pluggers to have wild success but in the end, the talent and depth on the team was too thin and possibly his salary hamstrung the team, much like Eichel-Skinner does now.

Then Hasek went to Detroit who was in a much different position...the team had the stars, talent and depth the Sabres lacked and acquiring Hasek was the coups de gras. Lesson learned: there is no shortcut to building a great franchise. You can't spend huge chunks of change on one or two great players. Do it right and then add the final pieces like Hasek in place to cement winning.

 

And another mistake there was letting Hasek dictate the other half of the trade.  If he really wanted out, he would’ve folded on his demands. 

Edited June 18, 2021 by gilbert11

[KC Scouts]

I'll trade the collection of losers we have now for the '99 team (Lindy & Asst Coaches included) without Hasek and pick up an above average goalie and we are in the playoffs guaranteed. HASEK was awesome but don't sell that '99 group short. Hard working MF'ers

[Taro T]

7 minutes ago, gilbert11 said:

And another mistake there was letting Haskell dictate the other half of the trade.  If he really wanted out, he would’ve folded on his demands. 

He did really want out after he believed that ownership lied about "bringing in the tools to finish the job."  And, Rigas did, in fact, lie about that.  Give that '01 squad Peca or equivalent after they'd burned the bridge with him & that team wins the SC.  Heck, as it was, even without him, they were a fluke bounce in game 6 away from & then a non-delay of game call in game 7 from having an excellent chance of getting the Devils whom they OWNED that season.  And they won in OT in Denver with Biron in the net.  They were that frigging close.

And, they didn't try to even get fair value for Peca at the next draft, so Hasek wanted out.

He also had a VERY credible threat of moving back to the Czech Republic if the Sabres didn't accommodate him.  He'd already planned to "retire" to there a year or so earlier, but changed his mind because he didn't want to walk away after an injury plagued season.

[Marvin]

Let me quote Jeff Klein and Karl-Eric Reif from The Death of Hockey on how good Hasek was:

"(Hasek makes) the often hilariously inept Buffalo Sabres masquerade as a contender because he bails them out of their numerous mistakes every night."

They were right.  Oh, they worked hard and were a borderline playoff team when they got above-average goaltending.  But they were not contenders in any sense without Hasek.  And I loved that team.

[mjd1001]

56 minutes ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

Let me quote Jeff Klein and Karl-Eric Reif from The Death of Hockey on how good Hasek was:

"(Hasek makes) the often hilariously inept Buffalo Sabres masquerade as a contender because he bails them out of their numerous mistakes every night."

They were right.  Oh, they worked hard and were a borderline playoff team when they got above-average goaltending.  But they were not contenders in any sense without Hasek.  And I loved that team.

I hope my math is correct here:

1999 Sabres with Hasek in net....98 point pace (projected over an 82 game season)

Other games with Biron and/or Roloson in net... 69-70 point pace.

[drnkirishone]

the Sabres would have been in the running for last place without Hasek for most of his record setting seasons. What angers me the most about him forcing the trade is the rest of the roster was so improved compared to the previous few seasons. They actually generated offense and scoring chances compared to being outshot 2 to 1 every night. With Peca in the lineup and the right deadline pickups we could have won a cup. So I understand why he forced the trade.... But I can't forgive it.

[DarthEbriate]

18 hours ago, KC Scouts said:

I'll trade the collection of losers we have now for the '99 team (Lindy & Asst Coaches included) without Hasek and pick up an above average goalie and we are in the playoffs guaranteed. HASEK was awesome but don't sell that '99 group short. Hard working MF'ers

I also always state not to underestimate that 1999 team. But I've got to give the caveat -- the post trade deadline 1999 squad. Because on the shoestring budget of Hasek + some guys...  they got to the 7 seed. Swapping Barnaby for Stu Barnes, swapping Wilson for Rhett Warrener, getting Joe Juneau for (...I had to research... Tezikov? Tezikov!). The final iteration was really solid. Kicking Rob Ray and Paul Kruse out of the lineup.

I don't know if I'd swap the '99 squad sans Hasek for today's roster. I'd take the '99 squad plus prime-Hasek. 🍺They'd have to learn a different non-clutch-and-grab game. But yes, we'd be entertained.

1 hour ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

Let me quote Jeff Klein and Karl-Eric Reif from The Death of Hockey on how good Hasek was:

"(Hasek makes) the often hilariously inept Buffalo Sabres masquerade as a contender because he bails them out of their numerous mistakes every night."

They were right.  Oh, they worked hard and were a borderline playoff team when they got above-average goaltending.  But they were not contenders in any sense without Hasek.  And I loved that team.

This, too. That was a frustrating team to watch. But oh so very entertaining.

[drnkirishone]

3 minutes ago, DarthEbriate said:

I also always state not to underestimate that 1999 team. But I've got to give the caveat -- the post trade deadline 1999 squad. Because on the shoestring budget of Hasek + some guys...  they got to the 7 seed. Swapping Barnaby for Stu Barnes, swapping Wilson for Rhett Warrener, getting Joe Juneau for (...I had to research... Tezikov? Tezikov!). The final iteration was really solid. Kicking Rob Ray and Paul Kruse out of the lineup.

I don't know if I'd swap the '99 squad sans Hasek for today's roster. I'd take the '99 squad plus prime-Hasek. 🍺They'd have to learn a different non-clutch-and-grab game. But yes, we'd be entertained.

Actually I think that team could compete in todays game. That team had very sparse talent and almost no offensive talent. But they had people that could skate and close space. The problem they had was teams would outmuscle and clutch and grab to keep the puck thus the sabres would have a time on attack of like 2-3 minutes per game. most of which was from a counter attack off a turnover.

[DarthEbriate]

14 minutes ago, drnkirishone said:

Actually I think that team could compete in todays game. That team had very sparse talent and almost no offensive talent. But they had people that could skate and close space. The problem they had was teams would outmuscle and clutch and grab to keep the puck thus the sabres would have a time on attack of like 2-3 minutes per game. most of which was from a counter attack off a turnover.

I had been known to yell "Speed kills!" at the TV when we played Philly in those days while we skated circles around those lumbering oafs. Holzinger and Sanderson had elite speed. Primeau, Rasmussen, Brown, etc. were fast young guys. But defensively, they all relied on clutching-and-grabbing just as much as the opposition did on them. That's the re-learning. What concerns me more when I really think on it are ... Peca. Peca was borderline then. We can't have our captain getting suspended left and right. Today, he'd be worse than Kadri. And Smehlik. Smehlik would be in trouble in today's game.

[drnkirishone]

1 minute ago, DarthEbriate said:

I had been known to yell "Speed kills!" at the TV when we played Philly in those days while we skated circles around those lumbering oafs. Holzinger and Sanderson had elite speed. Primeau, Rasmussen, Brown, etc. were fast young guys. But defensively, they all relied on clutching-and-grabbing just as much as the opposition did on them. That's the re-learning. What concerns me more when I really think on it are ... Peca. Peca was borderline then. We can't have our captain getting suspended left and right. Today, he'd be worse than Kadri. And Smehlik. Smehlik would be in trouble in today's game.

Smehlik was in trouble back in the 90s..... Peca was a product of the era. I think in todays game he would be a offense light Bergeron. I agree they tried to clutch and grab on defense. But I argue that they did so because it was the only option. They had the speed to play a puck pressure game, but when the opponent can just grab your stick or physically hold you back you have little option but to try and do so as well. The only other option was to play keep away like the Red Wings, but they didn't have the talent for it.

[Weave]

1 minute ago, drnkirishone said:

Smehlik was in trouble back in the 90s..... Peca was a product of the era. I think in todays game he would be a offense light Bergeron. I agree they tried to clutch and grab on defense. But I argue that they did so because it was the only option. They had the speed to play a puck pressure game, but when the opponent can just grab your stick or physically hold you back you have little option but to try and do so as well. The only other option was to play keep away like the Red Wings, but they didn't have the talent for it.

I agree with Darth. Peca would be Kadri or Perry today.  He was a cheapshot even then.

But he was our cheapshot and I want another like him.

[DarthEbriate]

5 minutes ago, Weave said:

I agree with Darth. Peca would be Kadri or Perry today.  He was a cheapshot even then.

But he was our cheapshot and I want another like him.

This current Sabres squad needs a Peca/Kadri/Perry in the very worst way. And it can't be a DLo, or a Kaleta, or a ... Pekar...  or even an Angry Larry. It can't be a 4th-line guy. It needs to be someone in the top-6 who's just simply tough to play against on every shift and is going to cause chaos. And can score 20+.

[drnkirishone]

9 hours ago, Weave said:

I agree with Darth. Peca would be Kadri or Perry today.  He was a cheapshot even then.

But he was our cheapshot and I want another like him.

Maybe it is nostalgia or rose tinted glasses when it comes to Peca, but I don't recall cheapshots. He certainly rode the line on hits, but I don't remember his hits being much different compared to ones that Scott Stevens did. It was a different era for what was an acceptable check and I think his game would of been developed different if he was going by todays rules. But maybe time has made me forget his dirty play.

[Weave]

3 hours ago, drnkirishone said:

Maybe it is nostalgia or rose tinted glasses when it comes to Peca, but I don't recall cheapshots. He certainly rode the line on hits, but I don't remember his hits being much different compared to ones that Scott Stevens did. It was a different era for what was an acceptable check and I think his game would of been developed different if he was going by todays rules. But maybe time has made me forget his dirty play.

Stevens was a cheapshot as well.

[Taro T]

7 hours ago, drnkirishone said:

Maybe it is nostalgia or rose tinted glasses when it comes to Peca, but I don't recall cheapshots. He certainly rode the line on hits, but I don't remember his hits being much different compared to ones that Scott Stevens did. It was a different era for what was an acceptable check and I think his game would of been developed different if he was going by todays rules. But maybe time has made me forget his dirty play.

Peca exploded up into his hits (which is why a guy as small as he was hit so hard) & if he mistimed them at all, he left his feet before the hit which is a textbook charge.  It was one of those mistimed ones that caused his suspension.

[SwampD]

7 hours ago, drnkirishone said:

Maybe it is nostalgia or rose tinted glasses when it comes to Peca, but I don't recall cheapshots. He certainly rode the line on hits, but I don't remember his hits being much different compared to ones that Scott Stevens did. It was a different era for what was an acceptable check and I think his game would of been developed different if he was going by todays rules. But maybe time has made me forget his dirty play.

Peca left his feet on almost every hit.

[PASabreFan]

19 hours ago, Marvin, Sabres Fan said:

Let me quote Jeff Klein and Karl-Eric Reif from The Death of Hockey on how good Hasek was:

"(Hasek makes) the often hilariously inept Buffalo Sabres masquerade as a contender because he bails them out of their numerous mistakes every night."

They were right.  Oh, they worked hard and were a borderline playoff team when they got above-average goaltending.  But they were not contenders in any sense without Hasek.  And I loved that team.

And yet that team, in the middle of the dead puck era and in the freakin' playoffs, averaged three goals a game on its way to the finals. The final? Not so much.

3 minutes ago, SwampD said:

Peca left his feet on almost every hit.

Such a weird expression. Left the ice maybe?

[SwampD]

2 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

And yet that team, in the middle of the dead puck era and in the freakin' playoffs, averaged three goals a game on its way to the finals. The final? Not so much.

Such a weird expression. Left the ice maybe?

After I wrote it, I looked it up because it sounded so weird to me.

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, PASabreFan said:

And yet that team, in the middle of the dead puck era and in the freakin' playoffs, averaged three goals a game on its way to the finals. The final? Not so much.

Such a weird expression. Left the ice maybe?

The power play was clicking almost every night in the run up to the Finals.  It went ice cold against Dallas.  Which explains just about the entire drop in scoring after the Semis.

[PASabreFan]

1 minute ago, SwampD said:

After I wrote it, I looked it up because it sounded so weird to me.

Oh you weren't wrong. It's established terminology. I think Carlin did a bit on it.

[SwampD]

2 minutes ago, PASabreFan said:

Oh you weren't wrong. It's established terminology. I think Carlin did a bit on it.

I thought I just partook (that sounds weird, too) a little too much last night.

[dudacek]

17 hours ago, DarthEbriate said:

This current Sabres squad needs a Peca/Kadri/Perry in the very worst way. And it can't be a DLo, or a Kaleta, or a ... Pekar...  or even an Angry Larry. It can't be a 4th-line guy. It needs to be someone in the top-6 who's just simply tough to play against on every shift and is going to cause chaos. And can score 20+.

 

17 hours ago, Weave said:

I agree with Darth. Peca would be Kadri or Perry today.  He was a cheapshot even then.

But he was our cheapshot and I want another like him.

Have you guys watched much Max Comtois?