Hasek in the Hall

By Dave Ricci

In June, Dominik Hasek was selected as a member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame’s class of 2003.

Looking at his career numbers and accomplishments it was a forgone conclusion that he would be enshrined in Buffalo’s Hall of Fame someday.

With two Hart trophies as NHL MVP, six Vezina Awards for outstanding goaltending, an Olympic gold medal and countless team awards and records there’s no arguing that Hasek deserves a spot among the legends of WNY athletics.

Hasek’s numbers are not in question. The question remaining is how will fans react when Hasek is inducted?

It’s been two years since Hasek angered a large portion of the Sabres fan base by orchestrating his trade to the Detroit Red Wings for what he deemed was his best, and probably last, shot at the Stanley Cup.

For Hasek the trade was simply a career move. It was not meant to be insulting or offensive to the Sabres fans. But it was.

The fan backlash against Hasek was strong. People saw him as selfish and unemotional because of the way he exited.

The words "I’m a Red Wing forever" cut Sabres fans to the core. Many people, his former Sabres teammates included, were hurt. They felt Hasek was disrespectful and ungrateful for everything the Sabres and the people of WNY gave him.

For some fans that anger carried well into the 2001-02 season. They cheered wildly during Buffalo’s 5-1 win over the Wings in Hasek’s return to HSBC Arena on March 10, 2002.

Most of those same fans continued to hold a grudge during the 2002 playoffs as they rooted against Hasek. When the Wings did win it all, predictable comments of "Hasek was along for the ride," or "the Wings bought the Cup" rang out around our region.

They say time heals all wounds but there’s still a pocket of fans that have not, and may never, forgive Dominik Hasek.

Some people love to point at the soft goal Pittsburgh’s Darius Kasparaitis scored on Hasek in overtime to eliminate the Sabres from the 2001 Eastern Conference playoffs.

The lasting memory of that softie combined with how Hasek left has somehow crept into the minds of some fans who have made a practice of chipping away at Hasek’s value.

Some people have the absurd notion that Hasek "let" that Kasparaitis goal in because he had already decided he wanted out of Buffalo.

Dominik Hasek was the greatest Sabre ever, period. End of debate. Night after night he carried this team and won games they had no business winning.

He made everyone around him better and instilled pride in this franchise and our city. If you think the Sabres would have been within arm’s length of the Stanley Cup without Hasek in net, you’re sadly mistaken.

WNYers are very passionate about sports. We live and die with our teams and players. If athletes don’t return our love in a similar fashion we feel slighted.

Maybe Hasek didn’t fully understand that. But he does now and I honestly believe he’s sorry for any feelings he hurt.

Hopefully people in attendance at the induction ceremony will find it in their hearts to forgive Hasek. Their reaction should be inspired by what Hasek did on the ice and not by how he left.

To Top