Buffalo, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – The Buffalo Sabres made it official on
Monday, revealing the club will retire the No. 39 jersey of former star
goaltender Dominik Hasek on January 13.
It’s the final leg of honors bestowed on Hasek, following his induction into
the franchise’s Hall of Fame late last season.
Hasek was the fifth and final player to wear No. 39 in a Sabres uniform and he
will become the seventh player in franchise history to have a number retired.
Hasek was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks in the summer of 1992, and went
on to become one of the premier players in the NHL until the end of the
decade. Upon his departure from the Sabres in 2001, he owned the club records
for most games played (491), wins (234), shutouts (55) and lowest career
goals-against average (2.22).
During the 1997-98 season, he appeared in a career-high 72 games and set a
team record with 13 shutouts, then led to the team to the Stanley Cup Finals
in the spring of 1999 after a season in which he had a career-best 1.87 GAA.
The Czech native, while with the Sabres, became the first goaltender in NHL
history to win the Hart Trophy in back-to-back seasons (1997-98). He also
captured six Vezina Trophies (1994-95, 1997-99 and 2001) as well as the
William M. Jennings Trophy (1994, 2001) and the Lester B. Pearson Award
(1997, ’98) twice.
Seven of his 10 All-Star selections occurred while he starred for Buffalo. He
went on to win a pair of Stanley Cup titles for Detroit and also played for
Ottawa.
The Sabres previously retired the No. 11 of Gilbert Perreault in 1990, Rick
Martin’s No. 7 and Rene Robert’s No. 14 in 1995, the No. 2 of Tim Horton in
1996, Danny Gare’s No. 18 in 2005 and Pat LaFontaine’s No. 16 in 2006.
