This Day in Hockey History – August 7, 1992 – Hasek Shuffled Off to Buffalo

Aug 7, 2019

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Hall-of-Fame goalie Dominik Hasek played for four teams during his NHL career. Nowhere did he play longer than the nine seasons with the Buffalo Sabres. The Chicago Blackhawks traded him to Buffalo on August 7, 1992, and he finished out the decade there.

Already a star in Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic), in 1983, Chicago drafted Hasek in the 11th round (207th overall). After his debut in November 1990, he backstopped Chicago for 25 regular-season and six playoff games throughout his two seasons there. Hasek really stood out during game 4 of the 1992 Stanley Cup Final. Unfortunately for him, Ed Belfour’s place as top goalie stood firm, and Chicago had too much depth in goal.

The Buffalo Sabres had noticed Hasek’s talent and pressed Chicago for five months. According to GM Gerry Meehan, “We’ve liked Hasek for a long time. We’ve been trying to get the trade done since February or March.” As Chicago was involved in talks with other teams, Meehan admitted their pursual had “been an on-again, off-again kind of thing.”

Finally, the teams came to terms, essentially trading goalies. The Sabres would get Hasek and give Chicago Stephane Beauregard (and a fourth-round pick). Chicago basically just used Beauregard to retrieve forward Christian Ruuttu from the Winnipeg Jets.

For Hasek, the trade presented the opportunity to take the lead. Chicago GM Mike Keenan remarked, “He feels strongly about his chances to be a No. 1 goaltender. He has expressed openly about his desire to start on a consistent basis.” Keenan felt, “He’s capable of being No. 1. He can play 60 games or so.” The Sabres agreed, and Meehan promised, “Hasek will be given the opportunity to be the No. 1 goalie.” However, Buffalo ended up having too many goalies, giving Hasek some development time. Mitch Korn, the goaltending coach, said of Hasek at the beginning, “He was so smart, he knew exactly what was going to happen next, but he was too early. So he showed his hand like a bad poker player.” Thanks to Korn’s help, Hasek was ready to take the lead after Grant Fuhr’s knee injury in November 1993.

At the end of the 1993-94 season, Hasek and Fuhr shared the William M. Jennings Trophy for having the fewest goals scored against their team. That same season, Hasek earned his first of six Vezina Trophies, all received during his time in Buffalo. In 1997 and 1998, he was voted as both the league MVP to receive the Hart Trophy (as the only goalie to win more than once) and as the most outstanding NHL player receiving the Lester B. Pearson Award. The Sabres came within one controversial goal of winning the 1999 Stanley Cup Final. In his final year with Buffalo, Hasek again earned the Jennings Trophy. During six consecutive seasons in the 1990s, he also led the NHL in save percentage, almost always coming in at .930 or better.

A combination of Hasek wanted to backstop a Stanley-Cup contender and the Sabres needing to reduce salaries led to a 2001 trade with the Detroit Red Wings. Before leaving, Hasek set franchise goals for games played (491), wins (234), shutouts (55), and lowest goals against average (2.22). As Korn praised “The Dominator,” “But for me, nobody made more of a difference every night … This guy did it every night for a good long period of time. He was that dominant on a team that really needed him to be dominant.”

Hasek played four seasons for Detroit, with a year in Ottawa in the middle. He led the Red Wings to win championships in 2002 and 2008. In that final year, he again took home the Jennings Trophy. Then he retired from the NHL.

At the end of his career, Hasek’s honors just kept coming. He was enshrined in the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2014, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame. The following year, the Sabres finally retired his No. 39.