It's Hall of Fame Night at First Niagara Center as Rick Jeanneret and Dale Hawerchuk earn their tickets into the Sabres Hall in ceremonies prior to the game against the Winnipeg Jets, the team that drafted Hawerchuk first overall in 1981.
(The ceremonies start at 7:08 and the game is pushed back to 7:23. Fans should be in their seats by 7 to see the pregame videos and such).
I had a great conversation yesterday with Jeanneret for a story in today's paper and will be speaking to Hawerchuk this evening during a 6:30 media briefing. One thing that didn't make the story was when we chatted about the Sabres' incredible 1992-93 season, the one that saw Pat LaFontaine (53-95-148), Alexander Mogilny (76-51-127) and Hawerchuk (16-80-96) all go wild offensively.
It was the year that featured the "May Day" goal that cemented Jeanneret as an icon and the Sabres then went on to lose four straight one-goal games to Montreal, three in overtime. The Canadiens went on to win the Stanley Cup. Injuries to LaFontaine, Mogilny and Doug Bodger ruined the Sabres' hopes that year, easily forgotten as a close brush with the Cup.
"It was 10 years for them to graduate out of the first round so the [May Day victory] was a big deal," Jeanneret said. "They went on to Montreal ... and it didn't work on in the end but that was a pretty good run though."
And, of course, on Jeanneret's night, talking about the '92-93 season gives us another reason to give you this flashback and an NHL.com retrospective that was produced last year.
---Mike Harrington
(www.twitter.com/bnharrington)
tagged
ex-Sabres | Sabres | TV/Radio/Media
