This Day in Buffalo Sports History: Rolie the Goalie

   July 15, 1998 -- The Buffalo Sabres have gone through quite a list of second-string goalies over the past 15 years. This is the day when they officially signed one of them.

   Dwayne Roloson came aboard as a free agent on this date. His time in Buffalo is best remembered for winning Game One of the Eastern Conference finals against the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1999. That got Buffalo off to a great start, and there was no stopping the Sabres once Dominik Hasek returned to action later in that series.

   Roloson has had an interesting career. He didn't see much action in Buffalo -- no one playing behind Hasek ever did -- and jumped to Minnesota. Roloson was good there, and was good in Edmonton as well. He helped the Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 2006.

   At 39, his career isn't over yet. He just signed as a free agent with the New York Islanders, where he gives his new team some depth behind the injury-prone Rick DiPietro.

--- Budd Bailey