Martin Biron

Who is Next in Line for the Sabres Hall of Fame?

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Rob Ray became the 44th member of the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame on Friday night, a well deserved honor for one of the most beloved players in franchise history. Ray’s induction comes two years after Ryan Miller was inducted in conjunction with his jersey retirement, the first player to be inducted in nearly 10 years. 

It wasn’t long ago that the Sabres Hall of Fame was a stagnant, forgotten aspect of the franchise. After Miller and Ray’s inductions, it would appear that the Sabres Hall of Fame has been revived. 

The priority for the Sabres now should be to find a better way to share the Hall of Fame with the fan base. Currently, the only physical display is the wall of names and photos in the Sabres hallway. It’s a very nice exhibit but few fans ever get to see it in person. There should be a far more substantial celebration of the team’s Hall of Fame in the arena. I’ve long lobbied for the Sabres to build an interactive Hall of Fame and museum in the space behind the Sabres Store and my opinion hasn’t changed. There is a ton of room back there and I expect most of the office space to be cleared once the Canalside Gateway building opens. It is a perfect venue for a walk through attraction that fans can visit on game days or summer afternoons alike. I don’t need to re-hash that entire post, but devoting space to the Sabres Hall of Fame and other memorable aspects of team history seems like a slam dunk for the Sabres to pursue. 

As for the members of the Hall of Fame, it’s encouraging that the practice has returned. With only two new inductions in 10 years, it’s hard to say what sort of cadence the team will take up for new inductions. Will this be an annual event? Bi-annual? Or will the ceremonies come intermittently as the team sees fit to nominate and select someone for induction? 

My hope is for this to become a regular fixture on the Sabres calendar. There are enough worthy candidates to stretch on for 10 seasons with a new induction each year and even more if you care to get a little more creative with the standards for entry. Here is a list of the next most worthy candidates (in no particular order) for the Sabres Hall of Fame and a case for induction for each one. 

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Sabres Goaltenders and Custom Pads

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Custom goal pads have been revolutionized by the introduction of digitally printed graphics. CCM introduced their printed graphic technology a few short years after Bauer’s digiprint was released. Now, virtually every NHL team features at least one goalie whose equipment uses the technology.

The technology’s applications are practically limitless, Linus Ullmark had a few unique looks of his own, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen does as well (both Bauer wearers) and Devon Levi will be taking advantage of CCM’s feature this season.

One of the most popular utilizations of this technology has been to recreate graphics from years past. It’s a fun way to remember some guys gear, and one day I’d love to see Sabres goalies honor some of the best looks of the team’s past. Especially with the distinctly different looks of the goatheads and the team’s home and away uniforms.

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The Instigator Podcast Interview featuring former Sabre Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre

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Despite a fairly short period of time with the Sabres organization, Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre was one of my absolute favorites growing up. Which made his guest spot on The Instigator Podcast a real treat for me. Jean-Luc joined the show to discuss what he’s been up to since his retirement from hockey, highlights from his time in Buffalo and offers insight on transitioning from an established NHL club to an expansion franchise. Jean-Luc also works with Belfry Hockey and he offered up some excellent feedback on trends in youth hockey today including key areas of focus for developing players.

One interesting tidbit we learned is that he has long had a deep love for goaltending and he has picked up the position since retiring from the pro game. He makes a very interesting comparison in his game with another former Sabre. Check it out:

Ranking the Greatest Masks in Sabres History

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For a club with nearly 50 years of history, the Sabres sometimes lack a laundry list of alumni at certain positions. Goaltender is a unique one as the club has enjoyed long stretches of success at the position.  It’s a trait many teams do not share.

That does create some issues when it comes to the entire alumni pool and more trivial things such as ranking goalie helmet designs. With the Sabres at the center of their fair share of negative articles, it seems like a good a time as any to share my favorite Sabres goal mask designs as a way to distract, even for a short while, from a season that’s as dreary as anyone can remember.

I’ve put together what I feel are the ten best masks in Sabres history with a few honorable mentions filtered in when appropriate. Each ranking was based on a single mask a goalie wore as a Sabre (except when multiple masks were considered) and the overall paint job was considered. Bonus points for minute details common on modern masks didn’t factor in since that created the potential for excluding older masks.

Like any good listicle, I’ll go in order from ten to one, so if you’re impatient just scroll to the bottom. Disagreements and debate are welcome, be sure to share them in the comments section or via Twitter. Continue reading →

Sabres Pipe Dream: A New Web Series

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Given the on-ice struggles of the Sabres, the Beyond Blue and Gold series may just be the best thing to come out of First Niagara Center in the past few years. The web series has done a brilliant job in highlighting the players away from the rink while also showcasing the phenomenal video production team the Sabres and Pegula Sports boasts.

Can I touch your face? Just for a second.
Can I touch your face? Just for a second.

The lone complaint I’ve ever had about the show is how short the episodes are. I’m typically left wanting more out of each episode and while I appreciate and understand the shooting schedule and production that goes into each episode, I still feel like I want each episode to run a little longer. With that in mind, I started thinking about how the team could expand their web video offerings and came up with an idea for a new web series the team could run.

What I eventually cooked up via text with fellow 2ITB contributor Tyler Roeder was an idea for a studio show that focuses solely on analysis of the team. Unlike Beyond Blue and Gold, this show wouldn’t be feature based but almost like an expanded version of the postgame show with video breakdown, opponent previews and the like. No call ins, a weekly web series going through what the Sabres have been up to on the ice. Continue reading →