Pat Lafontaine

[inkman]

I hope they retire every 2 digit Jersey # and have to start doling out #'s like 176.

[Tarrytown]

Numbers that should be retired in Buffalo: 11, 39 and 16. As for the French Connection...to have the line honored is one thing..but to have 14 and 7 retired just has never made sense to me. Players with that distinction should be extraordinary in their own right. We've had some great players, that's for sure, but do they all deserve such a high honor - probably not.

[Stoner]

Just beneath the surface of this whole conversation is the idea that this franchise has been at times a bit of a George W. Bush League operation. Numbers of popular players were retired this year to create some good will with the fans after the lockout and also to a lesser extent to sell some tickets. It's ridiculous. The Sabres Hall of Fame is the venue for players like them, and Gare was inducted in 1994. His contemporaries Don Luce and Craig Ramsay were inducted EIGHT years before that, so please explain the logic of retiring Gare's number, but not Luce's or Ramsay's! Now we're looking at the third jersey in 10 years for the Sabres, not including the dreaded third jersey. Why? $$$. Sad. Compare how the Sabres behave with an outfit like the Canadiens. Over 20 Cups and how many numbers retired? Seven! And one classic logo. Larry Quinn... just STOP. Please. Let's make history, man, and stop trying to manufacture it.

[Stoner]

P.S. It's important to point out that the Sabres did not retire Tim Horton's number on opening night 1974-75, or on the 10th or 20th anniversary of his death. They waited until 1996 when it fit into the marketing campaign that year -- "Legends of the Aud." That same season, Martin and Robert's number were retired.