Best Sabres Defenseman Ever?

[Stoner]

Correction: Soupy, not Zhithead, took off a chunk of Hecht's ear.

[Neo]

As I look over the posts, mine included, I'm surprised Campbell hasn't been mentioned more. I'll take Korab off of my original listing, and replace him with Campbell.

[Randall Flagg]

As someone who actually got to see Campbell, his inclusion confirms my suspicion that this franchise has not been deep defensively.

[Neo]

As someone who actually got to see Campbell, his inclusion confirms my suspicion that this franchise has not been deep defensively.

Same thought, here.

[matter2003]

As someone who actually got to see Campbell, his inclusion confirms my suspicion that this franchise has not been deep defensively.

For a few years, I think Tallinder would be on there...he was near dominant at times but his play tailed off quickly after he got hurt...never recovered really.

[BMWR100RT]

Great discussion. The reason I loved Schoney was he was an awesome leader. Anybody roughing up the french connection was going to only do it once. He played hard all the time. Those 70s were some fun times.

[mphs mike]

Great discussion. The reason I loved Schoney was he was an awesome leader. Anybody roughing up the french connection was going to only do it once. He played hard all the time. Those 70s were some fun times.

Agreed - the only bad thing Schoeny ever did was record an album!

I was lucky enough to be present when he destroyed Orr, Vadnais, Cashman and the Zamboni doors

[Neo]

Agreed - the only bad thing Schoeny ever did was record an album!

I was lucky enough to be present when he destroyed Orr, Vadnais, Cashman and the Zamboni doors

Awesome ... Neo re-run: I had my ear glued to a transistor radio.

 

To put that night into context, the upstart Sabres were playing the powerhouse, Stanley Cup defending, Big Bad Bruins. That's a nickname not born in my imagination. Instead, it was the franchise's nickname in an era when fighting and physical play was a strategy. Think Broad Street Bullies. All three Bruins were All Stars. One was a noted tough guy in a league full of them. One is a generation spanning all time great.

 

Who WAS this red headed crazy man? And he could play!

 

The Sabres won, 7-3 at home, in what was game five of an eight game winning streak. It was NEWS heard round the hockey world. The great love affair commenced ...

 

The past is prologue ... Schoenfeld's most remembered post player moment also occurred in a hallway leaving the ice.

 

Until a Stanley Cup is carried by a Sabre overhead, it's an all time Sabres moment. Perhaps even after ...

Edited May 23, 2016 by N'eo

[Doohicksie]

Randolph Scott

 

[ct fab]

Tim Horton (though not when he played in BUF) and housing - both HOFers. Mike Ramsey closely afterwards, followed by shoney.

[Stoner]

Awesome ... Neo re-run: I had my ear glued to a transistor radio.

 

To put that night into context, the upstart Sabres were playing the powerhouse, Stanley Cup defending, Big Bad Bruins. That's a nickname not born in my imagination. Instead, it was the franchise's nickname in an era when fighting and physical play was a strategy. Think Broad Street Bullies. All three Bruins were All Stars. One was a noted tough guy in a league full of them. One is a generation spanning all time great.

 

Who WAS this red headed crazy man? And he could play!

 

The Sabres won, 7-3 at home, in what was game five of an eight game winning streak. It was NEWS heard round the hockey world. The great love affair commenced ...

 

The past is prologue ... Schoenfeld's most remembered post player moment also occurred in a hallway leaving the ice.

 

Until a Stanley Cup is carried by a Sabre overhead, it's an all time Sabres moment. Perhaps even after ...

The bolded is a brilliant observation.

 

I found a YouTube clip of the famous event. Won't post it because it's easy enough for people to find on their own. But off in the sidebar the following beaut showed up. It's a line brawl very early in a game at the Aud between the Sabres and Flyers in either 71-72 or 72-73. It's cray cray. And Rick AND Ted are doing the commentary. I remember they did radio together, but I never though they did TV together. They literally trade off play by play of the brawl. It's gold. The highlight of the whole clip is 3:32 when Sabres coach Joe Crozier takes off his suit coat, apparently wanting a piece of Dave Schultz, who had skated over and taunted the Sabres bench.

 

[That Aud Smell]

^ 

 

absolute gem of a find, PA.

 

it is always interesting to hear rick's voice, back when.

 

p.s. how much speed - coke? uppers? - do you think was involved in that sort of fracas?

also: what's the backstory?

[mphs mike]

^ 

 

absolute gem of a find, PA.

 

it is always interesting to hear rick's voice, back when.

 

p.s. how much speed - coke? uppers? - do you think was involved in that sort of fracas?

also: what's the backstory?

If that was in 72-73, the back story may well be the Gerry Meehan goal with 4 seconds left in the 71-72 regular season that knocked the Flyers out of the playoffs.

 

https://youtu.be/OKanXHoFE00

[JohnRobertEichel]

I vote for Ramsey and Housley as your top D pair. Hasek at goalie. Perreault at center. Andreychuk at LW. Mogilny at RW. Ruff at head coach.

[That Aud Smell]

I vote for Ramsey and Housley as your top D pair. 

 

Huh. Buffalo's top pairing played on the same team throughout the 80s?

 

Also, this sort of pairing prompted me to envision Schoeny and Campbell as a pairing. #SecondPairGingers

 

Edit: Cripes. Housley was fairly red-haired as well.

Edited May 24, 2016 by That Aud Smell

[Eleven]

If that was in 72-73, the back story may well be the Gerry Meehan goal with 4 seconds left in the 71-72 regular season that knocked the Flyers out of the playoffs.

 

https://youtu.be/OKanXHoFE00

 

It is 72-73.  Schony's rookie year.

[Stoner]

If that was in 72-73, the back story may well be the Gerry Meehan goal with 4 seconds left in the 71-72 regular season that knocked the Flyers out of the playoffs.

 

https://youtu.be/OKanXHoFE00

 

It is 72-73.  Schony's rookie year.

Nice work, fellas. Ted's comment about something happening involving Schultz on "Sunday" suggested it was the back end of a home and home. Apparently not because the teams did not play a back to back that season. So the date of the game is up for debate. Wait, who cares? I do!

 

The bigger mystery is why Rick is doing TV with Ted, when Rick should have been on the radio. Were all games not on the radio then? Or... some early games were on cable TV and Rick did the play by play of those. Maybe Ted was doing color. But who was on the radio? Hmmm.

[Stoner]

Re: date of the game. My bet is on March 28, 1973, which was a Wednesday. The other two home games against the Flyers were on Sundays. Ted's reference to Sunday makes sense only for the March 28 game. (The Sabres won 6-3 in the penultimate game of the season.)

 

#logic

 

http://www.hockeyfights.com/games/84781

 

Only two fighting majors in all that?

[DHawerchuk10]

I vote for Ramsey and Housley as your top D pair. Hasek at goalie. Perreault at center. Andreychuk at LW. Mogilny at RW. Ruff at head coach.

Kind of strange to think 2/3rds of those guys actually were on the same team together for a little over half a season.  In any event, for my money, there weren't too many that were better than Ramsey back in the 80's.  He perfected the open ice hip check, and used to block a ton of shots before that became "a thing".  And what a moustache!

[That Aud Smell]

Excellent stuff.

[JohnRobertEichel]

Kind of strange to think 2/3rds of those guys actually were on the same team together for a little over half a season.  In any event, for my money, there weren't too many that were better than Ramsey back in the 80's.  He perfected the open ice hip check, and used to block a ton of shots before that became "a thing".  And what a moustache!

 

Just to clarify:

 

Ramsey, Housley, Andreychuk, and Perreault were all together from 82-87.

Ramsey, Housley, Andreychuk, and Mogilny were all together from 89-90.

Ramsey, Andreychuk, Mogilny, and Hasek were all together from 92-93.

 

A major reason why those Sabres teams from 82-93 never amounted to much is because of the difficulty of getting through the Adams Division (mainly the Bruins and Canadiens) back then. The Sabres just didn't match up well against those two teams.

[stenbaro]

I have to add Zhitnik to my list. He ate, ate, minutes against top pairs.

Ill go to my grave saying that if the Sabres had kept Zhitnik for one more year they wouldve won the cup in 06. He ate minutes and we needed someone to do that in game 7...

[That Aud Smell]

Ill go to my grave saying that if the Sabres had kept Zhitnik for one more year they wouldve won the cup in 06. He ate minutes and we needed someone to do that in game 7...

 

what happened? i can't recall. was the lockout to blame?

[darksabre]

These threads a get a little more depressing every year.

 

Who was the best president, grandpappy? Well, *spits*, it was either Teddy Roosevelt or his Uncle Franklin, I reckon...

Excuse me, but you've got your Roosevelts backwards.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Ill go to my grave saying that if the Sabres had kept Zhitnik for one more year they wouldve won the cup in 06. He ate minutes and we needed someone to do that in game 7...

 

He may have, but he didn't make the difference in 1999.

 

what happened? i can't recall. was the lockout to blame?

 

He went to Russia during the lock-out of 2005, but I believe his contract with the Sabres had expired at the end of 2004.

 

When he came back he signed a 4 year deal with the Islanders and was OK.  It really went down hill after that.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Sabres Fan In NS