Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It was certainly one of the most electric atmospheres for a Buffalo Sabres game over the last several years.
Friday night marked a special night for the team and longtime Sabres play-by-play broadcaster Rick Jeanneret, as the team honored his 51-year career with the franchise by raising a banner in his name to the rafters. Jeanneret joins some of the Sabres' best players to ever grace the ice in Blue and Gold, including "The French Connection," Danny Gare, Pat LaFontaine and Dominik Hasek.
"It was wonderful," said Jeanneret following Friday's banner raising ceremony during the first intermission. "I mean, to see all of the guys that came back for this, all the alumni guys and to have all the former broadcasters that I've worked with over the years, that's pretty special too. It was awfully nice knowing they had my back, so to speak, when I was up there speaking."
A number of former players returned to Buffalo to honor the 79-year-old Hall of Fame broadcaster. Those members of the Sabres Alumni joined Jeanneret on the ice for the ceremony before Friday's puck drop. They were also joined by Jeanneret's broadcast partner, Rob Ray, as well as Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula.
"I was a sophomore in college in 1971. I remember sitting on an overpass north of Pittsburgh listening to your voice on the radio," said Terry Pegula to open the ceremony. "I can tell you this, Rick, you are a big part of why I have become a Buffalo Sabres fan, and I will remember that for a long time."
Jeanneret became of the radio play-by-play man of the Sabres to start the 1971-72 season. He eventually made the transition to calling games on television when the team started simulcasting its games on both TV and radio.
51 years later, Jeanneret is the longest-tenured play-by-play broadcaster with one single team in the league.
"I stood down here (on the ice) 10 years ago on my induction into the Sabres Hall of Fame along with the late Dale Hawerchuck, and I remember saying that night, 'This is the only job I ever wanted. This is the only place I ever wanted to be.' I meant every word. I meant every word on that particular night, and boy, do I mean it now," Jeanneret said to the fans during his ceremony.
The evening was filled with plenty of cameo appearances from former Sabres players, current and former NHL players, colleagues and former colleagues of Jeanneret, as well as other Buffalo sports figures to give their praise for the longtime play-by-play man. The guest list of shoutouts came from a number of people including LaFontaine, Perreault, Ryan Miller, Jason Pominville, Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, Jim Kelly, Patrick Kane, Wayne Gretzky, and former Buffalo broadcaster and current voice of the Nashville Predators, Pete Weber.
Other former Sabres players like Gare and Brad May gave their own personal shoutouts, as they were in-person at KeyBank Center to recognize Jeanneret.
It was May's goal in the 1993 Adams Division Semifinal Round against the Boston Bruins that was voted on by the fans as "RJ's Best Call," with the infamous call of "May Day!" after the winger managed to dangle the puck through Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque and score an overtime goal to help Buffalo sweep the series.
"I speak for all Buffalo Sabres alumni when I say, you deserve to be in the rafters as much as anyone who ever wore the uniform. You are one of us. You are the Buffalo Sabres," said Ray during Friday's ceremony.
Not only did former players share that sentiment when speaking of Jeanneret, the fans of Buffalo and the hockey world also shared their gratitude for the longtime Sabres broadcaster. Constant chants of "R-J!" rang throughout the building from the start of the banner raising ceremony, to the end of the night following the Sabres' 4-3 win over Nashville.
"I could hear them before we ever got out there. That was the thing," Jeanneret said of the fans. "I knew it was going to be full, because I'd been told that, but it meant an awful lot to me. I love them, and they love me. I guess it's reciprocal, and I think we both tried to show that here tonight."
Jeanneret says he nearly lost it emotionally on multiple occasions during the ceremony, as the fans gave him a standing ovation at the start of the ceremony for two-and-a-half minutes. He says he had a feeling Friday night's crowd would be a raucous one.
"I loved it, and I love the fact that they seemed to have caught on to me over the years," Jeanneret said. "That's why I tried to point out when I was talking [during the ceremony], it's not just you folks that are out there now, it's their moms and their dads, and their grandmas and grandpas. It's been three generations. God, I've been around a long time."
Jeanneret shared his gratitude back to the fans in-house and over the years with three simple words, that he says was all that he needed to sum up the evening: "I love you."
As for the team, they honored Jeanneret on the ice with all the players donning a "RJ" banner patch just above the crest of the jersey.
As for the game itself, Buffalo and Nashville got off to a blazing start, combining for six goals in the opening 20 minutes of play. With the score even at 3-3 in the second period, Victor Olofsson scored on the power play to give Buffalo the lead again. That proved to be the game-winning goal for the Sabres, as they held off Nashville to earn the 4-3 win.
After the game, the fans in attendance continued to show their support for Jeanneret with more "R-J!" chants, as well as some "Thank you, R-J!" chants. The crowd in attendance was loud from start-to-finish, and helped give Buffalo the competitive advantage throughout the evening.
Meanwhile, Jeanneret joined the team down at ice-level after the win to congratulate the group on their fifth victory during their, now, eight-game point streak.
The team even welcomed Jeanneret onto the ice after the win, as forwards Alex Tuch and Cody Eakin helped the Hall of Famer towards center ice, where they took a team photo.
A fitting night for one of the franchise's most iconic figures.
Related
