Traded or free agency
Such was the case in 1976 when I was a teenager and Bobby Orr a Boston icon, legend, hero, you name it, left his legion of fans and the only NHL team he has ever known behind for cash, or so we were led to believe.
I understand professional Hockey is a business, profit, bottom line, a conglomeration of owners and corporations making money, even from the very beginning when it was decided three periods were better than two because there would be two intermissions for the team/owner vendors.
It always hurts when a player you admire leaves a team you cheer for especially if it was orchestrated merely for financial reasons and worse yet when it is done out of cronyism.
During the 1982 NHL Entry Draft Buffalo selected in the first round 6, 9, and 16th , teams like the Whalers, Nordiques, and the North Stars passed on the one player everyone should have selected and that was Dave Andreychuk, after passing on him twice Buffalo eventually acquired Mr. Andreychuk.
The Oshawa Generals offensive standout will have his sweater retired to the rafters of the Tribute Communities Centre on October 6th becoming the seventh player to have earned this honor joining among the six others, Bobby Orr and Eric Lindros.
The Hamilton, Ontario native scored 37 points in his first 43 NHL games for the Buffalo Sabres, and in his last year playing 52 games in 1992-93 for Buffalo Mr. Andreychuk scored 29 goals in a 61-point output {54 goals, 99 points total 83 games}.
In 23 NHL seasons, Mr. Andreychuk scored 12 Hat Tricks 10 of them with Buffalo his team for 12 years including the 2000-01 campaign, he played in two All-Star Games in 1990 & 1994, won a Stanley Cup in 2004, and was elected into the Hall of Fame in 2017.
The 6’ 4” left winger could always be counted on for 30-40 goals in a full season which he accomplished seven times with Buffalo, twice scoring over 50 goals and putting up 91, 99, and 99 points consecutively with Toronto. As a young bartender, I watched the Sabres beat the Bruins with Mr. Andreychuk scoring five times and earning a primary assist in an 8-6 drubbing in Boston by Buffalo.
When Buffalo’s General Manager and Head Coach in 1992-93 traded away Mr. Andreychuk with one of our goaltenders for a goaltender who just happened to be the GM/HC’s goalie from their glory days I was dismayed, to say the least.
I still admire Mr. Andreychuk and his accomplishments for all the teams he played with and was truly happy watching him hoist the Cup, one of the most respected players of his time, a Hockey player everyone could cheer for.
Buffalo Winter 