Rick Jeanneret’s top 5 best Buffalo Sabres quotes/calls of all-time
Throughout his career as the voice for the Buffalo Sabres, Rick Jeanneret has made some memorable quotes. Here are his top five.
When you think of Buffalo Sabres quotes, there is only one individual who has come up with the best in team history: Rick Jeanneret, and it is NOT even close. I was initially going to call this article the Best quotes in Sabres history, but upon conducting research, every other quote came from Rick Jeanneret.
And to be honest, those quotes, four of them memorable calls, topped my list, so I felt a retitling of this article was in order. That said, with Jeanneret having retired from the booth in April 2022, why not relive his most memorable quotes and calls?
And while this list is restricted to just five, there are literally hundreds to choose from throughout the legendary broadcaster’s career. Oh, and if there are small deviations from the actual quotes themselves, forgive me, as my ears like to miss things at times.
Rick Jeanneret’s best quotes in Buffalo Sabres history: Quote #1 – “This is the only job I ever wanted and this is the only place I ever wanted to be!”
Jeanneret said this quote on two prominent occasions. The first occurred during his induction into the Sabres Hall of Fame. And the second time, he said it during his legendary speech on RJ Night in April 2022.
It’s safe to say that, when you hold one job for over 50 years, you mean every word of the quote, and it was something Jeanneret confirmed on RJ Night when he exclaimed, “And boy, do I mean it now!”
As the voice for the Buffalo Sabres for such a long time, you grew used to Jeanneret showing this every time he stepped into the broadcast booth. His humor, the memorable exclamations – four of which are in the following slides – and the sheer passion also motivated many over the years to live by the following philosophy: If you are a fan of what you do for a living, you never need to go to work.
It was always an honor to listen to Jeanneret call games. But when you listened closely, much of what he said was also inspiring. And this quote may have arguably been the most inspiring of the bunch. In case you have never seen it, catch the video of his Sabres Hall of Fame induction ceremony below.
“Do you believe? Oh brother we are not worthy!”
Dominik Hasek’s incredible save against the Philadelphia Flyers is one that fans still talk about today. During the play, the Flyers were on the attack, Hasek, believing a shot would come in from his left, readied himself on that end of the net. But a quick pass to Trent Klatt forced Hasek to dive right, getting his stick out just in time to block the shot. Seconds later, Jeanneret exclaimed his famous quote.
In 2015, Jared Clinton of The Hockey News listed the save as #3 of Hasek’s career, behind only the pad save against Pierre Turgeon and the save on Doug Weight. The main reason Clinton ranked the save so highly? Because of Jeanneret’s reaction and subsequent exclamation which has since become legendary.
If the Buffalo Sabres excelled in one position group throughout their existence, it is at goaltender. There have been plenty of amazing saves, but only Jeanneret had the ability to make them more memorable given his enthusiastic reactions. This was one of those moments.
“Now do you believe? These guys are good! Scary good!”
The 2005-06 Buffalo Sabres might just be the most special squad in team history. They had long odds to win the Stanley Cup Final that season, and while they never lifted the Cup, they went deeper than anyone would have thought.
At this point, I would offer you a rhetorical question regarding how good the Sabres were that season, but RJ summed it up well with the above quote. In overtime of Game 5 against the Ottawa Senators, Jason Pominville saw his opportunity to end the series and punch the Sabres a ticket into the Eastern Conference Final.
Pominville took the puck down the ice, went wide, and outpaced the Senators defensemen in the process. He then cut inside, crossed in front of the net, protected the puck from any potential takeaway and sunk the game-winning shot.
At which point, Jeanneret said the rest, inquiring all fans and the NHL universe whether they now believed in the Buffalo Sabres. While they unfortunately lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final, this Cinderella team only went down after seven games.
“Are you ready, Legion of Doom? Here come the Buffalo Sabres!”
The Buffalo Sabres held the second seed in the 1996-97 NHL Playoffs following an abysmal 1995-96 season that may have been worse had it not been for Dominik Hasek’s legendary performances. Despite coming off of such a successful bounce back season, however, the Sabres lost ground in the first round against the Ottawa Senators, dropping their first two games.
The Sabres won Games Three and Four, before losing Game Five 4-1. Game Six saw the Sabres win in dominating fashion, which set up a Game Seven showdown to determine who advanced to the second round. It was a hard fought affair, but Derek Plante ended the series with a slap shot, which prompted the famous quote from Jeanneret.
Jeanneret was referring to the Philadelphia Flayers, who the Sabres unfortunately lost to in five games. Despite the loss, the call remains one of Jeanneret’s most memorable and it further cemented his legacy in the broadcast booth. Relive the legendary moment below.
“May Day! May Day! May Day! May Day! May Day!”
And finally, we got one simple quote/call that every fan of the Buffalo Sabres will recognize. In fact, in a poll NHL.com conducted shortly before the legendary RJ Night, fans voted the call was RJ’s best.
It occurred on April 24th, 1993 against the Boston Bruins. It was Game Four of the Adams Semifinals, and if the Sabres won, they would move on to play the Montreal Canadiens. During the ensuing play, Pat LaFontaine was just able to get the puck to Brad May, who had future Hall of Famer Ray Bourque in front of him.
Somehow, May got the puck around Bourque with a legendary deke that left nothing but goaltender Andy Moog to beat. May crossed to the left, just outside the crease, and managed to sneak the puck just past Moog to score, and Jeanneret exclaimed what might be his most memorable quote/call of all time.
And that will do it for another history-based article in Buffalo Sabres lore, this one regarding who just might be the best broadcaster in the history of the NHL. As mentioned, the quotes/calls in this article are just five of many Jeanneret made throughout his career.
Related Story. Greatest Buffalo Sabres moments of all-time. light
So what did you think? What would your top list of top calls from Rick Jeanneret look like? Let us know in the comments.