Jason Dawe requested a trade from the Buffalo Sabres in 1998. The Canadian winger, who joined the franchise as a second-round pick in the 1991 NHL Draft, still regrets that decision nearly three decades later.
On Tuesday, Dawe responded to a Twitter/X post about the 28th anniversary of a trade that saw him head to the New York Islanders in exchange for fellow forward Paul Kruse and defenseman Jason Holland with some brutal honesty.
"Ya, and I wish I never asked for a trade," he wrote. "I hated playing for that organization."
Dawe explained a poor stretch of play combined with looming contract discussions made him feel like a change of scenery was necessary at the time.
"I panicked because I went into a big slump in my contract year and thought maybe a fresh start somewhere else would fix that," Dawe admitted. "Started out the season with 13 goals in 21 games and then only finished with 20 goals. I loved my years in Buffalo and wish I could take it back."
The Ontario native recorded 158 points (a perfectly balanced 79 goals and 79 assists) across 290 appearances in five seasons with the Sabres. After parts of two campaigns with the Isles, he finished his NHL career with stops as a member of the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers.
Dawe did return to the organization as a member of the Rochester Americans, Buffalo's AHL affiliate, during the 2003-04 season but never got called up to wear the Blue and Gold again.
Is the Jason Dawe situation a cautionary tale for Buffalo Sabres' Alex Tuch?
Dawe felt a trade was the best move for his career. Instead, he struggled with New York (eight points in 35 games) while watching the Dominik Hasek-led Sabres reach the Eastern Conference Final in 1998 and the Stanley Cup Final in 1999.
The winger was beloved by the diehard Sabres fanbase, and legendary play-by-play broadcaster Rick Jeanneret signified his best plays with a memorable "Dawesome" tagline.
Fast forward to current day and Buffalo winger Alex Tuch, a fan favorite who grew up in nearby Syracuse rooting for the Sabres, is staring down a life-changing decision.
Tuch is an impending unrestricted free agent and he'll likely be the top player available this summer if he ultimately hits the open market. His reported asking price is around $10.5 million annually and he could probably get it, if not more, in free agency.
The Sabres may not be able to match that price because of a tight salary-cap picture. They have an estimated $13.2 million in cap space (via PuckPedia) and have a sizable group of other free agents, led by standout RFA winger Zach Benson.
It puts Tuch in a situation where he may have to decide whether his priority is generating every possible dollar from his last lucrative, long-term contract — and that's absolutely his right after playing under a team-friendly $4.75 million AAV in recent years — or if he's willing to take a little less to remain in Buffalo amid the club's unbelievable resurgence.
Maybe the opportunity to experience playoff hockey in downtown Buffalo, both inside the KeyBank Center and outside at the Party in the Plaza, will help sway his opinion. There's no better hockey market in the United States, especially when the Sabres are successful.
Beyond that, perhaps Dawe's story of a departure from Buffalo gone wrong will at least give Tuch a moment of pause before deciding whether to leave over the summer.