Sabres fans can smile today as we look back on the 1999 Stanley Cup final between the Dallas Stars and the Buffalo Sabres. The Stars defeated the Sabres 4-2 and captured their first Stanley Cup in the team’s history; meanwhile, the Sabres were just two games away from capturing their first Stanley Cup as well.
It gave us the thought for our theme week: How different would the Sabres franchise be if they had captured a cup that year? Would Dominik Hasek be a top-three goalie all-time? Would Captain Michael Peca have left the Sabres in free agency for the rival Islanders? Does Darryl Shannon change his career in Buffalo? Here are our thoughts.
Dominik Hasek has been regarded as one of the best goalies of all time, usually ranking in the top 10, even the top five of some lists, but would one more cup win move Hasek to the top three? Hasek has a handful of accolades. Hasek was a two-time Cup winner, Hart Trophy winner, and Ted Lindsay Award winner. He was also a three-time Jennings award winner, to go along with six All-Star appearances, and six Vezina trophies, which is the second most all-time for a goalie.
Hasek was third in MVP voting for the 98-99 season. If he were able to win the first Stanley Cup in team history, I think it would hold more weight, considering how far the franchise has plummeted. Hasek would have three Stanley Cup wins and could be regarded as one of the best goalies of all-time, if not in the conversation for the best goalie of all-time.
Then we look at Michael Peca and Darryl Shannon. Peca was a two-time Selke winner at the time and was a massive part of that Stanley Cup run. After that 98-99 season, Peca couldn’t replicate his magic on the ice the next season as he barely eclipsed 40 points, and left in free agency. In his first season with the Islanders, he had 60+ and won the Selke once again.
Peca staying could have changed his career, and the Sabres as a franchise. Shannon could have done the same for the Sabres as well. Shannon struggled to play just 40 games a season in the first six years of his career, until he made the move to Buffalo. He revitalized his career in his four years with the Sabres; he was an All-Star in the 98-99 season, and was becoming a top defenseman in the game.
He departed after the 1999 season for the Atlanta Thrashers, where he posted a career-worst -27 plus-minus, and was traded to the Calgary Flames during the season. Shannon would only play seven games the rest of his career, and is a huge what-if in Sabres history.
Just like the 1999 Stanley Cup final, a huge what-if that Sabres fans think about as they reminisce about their days as a true contender.