Puck Stop	How to Retire a Number by Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell

By now it’s official: #16 Pat LaFontaine and #18 Danny Gare will be awarded the ultimate honor by the Buffalo Sabres organization this season, when their numbers are retired and hung to the rafters for all eternity.

The Sabres held a news conference on October 17 to make the announcement. Separate ceremonies will take place at two Sabres games—Gare’s number will be retired prior to the New York Rangers game on November 22. LaFontaine will have his #16 raised on March 3 when the Toronto Maple Leafs come to town.

When it comes to the retiring of numbers in any sport, there is no set policy or formula; each team is free to pursue its own traditions. What is universally acknowledged is that the hanging of any player’s number is the highest form of honor and recognition, eclipsed only by induction into their respective sports’ Hall of Fame.

An examination of retired numbers and banners around the NHL reveals the entire gamut, from respect and dignity to utter nonsense.

Predictably, the Original Six pay the greatest homage to the displaying of banners. Take the Montreal Canadiens… literally hundreds of the sport’s greatest players have worn their uniform over the past decades, yet their rafters are reserved for but seven of their best, literally Gods of the sport—Maurice Richard and Henri Richard, Doug Harvey, Jean Beliveau, Guy LaFleur, George Vezina and Jacques Plante. The Canadiens just announced that three additional names—Yvan Cournoyer, Bernie Geoffrion and Dickie Moore will be added this season. Add their 24 Stanley Cup banners hanging from the beams, and first time visitors to the Bell Centre can only gape in awe as they stand amidst one of hockey’s great franchises.

Yet some of hockey’s expansion teams have made a mockery of the solemn tradition of banners, and unfortunately, cheapen the entire concept. They are so anxious to display something, anything, that their front office marketing departments come up with some gimmick. An example? At the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, home of the Florida Panthers, their dopey banner reads “Most Wins By An Expansion Team.”

Adding to the silliness is their “weatherboard,” unique to the NHL and touting the weather report for their team and the visiting team, e.g. “Sunrise 79 degrees, sunny; Buffalo 12 bitter.” Of course, last week that sign would have read “Sunrise 60, flooding, power outages, wind—evacuate immediately; Buffalo 52 cloudy.” But we digress.

Up the road in Tampa, the formerly woeful Lightning displayed numerous ridiculous bedsheets at the St. Pete Times Forum, all of which have come down since the team unveiled its Stanley Cup championship banner. They included “Best Attendance,” “Best Attendance For A Playoff Game,” and “Fans #1.”

Ah yes, “Fans #1”… That identical banner appears in Tampa, Columbus, Minnesota, and shamefully, in Calgary, although the Flames get a free pass since fans there rose to the call to save the team a few years back by buying 14,000 season tickets.

And in Buffalo? The Sabres have retired numbers of but four of their greats—#2 Tim Horton, #7 Rick Martin, #11 Gilbert Perreault and #14 Rene Robert. Add banners for founding Sabres owners Seymour and Northrup Knox, Sabres and Bandits titles and that is pretty much it over at HSBC Arena.

We asked Sabres Managing Partner Larry Quinn why Gare, why LaFontaine, and why now? “It’s a generational thing,” replied Quinn, “something that we should pause and look at during a certain era of time and ask who deserves such an honor.”

Quinn indicated that the hanging of banners is something the team takes very seriously. “The bar has to be set very high for such a thing,” said Quinn. He added that there is no formal committee or process within the organization to make such designations. “It’s just the people in the club who know when it’s right.”

And indeed, looking at both players’ careers one could conclude that they have met the standard. Gare made his mark immediately with the Sabres, scoring on his first shift in his rookie season in 1974-75. He was a 50-goal scorer twice while in a Buffalo uniform and holds team records in several categories to this day. LaFontaine is one of the most popular Sabres ever, who along with linemate Alexander Mogilny electrified the Sabres offense in the early ’90s.

Will the Sabres add yet more players’ names to the rafters in coming years? “There will be similar announcements and ceremonies down the road,” said Quinn. “We are actively considering several other names.”

Well, here’s a name that stands out; a player whose accomplishments in a Buffalo uniform match up with any of the names up there now. A league MVP, a scoring champion and a Hall of Famer to boot.

That name? Bob McAdoo. But THAT is a topic for another day!

TARO SEZ…

• Thomas Vanek hasn’t found the back of the net but his presence has certainly been felt here. His seven assists in eight games leads the team (as of 10/25) and he leads NHL rookies in that category.

• Token music note: The Sabres played their annual home game in Rochester on October 26th, and the national anthem singer on that night was Foreigner lead singer and Flower City native Lou Gramm. Hey Lou, when’s the rest of the group coming to town?

• Extra! Extra! Sabres off to fast start!!! They’ve won seven of their first 11 games (at the time of publication) and that is their best start since the 1975-76 club began the season with eight consecutive wins.