Although they’re headed into a promising present and a potentially bright future, the Buffalo Sabres honored a signature voice from their past before they kicked off their season.
From naming a nearby street “RJ Way” to wearing ceremonial patches, the Sabres remembered beloved late announcer Rick Jeanneret before Thursday’s game against the New York Rangers.
The highlight may have been the pre-game video and ceremony. Rob Ray narrated a great tribute to Jeanneret, with clips featuring his iconic calls. There was also the great gesture of the ceremonial puck drop.
Earlier on Thursday, they renamed a street outside of KeyBank Center after the broadcaster, who died at age 81 on Aug. 18. During the ceremony, Brian Duff noted that “around here, the road to hockey will forever be known as RJ Way.”
On Wednesday, the Sabres revealed “RJ” jersey patches for the 2023-24 season, with a variety of different colors that can work with the team’s many looks.
The Sabres are also selling some clever jerseys in his honor.
While the Rangers beat the Sabres 5-1 in Buffalo’s home-opener, the team managed to sneak in a reference to Jeanneret after the team’s lone goal. You can catch that recognizable “he scores!” around the 16-second mark.
Jeanneret became an icon as the voice of the Buffalo Sabres
Jeanneret worked as a play-by-play announcer for the Sabres stretching all the way back to 1971, authoring a slew of memorable calls. From “May Day!” or “top shelf, where momma hides the cookies,” his ecstatic lines seemed tailor-made for highlight reels.
As the 2012 winner of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, Jeanneret became a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. In that same year, he was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
He was a versatile announcer, too, being that he was a 2018 inductee into the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame.
