Sabres honor legendary broadcaster Rick Jeanneret with RJ Night
Hockey Hall of Fame announcer to retire April 29 after 51 years
By
Heather Engel
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
The 79-year-old is the NHL's longest-tenured broadcaster, having called his first Sabres game on Oct. 10, 1971. He was previously inducted into the Sabres Hall of Fame in 2011.
"You deserve to be in the rafters as much as anyone who played here," said former Sabres forward and current analyst Rob Ray. "You are the Buffalo Sabres."
Ray was one of 30-plus Sabres alumni, as well as owners Terry and Kim Pegula, who were on hand to watch the banner featuring Jeanneret's name -- specifically, his initials "RJ," as he is commonly known -- and a microphone rise to the ceiling prior to
Buffalo's game against the Nashville Predators
.
"You are a big part of why I have become a Buffalo Sabres fan," Terry Pegula said during the ceremony.
The current Buffalo roster also watched from the bench and raised their sticks to Jeanneret at center ice after he spoke. They had arrived at the arena for RJ Night sporting turtlenecks and suspenders as a tribute to the legendary broadcaster's style.
Sabres forward Alex Tuch said he grew up listening to Jeanneret while rooting for the team from Baldwinsville, New York.
"I don't even know how many games I listened to that guy call over the years," Tuch said following the team's morning skate earlier in the day. "I told him that my dad was really jealous when I got to meet him [at] one of my first games here. He was like, 'No, Alex, stop kidding with me.' And I was like, 'No, my dad's going to be really jealous,' because it was every game my dad and I would listen to RJ.
"We loved it, and honestly, when you think about watching the Sabres on TV, you think about Rick Jeanneret calling the game. And if you don't, I'd call you a liar, because he's an icon. It was countess memories. It was just a lot of fun over the years."
From "Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!" when Brad May scored the series-clinching goal in overtime of Game 4 of the 1993 Adams Division Semifinals against the Boston Bruins, to "La-La-La-LaFontaine" for Pat LaFontaine, to "These guys are scary good," the calls are forever etched in fans' memories.
"The first time I met him, his voice, you feel like he just had this voice for broadcasting, but it was in his everyday voice, too," Tuch said. "You can hear the passion when he starts talking about hockey."
Although Jeanneret has cut down on his workload in recent years, and will officially retire after calling the Sabres game against the Chicago Blackhawks on April 29 in Buffalo, he was on the mic when Tuch scored for the first time at KeyBank Center on Jan. 1.
Unfortunately, the goal was overturned on an offside challenge.
"Just to hear his voice, say that I scored was pretty special," Tuch said. "Someone sent me that video and I was like, 'OK, I got to listen to this one,' because I know it was RJ. Even though it got called back, I still wanted to listen to it. So it was very special."
Chants of "RJ! RJ!" from a sold-out crowd filled the arena throughout the ceremony.
"I'm certain our guys will feel that energy and that excitement and the excitement of it being RJ Night," Sabres coach Don Granato said earlier in the day. "I think the guys are just equally excited for both. It's pretty neat to see. We've talked a lot … about the history of the Buffalo Sabres.
"When you have the power that RJ is -- we haven't had a sellout this year and you throw his name in the mix and it ties in 50-plus years -- and nobody wants to miss that. I don't know that there's any bigger tribute to RJ when you look at our season and all the talent that's in our locker room and potential that's in our locker room, but it's RJ Night that the building's filled up for. That's pretty neat. It's pretty neat for our guys to be a part of that."
As the fans showered Jeanneret with cheers and showed their appreciation for more than five decades of memories, the Hockey Hall of Fame broadcaster had one parting message for them: "I. Love. You."
