Better All-Time Roster: Buffalo Sabres Or Vancouver Canucks

[DitchMarner]

In these polls, I'm including only players who spent at least two seasons with a franchise on their all-time rosters.

For relocated franchises, I am including worthy players who played for the franchises prior to relocation(s).

Consider how good a player was when he played for the franchise whose roster he's included on. For example: If Fedorov is part of Team Columbus, don't think of him as the 1994 version of the player.

Buffalo Sabres:

Rick Martin - Gilbert Perreault - Rene Robert
Jack Eichel - Pat LaFontaine - Alex Mogilny
Craig Ramsay - Don Luce - Mike Peca
Dave Andreychuk - Pierre Turgeon - Daniel Briere

Phil Housley - John Van Boxmeer
Bill Hajt - Teppo Numminen
Doug Bodger - Rhett Warrener

Dominik Hasek
Ryan Miller


Vancouver Cauncks:

Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Pavel Bure
Markus Naslund - Elias Pettersson - Todd Bertuzzi
Trevor Linden - Ryan Kesler - Stan Smyl
Geoff Courtnall - Cliff Ronning - Alex Mogilny

Alex Edler - Mattias Ohlund
Ed Jovanovski - Chris Tanev
Jyrki Lumme - Adrian Aucoin

Roberto Luongo
Kirk McLean

​

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[amnesiac]

close, but Ill go with VAN

 

[Plural]

Really close, but I'll take my chaces with The Dom

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

I think Hasek gives Buffalo the edge.

 

[ThatsSoSlavin]

Rhett Warrener over Brian Campbell?

 

[frisco]

Probably Peca, Luce, Briere out and Danny Gare, Miroslav Satan, Thomas Vanek in.

Warrener, Van Boxmeer, Numminen out and Mike Ramsey, Jerry Korab, Jim Schoenfeld in.

Just my take.

Taking the Sabres regardless.

My Best-Carey

 

[Thenameless]

Jim Schoenfeld is sorely missing from the Sabres lineup. He is so much better than Rhett Warrener and still markedly better than Bill Hajt and Van Boxmeer.

Schoenfeld received Calder votes, was a second team all star along with many all star votes, received Norris votes twice placing third once, and here's the big one....led the league in plus/minus with a wicked +60 in the 79/80 season. All this as a Sabre.

Please, for the love of god, put him in the lineup. It was very hard to score on the Sabres when this guy was on the ice. There's no way he sits this one out.

 

[wetcoast]

Really close, but I'll take my chaces with The Dom

He really is the difference here isn't he?

 

[DitchMarner]

Jim Schoenfeld is sorely missing from the Sabres lineup. He is so much better than Rhett Warrener and still markedly better than Bill Hajt and Van Boxmeer.

Schoenfeld received Calder votes, was a second team all star along with many all star votes, received Norris votes twice placing third once, and here's the big one....led the league in plus/minus with a wicked +60 in the 79/80 season. All this as a Sabre.

Please, for the love of god, put him in the lineup. It was very hard to score on the Sabres when this guy was on the ice. There's no way he sits this one out.

I'll add him the next time I do a poll involving Buffalo's team.

 

[Zach716]

Missing Dahlin and Campbell on defense, but I'd go with my Sabres regardless because of Hasek.

 

[Love]

Hasek made the choice fairly easy for me

 

[CanucksSayEh]

Hughes and JT Miller gotta be on Van.

 

[Svencouver]

Hughes is already the best defenseman the Canucks have ever had

 

[Plural]

He really is the difference here isn't he?

I really think so. Arguably the best goaltender ever.

 

[Mickey Marner]

Agree with others that Hasek is the difference. He's by far the greatest player for either team and at the most impactful position.

 

[sr edler]

I think it's probably pretty close overall. Both of those defenses are very underwhelming from an all-time perspective and probably definitely explains why these two franchises never made it over that last roadblock. Phil Housley on the 1st pairing is brutal.

I wouldn't have Pettersson as a 2C. The guy is talented but he's not shown enough so far, I would switch him for Thomas Gradin.

Näslund–Pettersson–Bertuzzi seems like the ultimate disappearance act line to me, though if matched up against Housley perhaps they'll still come through.

I also wouldn't play Bure with the Sedins, but have them power separate lines.

 

[CanucksSayEh]

Almost want to split up the twins here...

 

[bobbyking]

mogilny on both ironic because hes not a hofer

 

[WiHockeyGuy]

Sabres for me. But always have a soft spot for our expansion brothers.

 

[CH]

There are no Canuck players who had their peaks in the 1970's and only Stan Smyl who peaked in the 1980's. Is that intentional? I might argue for Tony Tanti, Patrick Sundstrom, Tiger Williams, Paul Reinhart or Harold Snepsts as candidates to solve this recency bias.

 

[um]

Very close but Hasek makes it easier.

 

[bobholly39]

That Buffalo offense is really underrated. I like Turgeon, Perreault, Mogilny, Lafontaine a lot - and they're all the type of players to get underrated. Vancouver does really well for offense too though.

Nothing too exciting about defense.

I agree with others - hard not to consider Hasek the differentiator here.

 

[DitchMarner]

There are no Canuck players who had their peaks in the 1970's and only Stan Smyl who peaked in the 1980's. Is that intentional? I might argue for Tony Tanti, Patrick Sundstrom, Tiger Williams, Paul Reinhart or Harold Snepsts as candidates to solve this recency bias.

They've simply had better players since their first decade. They were a terrible team in the 1970s.

 

[Bure80]

Sedin - Sedin - Bure

Would have loved to see that line. Think Ehrhoff is better as some Defensmen on the roster.

 

[Thenameless]

I'll add him the next time I do a poll involving Buffalo's team.

I'm giving away my age here, but I'd like to add another player, this time to the Canucks roster. Paul Reinhart.

Reinhart had his best years when he was younger in Calgary, and only spent his last two seasons in Vancouver - so he does make your 2-season limit for the team. Now, I'd like you to consider this. While injury riddled in these last two seasons with Vancouver, he only played 67 and 64 games respectively. And, in these same two seasons, he has the 4th and 5th highest scoring seasons for a Canucks defenseman of all time - of all time, an older, injured guy. He also won the Babe Pratt Trophy as the Canucks' top defenseman in both seasons, and was an All-Star in one of these seasons. It's not hard to imagine that had Reinhart been able to play full seasons and not been injured (chronic back pain forced him to retire after his second season in Vancouver), he could have the Top 3 or 4 scoring seasons for a Canucks defenseman.