News Article: In '92-'93, LaFontaine's line was something special

[Sabretip]

Themed article on NHL.com celebrating the 20th anniversary of the 1992-93 season, which was one of the most entertaining Sabres' regular seasons (and 1st round) IMO:

"That season was really special," LaFontaine told NHL.com. "I played on that line from day one when I arrived in Buffalo and knew it would be hard to duplicate that year ... having those guys as linemates."

Flanked by Mogilny and Andreychuk, LaFontaine racked up a career-high 95 assists and 148 points, which remains the highest total recorded by an American-born player in a single season.

Through 11 regular-season games in 1992-93, LaFontaine had 30 points; seven games later, on Nov. 17, 1992, the total was 40. He'd reach 100 points on an assist in his team's 55th game. However, the Sabres ultimately were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Canadiens in the Adams Division Finals.

"It just seemed like Alex and I knew where each other was and Dave came in and cleared the zone in front of the net and picked up a lot of rebounds," LaFontaine said. "There was a sixth sense with guys knowing where to be and none of us even had to look ... it was kind of reactionary. When the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and when you're firing on all cylinders, you're going to have a lot of fun."

"It just seemed like Alex and I knew where each other was and Dave came in and cleared the zone in front of the net and picked up a lot of rebounds," LaFontaine said. "There was a sixth sense with guys knowing where to be and none of us even had to look ... it was kind of reactionary. When the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and when you're firing on all cylinders, you're going to have a lot of fun."

What people forget is that if Andreychuk wasn't dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for goalie Grant Fuhr in February that season, the Andreychuk-LaFontaine-Mogilny line might have been the first and only one in League history to have three players with 50-plus goals in the same season.

As it turned out, LaFontaine had 53, Mogilny had 76 and Andreychuk finished with 54, including 25 following his trade to the Maple Leafs.

"We would have been the first line in the history of hockey to do that," LaFontaine said. "I guess you can say I was able to feel what it might have been like playing for the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s."

LaFontaine, who admitted he pestered Mogilny to shoot more that season, said he always will admire the tremendous hands and acceleration exhibited by his Russian linemate. To this day, LaFontaine doesn't believe he's seen a player faster than Mogilny from blue line to blue line.

"I would just get the puck and look and knew he was taking off. And once he got the engine running, it took only four strides before he was already at full speed," LaFontaine said.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=645677

I remember so many games of that season and the power plays that Muckler could throw out there with LaLine and Hawerchuk:

The speed and talent on the Buffalo roster helped Mogilny put the puck in the net. But the sudden scoring surge was also precipitated by a small tweak coach John Muckler made to the Sabres power play. In an effort to find a way to play Mogilny, LaFontaine and Hawerchuk together, Muckler moved Hawerchuk to the point. With the scoring center – who had seven 40-goal seasons before coming to Buffalo – quarterbacking the man advantage, the Sabres' power play became one of the League's best. Mogilny served as the finisher in that unit, scoring 27 power-play goals, which ranked third in the NHL behind Brett Hull and Andreychuk, who was traded to Toronto in a midseason deal that brought Grant Fuhr to Buffalo.

"We improvised as good as anybody. To me that's the key on the power play," Hawerchuk told NHL.com. "When you have that kind of talent on the ice, you let the instincts take over. It didn't take me long to figure out to get the puck to Mogilny or LaFontaine.

"I remember we played in Hartford one night and Pierre McGuire was coaching. We scored five or six power-play goals against him and he got fired the next day. Years later when I ran into him, he said, 'You guys cost me my job.'"

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=647726&navid=nhl:topheads

It was the Sabres' version of the Oilers' run-and-gun and tons of fun to watch. They didn't have solid goaltending that year and the defense corps (Bodger, Ledyard, Svoboda, Smehlik, Carney, Sutton, Moller) was a patchwork of parts but their forwards were solid before the Andreychuk-for-Fuhr trade:

Andreychuk-LaFontaine-Mogilny
Wood-Hawerchuk-Audette
Khmylev-Sweeney-Presley
May-Hannan-Ray

Ah, the good ol' days.........

Click to read more...

 

[Sabretip]

By the fall of 1992, Sabres general manager Gerry Meehan had surrounded his star winger with All-Star forwards Pat LaFontaine and Dale Hawerchuk, two world-class players who could keep up with Mogilny's breakneck pace. It resulted in a historic 76-goal season for Mogilny, a campaign that almost didn't happen.

Mogilny's issues with air travel and his former comrade inspired countless trade rumors. But despite numerous offers, Meehan refused to deal a potential superstar entering his prime.

"There were plenty of people who wanted to take him off our hands. I just said to all my colleagues, 'We're playing this out. There really isn't any deal you could offer that would allow us to trade a player with that promise,'" Meehan said. "Some guys would call offering draft picks or a first-line player and a backup. But we were not interested in any discussion of trading Alex Mogilny."

When Meehan started negotiating with the New York Islanders to acquire LaFontaine early in the 1991-92 season, Mogilny's name came up one more time.

"[Islanders GM] Bill Torrey said, 'This deal can't happen without one of two young players; either Pierre Turgeon or Mogilny.' Alex was the guy we were acquiring LaFontaine to play with," said Meehan, who ultimately dealt Turgeon in the six-player trade. "We had Pierre Turgeon, who is a great player, but he was a different style of player. He played a more deliberate game. Mogilny was a breakaway artist. Speed was his essence. Until LaFontaine came into the picture, we didn't have a player that could complement Alex's great speed and skills."

After opening December with one goal in a three-game span that saw the Sabres go 0-2-1, Mogilny rebounded with a hat trick against the Boston Bruins. From there, Mogilny went on a scoring surge the likes of which the NHL has rarely seen. It was during the holiday season that he notched 24 goals in 14 games, fitting in a scorching five-game stretch in which he scored 13 times. In February, Mogilny registered two four-goal games two weeks apart.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=647726&navid=nhl:topheads

I remember that December well - he had 3 hat tricks in the month and another the first week of January. What was so amazing that season is that Mogilny didn't go through any prolonged slumps or droughts lasting more than 3-4 games without a goal IIRC. And even funnier at the time was that, despite all 5-6 breakaways he'd get in most games, he wasn't that reliable on converting them. A lot of the TV commentators from other teams would point out how Mogilny could have had 2-3 goals every game if he were able to convert on all of the breakaway chances his speed gave him.

 

[Buffaloed]

Attn Botterill:
Due to financial restraints brought about by the contractual demands of Lafontaine and Dominik Hašek, the Sabres were forced to trade Mogilny, along with a fifth round draft pick (Todd Norman), to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Michael Peca, Mike Wilson and a first-round draft pick (Jay McKee) on July 8, 1995.

That's what a real trade looks like.

 

[VaporTrail]

I never knew the thing about them possibly being the first line in NHL history with three 50 goal scorers....What a great set of forward lines...If Khymlev, Presley and May were on the Sabres this past season they all would have on the second line at least, lol

 

[missingmika]

Attn Botterill:
Due to financial restraints brought about by the contractual demands of Lafontaine and Dominik Hašek, the Sabres were forced to trade Mogilny, along with a fifth round draft pick (Todd Norman), to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Michael Peca, Mike Wilson and a first-round draft pick (Jay McKee) on July 8, 1995.

That's what a real trade looks like.

I miss the days when everyone here would complain a out Mike Wilson. Now, if we only had 6 Mike Wilsons and maybe an Any Elmore.

 

[Chainshot]

There was an early season game where Patty got booted for an inadvertent high stick that drew blood. They were playing Ottawa and he had gone 2-3-5 in the first half of the game. You could see how frustrated he was when they made the call, since it was the era prior to the double minor for inadvertently drawing blood. He could have challenged for a single game scoring mark (Sittler's 10). It was 7-2 when he left and they still scored 5 more after he got the boot.

 

[old kummelweck]

Lafontaine was in my opinion the best American hockey player ever. Had injuries and concussions not cut his career short, and also had he played in a bigger market, this would not even be a question. Sorry Modano.

 

[dasaybz]

Attn Botterill:
Due to financial restraints brought about by the contractual demands of Lafontaine and Dominik Hašek, the Sabres were forced to trade Mogilny, along with a fifth round draft pick (Todd Norman), to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Michael Peca, Mike Wilson and a first-round draft pick (Jay McKee) on July 8, 1995.

That's what a real trade looks like.

At the time it didn't.

 

[Tatre]

This was a little before my time, but I wish I could've experienced it then. Those are insane numbers, however. It's hard to imagine the game ever going back to that.

 

[NEcoli]

I still think that team could've won the cup if they'd stayed healthy and kept Andreychuk. Even with all the injuries and the awful Fuhr trade, they played the eventual Cup champions tough, and lost four one goal games, three in overtime.

 

[Chainshot]

I still think that team could've won the cup if they'd stayed healthy and kept Andreychuk. Even with all the injuries and the awful Fuhr trade, they played the eventual Cup champions tough, and lost four one goal games, three in overtime.

Even if they had just stayed healthy. Pat played most of the season with a partially tear in his knee and it went in the playoffs. Mogilny - never well-thought of in town for his defensive play - broke his leg backchecking Kirk Muller. Fuhr blew his knee up against the Bruins and was never the same. Hawerchuk was playing with a huge, stitched gash in his face. They gave the Habs a helluva series, but still went out in 3 OT's and a GWG scored in the final 10 minutes of the other game.

 

[NEcoli]

Even if they had just stayed healthy. Pat played most of the season with a partially tear in his knee and it went in the playoffs. Mogilny - never well-thought of in town for his defensive play - broke his leg backchecking Kirk Muller. Fuhr blew his knee up against the Bruins and was never the same. Hawerchuk was playing with a huge, stitched gash in his face. They gave the Habs a helluva series, but still went out in 3 OT's and a GWG scored in the final 10 minutes of the other game.

I rewatched game 3 of that series recently. The Mogilny injury was gruesome - you could hear him screaming on the TV broadcast. The Sabres dominated play for much of the game, but Montreal had Roy in his prime and Fuhr was so bad that it looked like he was throwing the game.

 

[Chainshot]

I rewatched game 3 of that series recently. The Mogilny injury was gruesome - you could hear him screaming on the TV broadcast. The Sabres dominated play for much of the game, but Montreal had Roy in his prime and Fuhr was so bad that it looked like he was throwing the game.

About the only upside to that was Hasek coming in in game 4 and standing on his head. That was the eye-opening performance that moved him from quirky backup to starter consideration.

And I'm not sure Puppa would have gotten them anywhere. That was a guy... ugh. I could riff, but it falls into the realm of hearsay since I don't have media sources for things I saw with my own two eyes.

 

[CaptPantalones]

Attn Botterill:
Due to financial restraints brought about by the contractual demands of Lafontaine and Dominik Hašek, the Sabres were forced to trade Mogilny, along with a fifth round draft pick (Todd Norman), to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Michael Peca, Mike Wilson and a first-round draft pick (Jay McKee) on July 8, 1995.

That's what a real trade looks like.

As much as we like it now, I remember that trade being universally hated at the start. Especially because Vancouver had big names being thrown around in talks

 

[dortt]

I rewatched game 3 of that series recently. The Mogilny injury was gruesome - you could hear him screaming on the TV broadcast. The Sabres dominated play for much of the game, but Montreal had Roy in his prime and Fuhr was so bad that it looked like he was throwing the game.

Dom had the better numbers that tear. Had we went with dom in the playoffs, we win the cup

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

That was great, great Sabre hockey. Still remember going to a Blues/Sabres game at the Checkerdome that season and hearing the St Louis fans asking one another on the way in how many goals did they think Mogilny was going to get that night....

 

[missingmika]

About the only upside to that was Hasek coming in in game 4 and standing on his head. That was the eye-opening performance that moved him from quirky backup to starter consideration.

And I'm not sure Puppa would have gotten them anywhere. That was a guy... ugh. I could riff, but it falls into the realm of hearsay since I don't have media sources for things I saw with my own two eyes.

You have to share after that! We trust you!

 

[Selanne00008]

Lafontaine was in my opinion the best American hockey player ever. Had injuries and concussions not cut his career short, and also had he played in a bigger market, this would not even be a question. Sorry Kane.

fixed that for you.

 

[NEcoli]

Dom had the better numbers that tear. Had we went with dom in the playoffs, we win the cup

That's my feeling as well. 1993 is right next to 2006 as far as missed opportunities go.

 

[NEcoli]

About the only upside to that was Hasek coming in in game 4 and standing on his head. That was the eye-opening performance that moved him from quirky backup to starter consideration.

And I'm not sure Puppa would have gotten them anywhere. That was a guy... ugh. I could riff, but it falls into the realm of hearsay since I don't have media sources for things I saw with my own two eyes.

Yeah, Puppa wasn't very good. And to think they traded Tom Barrasso to make room for that guy.

 

[CatsforReinhart]

I remember that playoff season, I thought we had a chance to win the cup. Swept Boston then got swept by Montreal. LaFontaine out, Mogilny snapped his ankle and we still lost each game 4-3 by just one goal. That was our cup if we didn't lose those two.

 

[buffalowing88]

For some reason, I still have an affinity for Khymlev. I was just a young kid but I went back and watched the games my dad recorded years after and I believe he replaced Andreychuck to some extent on that top line. It was still dynamic, just a little less effective, obviously.

 

[Montag DP]

This was a few years before I started following hockey, but watching some highlights of Lafontaine and Mogilny, it's no surprise they scored so many goals. It's just wide open with crappy goaltending. It really makes me wonder how some of today's best players would have done back then, or vice versa.

 

[Buffaloed]

For some reason, I still have an affinity for Khymlev. I was just a young kid but I went back and watched the games my dad recorded years after and I believe he replaced Andreychuck to some extent on that top line. It was still dynamic, just a little less effective, obviously.

I'll never forget the Yurinator because of his nickname.

 

[NEcoli]

For some reason, I still have an affinity for Khymlev. I was just a young kid but I went back and watched the games my dad recorded years after and I believe he replaced Andreychuck to some extent on that top line. It was still dynamic, just a little less effective, obviously.

Khmylev was a really good player. Him coming back from a broken leg (which was supposed to end his season) to score 2 goals in Game 4 against the Devils in '94 is one of the all-time underrated Sabre playoff performances.