Tell me about Tom Barrasso as a Buffalo Sabre

[Michael Farkas]

Hey guys,

Hoping to walk with someone here down memory lane for a moment. I'm a Penguins fan that saw Barrasso play with Pittsburgh - where, after the 2 Cups, he was kind of up and down and injured a bit. But was terrific early on for us. I know he has a lot of notoriety as a Sabre, he was represented heavily in the goalie awards (All-Star Team, Vezina voting, etc.) in his early days with Buffalo, I believe he was on the '84 Canada Cup roster for the Americans. Do any older more experienced fans remember Barrasso in Buffalo and what can you tell me about him? What made him special? What made him get such high recognition? How did he compare to other goalies in the 80's that were prominent (Liut, Peeters, Fuhr, Smith earlier on, Roy later on, etc.)

Any memories would be terrific, thanks!

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[Dex]

He burst on to the scene with Vezina and Calder Trophies in his rookie year - which made him the darling of Buffalo Sabres fans. After that, his GAA ballooned, save% fell and the team missed the playoffs for a couple of years straight. Rightly or wrongly, he took the brunt of the heat as goalers often do - especially when they are playing as bad as or worse than the team around them..

After his outstanding rookie year, he spent the rest of his Sabres career pretty much establishing himself as a first class a-hole who acted like his poop didn't stink. That commercial you posted with him proclaiming himself one of the best goalies in the NHL exemplified his superiority complex - which translated inversely to how he viewed the fans.

I remember one night in particular after he was awarded one of the 3 stars during a game which the Sabres won - but he had let in a few bad goals - for which he was booed. He came out , circled the ice and flung his glove hand into the air in a motion that looked like he was giving the fans the finger. When asked to explain the motion which certainly looked like he was flipping us the bird, he stated that he felt like his glove was falling off and needed to adjust it so that it did not fall off.

I was never happier to see a player leave the Sabres. I don't care if he won 10 cups after he left - the guy was an a-hole. F--k Barrass-hole.

 

[SuperNintendoChalmrs]

Used to laugh at that commercial back in the day. His Buffalo tenure was declining by that point.

 

[1TuchAnd1NoTuch]

Lol what a ******

 

[oldgoalie]

He burst on to the scene with Vezina and Calder Trophies in his rookie year - which made him the darling of Buffalo Sabres fans. After that, his GAA ballooned, save% fell and the team missed the playoffs for a couple of years straight. Rightly or wrongly, he took the brunt of the heat as goalers often do - especially when they are playing as bad as or worse than the team around them..

After his outstanding rookie year, he spent the rest of his Sabres career pretty much establishing himself as a first class a-hole who acted like his poop didn't stink. That commercial you posted with him proclaiming himself one of the best goalies in the NHL exemplified his superiority complex - which translated inversely to how he viewed the fans.

I remember one night in particular after he was awarded one of the 3 stars during a game which the Sabres won - but he had let in a few bad goals - for which he was booed. He came out , circled the ice and flung his glove hand into the air in a motion that looked like he was giving the fans the finger. When asked to explain the motion which certainly looked like he was flipping us the bird, he stated that he felt like his glove was falling off and needed to adjust it so that it did not fall off.

I was never happier to see a player leave the Sabres. I don't care if he won 10 cups after he left - the guy was an a-hole. F--k Barrass-hole.

I heard a story back then, but I can't confirm it at the moment, that his Porsche was torched in the airport parking lot while he was away on a road trip. I'll see if I can find out for sure.

 

[Dex]

I heard a story back then, but I can't confirm it at the moment, that his Porsche was torched in the airport parking lot while he was away on a road trip. I'll see if I can find out for sure.

I read that somewhere before as well. It is indeed a horrible thing to have your Porsche torched. Hell, I'd be pissed if my 2005 Jeep Liberty - which I bought used - was torched. I can only imagine how much more pissed I'd be if it had cost $150,000 more!

Even if his several hundred thousand dollar Porsche got torched, - he's still the biggest anal hole in Sabres history, IMO. While my sensibilities don't and can't endorse the sort of statement that's made when the biggest butt-hole in Buffalo sports history has his Porsche "carbecued" - my sensibilities also understand how such a thing could happen.

I still say Fek Barrasso

 

[Disengage]

One of the most interesting games in his Sabres career has to be the 1984 Canada Cup game against Czechoslovakia. The game was played in the Aud before his second second season. He stopped 31 of 34 shots. The opposing goaltender? Just some 19 year old kid named Dominik Hasek.

 

[5 Minute Major]

He had a real good first two seasons in Buffalo. REAL good. Played with a chip on his shoulder.

His numbers the next couple years after were not all that good but the team in front of him had severely declined and hurt Barrasso's numbers.

The Sabres then returned to the playoffs and Barrasso was as good as ever despite have a GAA over 3.00. He was simply amazing the second half of his fifth season.

The next year he started off slow and was traded as Darren Puppa was ready for a bigger role with the team.

A very good goalie during his time with the Sabres but also very immature.

 

[cujoflutie]

I actually keep thinking that Steve Mason's career to this point parallels Barasso's minus the attitude.

I don't think barasso was immature as a Sabre, he was just a jerk.
We all remember him lashing out at J-S Aubin in pittsburgh for getting hurt in a game forcing Barasso to come in (as we all know Tommy boy never had an injury in his career and that was the only time all season the backup had to come in off the bench)
In his short stint in ottawa he cursed on live TV and there's rumours the players rallied not to resign him.

 

[Chainshot]

Bad attitude prima donna who didn't learn how to work on his game until he left town? That's Tommy B. He did have the same model Porsche as his buddy Pelle Lindbergh did -- same model that Pelle fatally crashed -- I remember that part of his off-ice persona. I recall him being call Tom Bare ******* by more than a few. Bad goals? Not his fault. Never, ever his responsibility.

Immature (as one could expect from an 18-year old breaking in with a big money contract and a lot of notoriety), tempestuous (hey, he's a goalie...), and not that popular.

 

[brian_griffin]

Although it's impossible to look askance at his douchbaggery, very rare for a high-school goalie to jump straight to NHL and have the success he did.

 

[zbubble]

I read that somewhere before as well. It is indeed a horrible thing to have your Porsche torched. Hell, I'd be pissed if my 2005 Jeep Liberty - which I bought used - was torched. I can only imagine how much more pissed I'd be if it had cost $150,000 more!

Even if his several hundred thousand dollar Porsche got torched, - he's still the biggest anal hole in Sabres history, IMO.

Porsches didn't cost that much in the 80s'. The top of the line 911 Turbo in 1985 had a MSRP of around $50,000.

But he was a ***** anyway.

 

[MayDay]

Porsches didn't cost that much in the 80s'. The top of the line 911 Turbo in 1985 had a MSRP of around $50,000.

$50,000 in 1985 would be equivalent to about $107,000 today, due to inflation.

 

[zbubble]

$50,000 in 1985 would be equivalent to about $107,000 today, due to inflation.

Still doesn't make it cost $150,000 more than a Jeep.

 

[Michael Farkas]

Thanks a lot guys, much appreciated. Unsurprisingly, it sounds like his Buffalo career mirrored his Pittsburgh career pretty well. Total dink, sometimes near the best goalie in the league for a couple seasons and then below average in others...thanks!

 

[Olaf Fub]

I think people soured on Barrasso at the same time they began to sour on the team. The honeymoon period for the franchise lasted a good ten years because Punch built a really good team in a short period of time. When the Knoxes hired Bowman, the thought around town was he was going to win us the Cup. Plus, we had all these high draft picks (Barrasso, Housley, Andreychuk).

Barrasso was an easy target to blame when things started to go poorly. A lot of it was his fault for reasons mentioned above. We were a spoiled fan base back then. The team hadn't really been bad until the mid-80s.

His rookie year was great and he and Sauve were a awesome tandem. I'd put him in the same class as Luit and Peters; maybe a step below Smith and Fuhr (but both of those guys played for dynasties).