Longtime Buffalo Sabres goaltender Dominik Hasek will have his No. 39 retired next season, the team announced Friday.
Hasek, who is being inducted into the Sabres Hall of Fame on Saturday, will be the seventh Sabres player to have his number retired, along with Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin, Rene Robert, Tim Horton, Danny Gare and Pat LaFontaine.
"I am very excited to be invited to Buffalo to go into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame," Hasek said. "And of course be back in Buffalo to meet and see some friends and people I worked with. It means something for me. Nine years I spent here, it's something you never forget."
Hasek's 234 career wins in Buffalo rank second behind Ryan Miller's 284, and his 55 shutouts are the most in Sabres history. In nine seasons with the Sabres, the Czech native came to be known as "The Dominator," winning the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender six times in eight years and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the League's most valuable player in 1996-97 and 1997-98.
Hasek helped the Sabres reach the 1999 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost in six games to the Dallas Stars. He also played for the Czech Republic gold-medal team at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
After nine seasons in Buffalo, Hasek went to the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2002 and 2008. He also played for the Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators.
Hasek ended his career after the 2007-08 season with 389 wins, which rank 11th in NHL history, and 81 shutouts, which rank sixth.
"I had great years here in Buffalo," Hasek said. "We had a few good runs, especially 1998 and 1999, when we made it all the way to the finals. Unfortunately we never made it all the way. Still, it was an honor for me to play for this organization. This is something I'll never forget."
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