Kaleta was also on that 2010-11 team, as was Cody McCormick. Both forwards still reside in Buffalo and were back at KeyBank Center for Game 5 against the Bruins on Tuesday.
It was an atmosphere that met the moment even before puck drop, with the fans spontaneously singing the Canadian national anthem and the Blade Gang banging the drum. Roughly 12,000 people watched the game outside at the Sabrehood Block Party.
McCormick recalls being a player and looking up at the video board showing live shots of those outdoor watch parties. The excitement of the fanbase was a topic among players back then, just as it is today.
“I'm so happy for them that they get this,” McCormick said of the current players. “They're gonna just feed off it. They're gonna want more of it. And from an alumni standpoint, we talk about it, we're messaging each other, and it's just an overall group of just togetherness. It brings back memories. You want that for the players. You want that for the city.”
“We wanted this group to be able to experience some of the things we've got to experience, to see Buffalo in a different light than it has been in the past 14 years,” Kaleta added. “To be able to go out there and see a crowd like in Game 1, to see a guy like Josh Allen getting the crowd going and seeing how loud it was. For these guys to experience that alone is a lifetime of memories.”
With both Kaleta and McCormick living in the Buffalo area, they’ve also gotten a glimpse into the buzz postseason hockey brings to the city.
They’ve noticed the increase in flags swaying on houses, the masses of people wearing Sabres gear around town and the inundation of texts they both receive about the team before, during and after games.
Being able to embrace the playoff experience through the lens of a fan is a new experience for the pair, who didn’t get to take in the full magnitude of what a playoff team inflicts on the city as players.
Now, they’re seeing the Sabrehood in full bloom in their everyday lives.
“It’s one of the coolest things because we've waited a little while here, and the Bills have had their playoffs happening, and you see what that does to the city,” Kaleta said. “To be able to see what it's like the past little while and seeing everyone at the Galleria Mall wearing Sabres jerseys and buying Sabres stuff and my little guys being able to watch hockey and watch the Sabres. It's just a special place to be able to play. It's probably one of the coolest and rowdiest places in the NHL right now.”
For McCormick, a simple trip to pick up his kids from school serves as a reminder of the Sabres’ place in Buffalo.
"Every kid is wearing a jersey or something like that coming out,” McCormick said. “Teachers are wearing jerseys. Driving around the city, you’re seeing the flags.”
Alumni outside of Buffalo are watching, too. Drew Stafford spent nine seasons with the Sabres and has been following this playoff run closely from Edina, Minnesota, where hockey craziness also takes center stage during the high-school season.
Stafford was part of three playoff teams in Buffalo, including the 2010-11 squad. Stafford said he’s enjoyed rehashing the old moments – like his fight versus Chris Neil and shootout winner against Ottawa in 2007 – and watching this current team bring an avalanche of energy to Buffalo.
“Admittedly I’m watching a lot more now because I’ve got a soft spot for Buffalo,” Stafford told Sabres Live. “Been through the ringer there, spent almost 10 years of my career there and I lived through some of the best times and some of the worst times and to see what the boys are doing now, I just can’t think of another city or fanbase that deserves a winner more than Buffalo. The fans there are by far the best in the league.”
