Sabres honor late broadcaster Rick Jeanneret with street renaming, emotional video tribute
Legendary Sabres play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret, who passed away in August, was honored ahead of Buffalo's home opener on Thursday.
Although they’re headed into a promising present and a potentially bright future, the Buffalo Sabres honored a signature voice from their past before they kicked off their season.
From naming a nearby street “RJ Way” to wearing ceremonial patches, the Sabres remembered beloved late announcer Rick Jeanneret before Thursday’s game against the New York Rangers.
The highlight may have been the pre-game video and ceremony. Rob Ray narrated a great tribute to Jeanneret, with clips featuring his iconic calls. There was also the great gesture of the ceremonial puck drop.
The @BuffaloSabres honour the life of their former play-by-play announcer, Rick Jeanneret, prior to their game against the Rangers tonight. 💙🎙️ pic.twitter.com/htVjhBtIPs
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 12, 2023
Earlier on Thursday, they renamed a street outside of KeyBank Center after the broadcaster, who died at age 81 on Aug. 18. During the ceremony, Brian Duff noted that “around here, the road to hockey will forever be known as RJ Way.”
It's official.
Welcome to RJ Way 💙 pic.twitter.com/orhUjNhIDU— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) October 12, 2023
On Wednesday, the Sabres revealed “RJ” jersey patches for the 2023-24 season, with a variety of different colors that can work with the team’s many looks.
For RJ 💙
We will honor the legendary Rick Jeanneret with an "RJ" jersey patch this season. pic.twitter.com/d5ylVc0hx7— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) October 11, 2023
The Sabres are also selling some clever jerseys in his honor.
While the Rangers beat the Sabres 5-1 in Buffalo’s home-opener, the team managed to sneak in a reference to Jeanneret after the team’s lone goal. You can catch that recognizable “he scores!” around the 16-second mark.
Really, really nice touch by the #Sabres here. Listen closely…
After the goal horn - and before the player’s individual goal song - Rick Jeanneret’s “HE SCOOOOOOORES” rings out in KeyBank Center.#LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/Y3plitfd7t— Die By The Blade (@diebytheblade) October 13, 2023
Jeanneret became an icon as the voice of the Buffalo Sabres
Jeanneret worked as a play-by-play announcer for the Sabres stretching all the way back to 1971, authoring a slew of memorable calls. From “May Day!” or “top shelf, where momma hides the cookies,” his ecstatic lines seemed tailor-made for highlight reels.
As the 2012 winner of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award, Jeanneret became a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. In that same year, he was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
He was a versatile announcer, too, being that he was a 2018 inductee into the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame.