Buffalo Sabres All-Time Lineup

I've experienced a lot of the great moments for Buffalo Sabres in the last 28 years.

My parents were season ticket holders from the team's inception in 1970— when a spin of the wheel determined their fate and it was the Sabres that drafted Gilbert Perreault No. 1 overall instead of the Vancouver Canucks.

I was almost born at a Sabres game, because even though she probably shouldn't have been there, my mom refused to let her ticket is given to someone else.

They sat in the Greens; then, after they raised the roof of he Aud, they sat in the Oranges.

The stairs were so steep, if you had a few too many; it felt like scaling Mt. Whitney and you knew you were doomed to miss a step and go tumbling over the railing, with only the rich people in the Golds below to cushion your fall.

But there wasn't a bad seat in the house.

I sat in every level of that building, and watched the game from almost every conceivable angle.

We were at the fourth overtime vs. New Jersey in the 1994 Quarterfinals, when Dave Hannan sent a backhander over Martin Brodeur to send everyone home at 1:30 a.m.

I watched Gretzky beat the Sabres in their only regular season match up, in what would turn out to be “The Great One's” last season as an Oiler.

I joined in chants of "Thank You Sabres" when they took down the banners after the last game in The Aud— incidentally, the last game Hartford ever played as The Whale.

I screamed in horror when Brett Hull was credited with the "No-Goal," when Lindy Ruff yelled at Bettman to go to the replay and Bettman responded "The game's over, Lindy," and I had to watch the Stars skate around my ice in my house with my Cup.

I stood and applauded when Tom Golisano was introduced as the new owner of my team, after years of uncertainty and the gut-wrenching question of relocation came up in quiet corners across Western New York.

So, when I saw the question of, "what would be your ultimate lineup?" I immediately thought only of an All-Sabres Team.

Sure, it would have been great to see Bobby Orr or Ken Dryden or Rocket Richard or Mario Lemieux in the Blue and Gold.

But where's the fun in that?

An All-Sabres team— tapping into 38-years of great hockey tradition sounds just fine to me.

Line 1: The French Connection: R. Martin, R. Robert, G. Perreault.

No fantasy here— these guys were the most beautiful thing on ice in the 1970s and helped the Sabres reach the Wales Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Finals multiple times.

While Martin and Robert would move on Perreault remained the face of the franchise until his retirement in 1987— The Original Sabre.

Line 2: A. Mogilny, P. LaFontaine, D. Andreychuk.

Not a whole lot of fantasy here either— LaFontaine is in the HOF, Andy will probably be soon to follow, and Mogilny's numbers might get him an outside shot.

Mogilny was the cheese to LaFontaine's macaroni, and Andreychuk would give them a little bit of physicality in the corner.

These guys in their prime would give shivers to any goalie from any era.

Line 3: C. Drury, P. Turgeon, C. Ramsay.

Do you have any idea how much fun this line would be to watch?

All these guys want to do is make plays, and they are pure playmakers.

Checking Line: R. Ray, B. May, M. Barnaby.

I'm not a hockey fan for the fights.

I'm not a hockey fan for the goons or the enforcers.

I'm kind of a purist in that regard— I like some action in the corners and good, clean open-ice hits when some rube has his head down coming across center.

I like Scott Stevens vs. Eric Lindros-type hits.

So, putting together a checking line is no fun for me, because I know these guys are just gonna end up in the penalty box.

I have to admit, though, that watching these guys could be fun from time to time.

Especially when May scored the goal against Boston in the playoffs and Rick Jeanneret started screaming "MAY DAY! MAY DAY!"

The collective NHL career PIMs for this line?

Let us count the ways: 3207+2093+2562=7862.

Defense Pairings: B. Hajt & J. Korab; P. Housley & H. Tallinder; J. McKee & M. Ramsey; J. Schoenfeld & B. Campbell.

Housley is in the HOF, and paired with Tallinder, that would be some great playmaking point men.

McKee could block shots better than anyone, and Ramsey was tough as nails.

Campbell can just plain score and Schoeny can just plain destroy.

Hajt and Korab?

Well, that one is for my dad and my uncles.

Solid, “do-your-job” and stay-at-home defensemen who can contribute to the offense when the opportunity arises.

Goaltenders: D. Hasek, T. Barrasso, R. Miller.

Hasek is going to the HOF, Barrasso ought to be in the HOF, and Miller is scary good.

Hasek and Barrasso, like Scotty Bowman, Dave Andreychuk, and countless other Sabres, could only win the Cup in places not named Buffalo.

Our day will come.