Sabres Press Conference at 4pm

[Taro T]

IMO, Horton would still be up there, even if he hadn't had the accident.  He was one of the best D-men of his era and was a rock for the Sabres, even playing in his twilight years.  He mentored Jim Schoenfeld and was the leader of a defense that improved rapidly over the team's first three years.

 

Here's some interesting background on why Horton was so admired:

 

Tim Horton was born in Cochrane, Ontario on January 12, 1930. He was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1949 and performed as one of the steadiest defencemen on the blueline throughout his 22 years in the National Hockey League. He played in 1,446 regular season games, scoring 115 goals and 403 assists for a total of 518 points.

 

He played 17 full seasons and 3 partial seasons for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He served a short stint with the New York Rangers before being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. His final years in hockey were with the Buffalo Sabres, where he played a major role in developing the team’s younger players.

 

Tim Horton played on four Stanley Cup teams, was an All-Star player six times, and was honoured in 1969 with the J.P. Bickell Memorial Cup in recognition of his outstanding service to the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club. George Armstrong says of Tim, “No finer person, teammate or hockey player ever lived.” In Bobby Hull’s words, “Few players brought more dedication or honour to the game. He was my idea of a pro.”

 

One of the most heartfelt tributes came from Punch Imlach, then of the Buffalo Sabres. Tim played for Imlach in Toronto during the glory years of the 1960's, and when Buffalo had a chance to pick him up, Imlach didn’t hesitate. “I know he was the backbone of our team in Buffalo”, said Imlach. “(His death) was a terrible loss, not only to his family and the team, but to the game of hockey.”

 

Gordie Howe has called Tim Horton hockey’s strongest man. In a fight, Horton was known to edge into the melee and “grab a couple” of players to help keep the peace. But despite his legendary strength, he was not a proponent of violence on the ice. Some claim Tim invented the slap shot, and he could always be counted on to get the puck out of his own end of the ice with his “heads up” skating style.

479984[/snapback]

I disagree. If Tim doesn't have the accident, he ends up in Sabres lore with Roger Crozier. A truly fantastic player that finished his career with the Sabres. Horton absolutely was a mentor to players like Schoenfeld and Robitaille. You don't end up having your sweater retired because you were a mentor.

 

With what he meant to the team and considering the way he left the team, he deserves to have his sweater retired and it is up in the rafters.

[buckeyemike]

The weird thing is, most people my age and younger see Tim Horton as the namesake for the coffee/donut chain, and not as a Hall-of-Fame hockey player.

 

Unless you are Canadian, that is.

 

Mike

[smokinandjokin]

Thanks everyone for the info on Timmy Ho. Sounds like he brought some solid leadership, respectability, and an known name to Buffalo when they were a young franchise looking to find their way. I also did hear that he was the last player to wear #2 for the Sabres, even though he died in the early 70's and his number wasn't retired until 1995. No player wore #2 in that 20+ year span.

 

Also, I heard that the Sabres are retiring #18 in honor of Paul Cyr, not Danny Gare.