The NHL lost a legendary figure on Thursday, with the news that longtime Buffalo Sabres announcer Rick Jeanneret passed away. Jeanneret was 81 years old. He died after a two-year battle with multi-organ failures, his family said in a statement.
For 51 years, Jeanneret served as the voice of Sabres hockey. He started calling Buffalo games for the 1971-72 season, the team's second in the NHL. During the 1995-96 campaign, Jeanneret moved to the team's television broadcasts. Starting in 1997-98, Jeanneret doubled as the play-by-play announcer for both television and radio broadcasts.
Jeanneret's 51 years, exclusively with the Sabres, is the longest tenure by one broadcaster with a single team in NHL history. He retired following the 2021-22 season.
In 2012, Jeanneret was awarded the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award and inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was also a member of the Sabres Hall of Fame, the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame, and the Bare Knuckle Boxing Hall of Fame.
Fans of the Sabres were quick to take to social media to mourn the loss of the iconic voice many of them grew up hearing.
“The best way to put it is he is a big reason reason that many people got into hockey at a young age, myself included. He is who we hear in our head when we recall Sabres memories., said one fan. To another fan, words couldn't “express how much this man meant to the city of Buffalo.”
It wasn't just Sabres fans that were feeling the loss of Rick Jeanneret, however. Jeanneret's impact extended beyond one team to the “hockey world.” One Twitter user even specified that “This hurts and I'm not even a Sabres fan.”
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