In the month of August, as news in the hockey world slows down, we’ll take a look at the most consequential trades in Buffalo Sabers history (using the Hockey News Archives as source material) and rank the 15 best and 15 worst trades in the club’s 54-year history.
This required input from a trio of veteran members of the media (Dave Reichert, Randy Schultz and Pete Weber) as well as three lifelong Saber fans (Chuck Bender, Todd Riniolo and Joe Schwartz).
11. December 27, 1973 – Jerry Korab from the Vancouver Canucks to John Gould and Tracy Pratt
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The Sabers under Punch Imlach were successful in accumulating talent through the Amateur Draft (Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin, Jim Schoenfeld, Craig Ramsay, Danny Gare) to form the core group that reached the Stanley Cup Final in just five seasons , but were also able to add important contributors in the commercial market. One of the best trades made just after Christmas 1973 was a three-player trade with the Vancouver Canucks to acquire defenseman Jerry Korab.
The big blueliner made his NHL debut with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1970 and immediately established his reputation for toughness, racking up 152 penalty minutes in just 46 games as a rookie. In his third year with the Hawks, “King Kong” scored 12 goals and reached the Stanley Cup Final, but Chicago traded him to Vancouver in a deal involving forward Dale Tallon, who the Canucks selected second overall after the Sabers they chose Perreault in 1970. Draft.
Korab played just 31 games in Vancouver before being traded to Buffalo for defenseman Tracy Pratt and winger John Gould. Pratt was an original Saber after being claimed in Pittsburgh’s 1970 expansion draft, while Gould joined the Sabers in 1971 after scoring 100 points in the Eastern Hockey League and splitting time between Buffalo and the AHL Cincinnati Swords in his first two seasons. .
The motivation for the deal may have been in part Pratt’s father; Hockey Hall of Famer Babe Pratt was an executive with the Canucks. He played 176 games over three seasons in Vancouver and another season in Colorado, before ending up with Toronto and retiring in 1977.
Gould had two excellent 30+ goal seasons in Vancouver, but was unable to continue that pace and was traded to Atlanta in 1976 before returning to Buffalo to finish his career in 1979-80.
Korab became a force with Buffalo over six seasons, scoring in double figures, recording over 100 penalty minutes four times and being a key part of the club’s 1975 run to the Stanley Cup Final. In 1980, he was traded to Los Angeles by GM Scotty Bowman, but after three seasons with the Kings and a brief retirement, he returned to the Sabers to play 73 games over two seasons before retiring in 1985.
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