Everyone loves the statue in the Buffalo Sabres new Alumni Plaza. Most people (fake Twitter accounts excluded) like the plaques featuring every Sabres alumni and fans willing to pony up $100.
But the mural that’s supposed to feature the best players from each era of Sabres history? Some fans are taking issue with one of the inclusions.
Faces like Danny Gare, Pat LaFontaine, and Dominik Hasek are no-brainer inclusions, but the fact that Maxim Afinogenov is a member of this prestigious club has some Sabres fans shaking their heads.
Afinogenov isn’t at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to team stats; he’s 18th in franchise history in points, and played for the blue and gold for nine seasons. On the other hand, no Sabres fan who watched Afinogenov can say that his on-and-off play hasn’t inspired dozens of moments like this. Or this. Or this.
Meanwhile, other more prominent names left off of the mural include Dale Hawerchuk, Rob Ray, Don Luce, and Miroslav Satan. Afinogenov was certainly a popular player right out of the lockout, but some of these names, especially ray and Hawerchuk, have enduring good faith in the Buffalo community, something that Afinogenov never seemed to achieve.
So what do think, Sabres fans? Does the inclusion of Afinogenov over the names above bother you? Or do memories like this erase the pain of watching moments of aimless play?