By Budd Bailey, Buffalo Sports Page Columnist
No. 61: December 27, 1973 – The Sabres trade Tracy Pratt and John Gould to Vancouver for Jerry Korab.
The year 1973 was an interesting one for Jerry Korab. He had signed with the Chicago Blackhawks before the amateur draft came along, and spent three seasons there starting in 1970. In May of 1973, Korab was traded to Vancouver as part of a deal for Dale Tallon – the player taken after Gil Perreault in the 1970 Entry Draft.
But Korab didn’t have too much time to put away his Christmas presents that year. On Dec. 27, 1973, the Canucks sent him to Buffalo for defenseman Tracy Pratt and forward John Gould.
Sabre fans warmed up to Korab quickly. He was a 6-3, 220-pound defenseman who was known to dish out checks that rattled the boards at Memorial Auditorium. Korab and Jim Schoenfeld were great fits on the Aud’s small ice surface, and they were part of some excellent Sabre teams for several years.
The forgotten man of the transaction is Gould. He had been a good scorer in the minors but didn’t do much with the Sabres. But he emerged with the Canucks, scoring 34 goals in 1974-75 and 32 in 1975-76. Gould, like Korab, even returned to play with the Sabres once again after departing.
(Follow Budd on Twitter @WDX2BB)
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