By Budd Bailey, Buffalo Sports Page Columnist

No. 87: March 10, 1992 – The Sabres trade Kevin Haller to Montreal for Petr Svoboda.

As of 1989, the Sabres needed another very good young defenseman . They were hoping to get another Mike Ramsey, who had been a top pick in 1979 and had been a very solid player throughout his career. Buffalo therefore jumped at the chance to take Kevin Haller with the 14th pick of the first round in 1989. Haller was one of those “I couldn’t believe he was still available” players according to the scouts.

Haller was a regular by the 1990-91 season. He is still remembered for getting beaten by Russ Courtnall on an overtime playoff goal in Montreal. It was still a surprise when he was traded for the veteran Petr Svoboda, who was on the Canadiens team that night. The Sabres liked Svoboda’s experience and skating ability, and Haller was the price.

Haller never quite lived up to his perceived potential. He played for several other teams during a career that lasted until 2002.

(Follow Budd on Twitter @WDX2BB.)

Budd Bailey

Budd Bailey has been involved in almost every aspect of the local sports scene for the last 40 years. He worked for WEBR Radio, the Buffalo Sabres' public relations department and The Buffalo News during that time. In that time he covered virtually every aspect of the area's sports world, from high schools to the Bills and Sabres and everything in between. Along the way, Budd served as a play-by-play announcer for the Bisons, an analyst for the Stallions, and a talk-show host. He won the National Lacrosse League's Tom Borrelli Award as the media personality of the year in 2011, and was a finalist for that same award in 2017. Budd's seventh and eighth books, one on the Transcontinental Railroad and the other about Ichiro Suzuki, are scheduled to be released in the fall.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *