"Seymour's dream was to keep hockey strong in Buffalo, and it's a credit to [owners] Tom [Golisano] and Larry [Quinn], [General Manager] Darcy [Regier] and [coach] Lindy [Ruff] for keeping it, and to the fans for keeping it productive year after year."

The children the Knox brothers drew to their games, the kids they saw skating at the local rinks, have contributed to the newest generation of Sabres. Buffalo forwards Patrick Kaleta and Tim Kennedy grew up in the atmosphere the Sabres created.

"This is a hockey town," Kaleta said. "For myself, and Timmy can tell you the same thing, it's basically been our whole lives, watching the Sabres and having the dream of playing for the Sabres.

"You look at kids around the arenas, and they're just die-hard Sabres fans. They're starting to skate when they're 2 years old. Just having that franchise, it's a great part of the city."

Kennedy believes it's an essential part of the city.

"Hockey is just something people can lean on when they need something good to think about," Kennedy said. "Whether you're at the mall or downtown, you always see somebody with a Sabres jersey or Sabres hat on."

is it bad that i know what sword that is?


anyway. happy birthday sabres, and god bless the knox's

Not at all, since I know what sword that is, too. Either that couple is completely clueless, or they're both huge Tolkien nerds