Sabres' Hasek Ready For Battle

How much can winning a Stanley Cup mean to Dominik Hasek? The man has more hardware than Bob Villa, more titles than Prince Charles, more respect than Walter Cronkite.

Talking to him Monday before the Stanley Cup Finals, you'd think he was playing for a Dixie cup not the Stanley Cup.

"It's something big for the people of North America or especially for the Buffalo people," Hasek said Monday before his Buffalo Sabres open the Stanley Cup Finals Tuesday against the Dallas Stars. "For the people of the Czech Republic, they cheer for me but they don't care as much as when we're in the Olympics."

On the eve of the NHL's championship series, the Dominator already has reached the mountaintop. He's won four Vezina Trophies (best goalie) and two Hart Trophies (MVP). In February 1998 the world's best goalie twisted, flopped and kick-saved his way to the Olympic gold medal with his native Czech Republic. He solidified his status as a national hero and the best goalie in the solar system.

Perhaps no goalie ever had less to gain by winning a Cup.

"I want to win the Olympics," he said, "I'd like to win the Stanley Cup."

The NHL's ultimate prize is all that's left for Hasek, but it's obvious the chase doesn't consume him. This is not Ahab going after the white whale. This is a world champion confident in his ability and accomplishments trying to add another curio to his mantle. His money is made, his legend solid.

The Stanley Cup would be a nice prize to parade around the homeland for a couple days this summer. It also might signal the end of a career that his own boss said could be over after the current contract expires in two years.

"After that, quite frankly, my sense is that he'd be staring heavily at retirement," Buffalo general manager Darcy Regier said.

While that speculation rages, the scenario for these Finals won't change from most Buffalo game nights. Hasek is Buffalo's only hope. Despite the malarky being passed around about the Sabres' speed, tenacity and balanced scoring, they can't win a Cup without No. 39 being their MVP.

To the man on the street -- and there are plenty here who don't know the Stanley Cup from a protective cup -- Hasek is the Sabres' only chance. When almost a quarter century passes between Finals appearances there must be a reason.

The Dominator is it. He wasn't in Buffalo in 1975 when the Sabres lost in six games to Philadelphia. He is at the peak of his career in his seventh season in Buffalo.

"He's the star of their team," said Dallas' Joe Nieuwendyk, one of the few Stars with more than superficial on-ice knowledge of Hasek. "You can see that on SportsCenter almost every night."

You can count on the one glove hand the number of goalies who get into the minds of opponents, set up shop and taunt the opponent with the mantra: You an't beat me. Hasek is at the top of that list.

"If you're weak and if you're not prepared to fight through that then, yes, he can get into your head," said Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock, sounding more desperate than analytical. "If you allow the goaltender to outwork you and outbattle you then you're not doing your job.

"There can be no excuses. When you use the attitude that a goaltender beats you you've got the wrong attitude."

Dallas has been the best team in the league two years running largely because of Hitchcock's cerebral game plans. It has diligently worked its way through the Finals for the first time in eight years.

Beating legendary goalies is nothing new to the Stars. Patrick Roy, a three-time Cup winner, went down in the conference finals. Dallas has the better team and home-ice advantage in this series.

Buffalo's only edge in this series is a 5-foot, 11-inch, 168-pound bundle of free-style goaltending.

"I don't think goalies stealing series happens so much anymore," Dallas forward Pat Verbeek said. "In a seven-game series the best team will eventually prevail."

The world thought the same thing in February in 1998 in Nagano. The United States and Canada were heavy favorites to take the gold. But the Hasek-led Czechs beat Canada in a shootout and claimed the gold medal with a victory over Russia. Against Canada, the Czech Republic basically played for a shootout, where they knew Hasek could win the game single-handedly. Five Czechs played inside their own blue line trying to protect a 1-1 tie.

>

The Sabres always seem to rally around Dominik Hasek. (AP)

"I know the rave about him," said Nieuwendyk who failed on his shootout attempt for Canada. "I know what he's capable of. (During the shootout) I went to my backhand and the puck kind of rolled off my stick. I don't know, you go with instinct."

Unfortunately for shooters, instinct is Hasek's main attribute. He's stopped pucks with his head and by throwing his stick. His style: whatever it takes. This season he posted a career-low 1.87 goals against average. What's freaky is in the playoffs he hasn't had to steal games. A sore groin kept him out of the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals against Toronto. Buffalo, with the help of backup Dwayne Roloson, still won four games to one.

Despite all the accomplishments, there is some urgency to Hasek's game. He is 34 and the highest-paid goalie in the league. Hasek is making $8 million this year and a combined $14.5 million the next two years. An option year ould cost Buffalo $9 million.

Will he be worth it at age 37? Consider Hasek didn't get to the NHL until age 26 with Chicago. Then a tenuous relationship with then-Chicago goaltender Ed Belfour led to a trade to Buffalo in 1992. Their meeting again in this series is one of the major story lines.

"It was a very tough relationship," Hasek said. "I'm sure he felt I was the person who could take his job. For three years I was fighting for the starting job. I don't want to fight with Eddie."

His career is sprinkled with brushes with the greats. Belfour led Chicago to the Stanley Cup Finals against Pittsburgh in 1992 with Hasek mostly looking on from the bench. Legendary Soviet goaltender Vladislav Tretiak blew into Chicago once or twice a year to work with the goalies but "he never really worked with me," Hasek said.

He backed up Grant Fuhr and his five Stanley Cups for a season in Buffalo before slowly making his own mark.

Amazingly, it was just five years ago that Hasek was left unprotected by the Sabres in the expansion draft. More amazingly, neither Anaheim nor Florida took him.

"It will be my only focus the next one or two weeks," he said, "to do everything to bring a Stanley Cup to Buffalo."

What else is left after you've conquered the world?

© 1999 SportsLine USA, Inc. All rights reserved