Many of the words were memorable, even downright profound in spots. The emotions were heavy in a lovely way from start to finish. The banner in the rafters – neatly featuring a microphone – looks like it's been there forever. And now it will be.
But what we'll remember most from RJ Night is the noise.
It's what this hockey town has lacked so often in the last 11 years because there hasn't remotely been enough to cheer for.
The roar when Rick Jeanneret walked that blue carpet from the Zamboni entrance to take his place for Friday night's pregame ceremony was epic. And it didn't stop. We haven't heard any sort of ovation like that in KeyBank Center in ages. The chants of "RJ, RJ, RJ" resonated deeply. There was no way for owner Terry Pegula – who got booed when his name was mentioned – to give his remarks over the din.
Pegula then neatly improvised and waved his arms, exhorting the crowd to turn up the noise even more. Got the crowd back on his side. And the fans followed instructions. Said Pegula finally in cutting his remarks short, "I'm supposed to say something about Rick, but I think the crowd just said it all."
It was more of the same when Jeanneret wrapped his speech by simply saying to the crowd, "I love you."
And, oh, how you've loved him back. Both on Friday and for the last 51 years.
"I thought 'I love you' kind of summed it up," Jeanneret said as he met reporters during the first intermission of the Sabres' pulsating 4-3 victory over Nashville. "It means everything to me. ... It's just something that came to mind. I didn't know how to end it. I honestly didn't. I had to speak and I had to say something. And I thought that was the best way to end it. So I did."
You looked on the ice and you saw so many of his old broadcast partners. Jim Lorentz was down there. So was Harry Neale. And Mike Robitaille, Larry Playfair and Danny Gare, too. Jeanneret was particularly touched to see Ted Darling's widow, Sheila, and his son Joel, a longtime executive with Hockey Night in Canada. There were a couple dozen former players.
"It was wonderful," he said. "To see all of the guys that came back to this, all the alumni guys and to have all the former broadcasters that I've worked with over the years, pretty special, too. So it's awfully nice. Knowing they had my back, so to speak, when I was up there speaking."
Current partner Rob Ray brought down the house when he represented the alumni by saying simply, "You deserve to be in the rafters as much as anyone who ever wore the uniform."
The game was something as well. When Peyton Krebs banged home a Dylan Cozens rebound less than three minutes into the first period, the old barn exploded. Krebs called the crowd "electric" and he was so pumped he did a Lambeau Leap into the glass. Tage Thompson had two goals to get his total to 30. Remember, a lot of these young guys have never seen the building like this. In the third period, the fans did the Wave and unleashed pounding versions of "Let's Go Buff-a-lo."
"It's a big difference. It changes the game for us," Thompson said. "We get momentum swings and feed off that energy and that noise."
We know it can be like this every night because we've seen it. Jeanneret says it can be like this again. And soon.
"I know that we were talking down there tonight with the alumni saying that this club is getting pretty good pretty quick," Jeanneret said. "It's not going to happen this year. But I'd be very surprised and very disappointed if they're not in the playoffs next year. I'm not saying winning the Cup, I'm saying if they're not in the playoffs."
Why so sure? Easy.
"It's their attitude," Jeanneret said. "They're so positive about everything. It's almost like they went out and they won a game and said, 'Hey, we can play in this league. We can beat bigger guys in this league.' And they have been playing like that."
After the morning skate, Syracuse-area native and lifelong Sabres fan Alex Tuch – who might prove to be the most important trade acquisition since Chris Drury and Daniel Briere – recounted what it was like to meet Jeanneret for the first time after he was dealt here from Vegas in November.
"I told him that my dad was really jealous that I got to meet him in one of my first games here and he was like, 'No, come on, Alex. Stop kidding with me,' " Tuch recalled. "And I was like, 'No, my dad's gonna be really jealous because it was every game my dad and I would listen to RJ and we loved it.' "
When the game ended, the Sabres brought Jeanneret out of the tunnel. Tuch and Cody Eakin escorted him onto the ice. The decibel level soared yet again. The players tapped their sticks on the ice and raised them in salute. Then they posed for a group picture with RJ. The legend of Buffalo hockey with the hopes of Buffalo's hockey future.
We’re framing this one!#ThankYouRJ pic.twitter.com/q3qlkmmngq
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 2, 2022
You have to give it up to the Sabres on this night. The players entered the arena wearing suspenders and turtlenecks in a tribute to RJ's favorite attire. They played hard, entertaining hockey, showing fans there's plenty of reasons to come back this season and in the future. Even coach Don Granato walked into his postgame press conference with suspenders on.
"Special night. Special night," Granato said with a big smile.
The ceremony was understated but classy. The video presentations, as always, were tremendously done (how amazing they would look on a 2022-era Jumbotron). During the game, a who's who of stars honored Jeanneret via video. Wayne Gretzky, Jim Kelly and Chris Berman got big cheers. So did Ryan Miller – whose No. 30 should get in those rafters pronto – as well as Gilbert Perreault, Pat LaFontaine and Lindy Ruff. And RJ's family.
During his pregame speech, Jeanneret invoked the 1976 Neil Diamond song "Beautiful Noise." Said Jeanneret, "He reminisces about everyday sounds from the streets. ... My beautiful noise is a little different. Mine is the roar of the crowd."
Asked about it later, you could tell Jeanneret was containing his emotions.
"It meant an awful lot to me," he said. "I love them and they love me. I guess it's reciprocal. And I think we both tried to show it here tonight."
