When Jason Pominville was traded to the Wild on April 3, the Buffalo Sabres had the day off. So Pominville, after spending parts of nine seasons with one franchise, never got a chance to say goodbye to his teammates, the staff, arena workers and, most importantly, the fans.
That's why he's excited to fly to Buffalo for his first-ever game against the Sabres on Monday.
"The only two people I got to say bye to were [Thomas] Vanek, because he was my neighbor and drove me to the airport, and our trainer, Dave Williams, who brought me my equipment," Pominville said. "So it'll be nice to go back, but it'll be weird to go in the same door but a different locker room.
"I'll see the ice from a different angle, I guess. It'll be fun. Everything happens so fast and I just would really like to see the staff and play in front of those fans again."
Pominville, 30, a second-round pick in 2001, ranks sixth in Sabres history with 10 shorthanded goals, ninth with 271 assists and 1,606 shots, tied for 11th with 456 points, 12th with 185 goals, 17th with 42 power-play goal and tied for 19th with 578 games.
"We named him captain. I really felt [he was] our best all-around player," said first-year Dallas Stars coach Lindy Ruff, who coached against Pominville for the first time in Saturday's Wild-Stars game.
"He's a guy that did all the right things, got to the right places, the type of player that played through anything, any situation," Ruff said. "On top of that, he's an even better person.
"Those players are hard to come by. You never have to challenge him to work. He's an ultimate pro and he's going to be consistent from year to year, which is really all you can ask."
