Sabres play-by-play man talks return from cancer, tanking in NHL

Buffalo Sabres play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret said he did not know what to expect out of this season, but his lack of expectations had nothing to do with the team on the ice, a recent story in the Buffalo News said.

Jeanneret was returning to the broadcast booth after a battle with throat cancer which threatened his career behind a microphone. Although he was able to return this season, working was no easy task. Jeanneret's first game back was exhausting, Jeanneret told the Buffalo News.

"At the end of the first period, I got up, went to the elevator, got to my car, drove home (to Canada) and went to bed,” Jeanneret told the Buffalo News. “I didn’t know until the next day what the final score was."

But Jeanneret carried on and was able to finish out the rest of his contracted games for the season even with the added challenge of providing some form of entertainment for fans from a team that was anything but entertaining to watch. 

The one thing Jeanneret said that wasn't difficult was refraining from too much talk about the tank.

"Every fan in Buffalo was talking about it, we didn’t have to add fuel to the fire," Jeanneret told the Buffalo News. "I found out from the immigration agent the moment I hit the border. They would always mention, ‘They going to win tonight?’ And they would add ‘We hope not.’ I just laughed."

(h/t Buffalo News)

Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images