Canadian • Born
Nov. 18, 1951 in Radisson, Saskatchewan • Hometown:
Borden, Sask.
Career Highlights
Played on 1972-73 Cincinnati team that won AHL regular-season title. ...
Won AHL Calder Cup with Cincinnati in 1973. ... Scored his first NHL goal at
12:21 of the third period of Buffalo's Nov. 24, 1974, game vs. Montreal. The
goal came against Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden. ... Played on Buffalo team that lost to Philadelphia in
1975 Stanley Cup Finals. ... Scored his first career playoff goal for Buffalo at
9:56 of the
third period, beating Hall of Fame goaltender Bernie Parent to tie score at
4-4 and force overtime in Game 3 of the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals,
also known as the "Fog Game," on May 20, 1975, vs. Philadelphia. Buffalo went
on to win the game, which was the first home Stanley Cup Finals game in team history, and Hajt would not score another playoff goal for 10
years ... Set Buffalo record (since tied) for assists by a defenseman in one game with four
vs. N.Y. Rangers on Nov. 13, 1976. ... Led
Buffalo with plus-39 rating in 1976-77. ... Named to 1981 Wales Conference
All-Star team by head coach Scotty Bowman, but did not play in the Feb. 10
game at Los Angeles because he wanted to use the All-Star break to rest for
second half of season. ... Named to 1985 Wales Conference All-Star team but
missed the Feb. 12 game at Calgary because of shoulder injury. ... Led Buffalo with
plus-32 rating in 1984-85. ... Retired with Buffalo record (since broken)
for career games played by a defenseman (854). ... Inducted into the Buffalo Sabres
Hall of Fame in 2000. ... Inducted into
Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame
in 2000.
The Brief Retirement
During Buffalo's 1983 training camp, a nearly 32-year-old Hajt decided he
was no longer capable of going through tough preseason workouts and it was
time for him to retire. He announced the decision on Sept. 23, 1983, and
left training camp at that time. "I had quit because I was tired and
training camp became a drudgery," he said. Five days later, on Sept. 28,
Hajt was back at camp after deciding that he wasn't really ready to retire
after all. He said that just being home for a few days felt like being in a
"morgue", that he felt bad about leaving the Sabres shorthanded when they
clearly wanted him on the team, and that he realized he had made a rash
decision that he immediately began to regret. He would play another four
seasons before retiring for good.
Team Awards and Honors
| 1974-75: | Tim Horton Memorial Award (unsung hero) |
| 1979-80: |
Charley Barton Memorial Silver Stick Award (dedication to game), Tim Horton Memorial Award (unsung hero) |
| |
Life Outside
the NHL
Full Name: William
Albert Hajt
Also Known as: Billy Hajt
Other Post-Draft Teams:
Cincinnati (AHL)
Education: Attended University of
Saskatchewan, where he majored in commerce.
Career Beyond Hockey: Remained in
Amherst, N.Y., after his retirement and worked as a grain merchant for
Buffalo-based Lackawanna Products.
Family: Father of former NHL player
and major-junior coach Chris Hajt.
Significant
Injuries
Missed start of 1978-79 season with shoulder injury,
suffered during Buffalo's 1978 training camp. He did not make his
1978-79 season debut until Buffalo's Oct. 18, 1978, game at Toronto. ...
Missed part of 1978-79 season with back injury, suffered during
Buffalo's Nov. 30, 1978, game vs. Boston. He did not return
until Dec. 31, 1978, game vs. Boston. He had three assists in
that game. ... Missed part of 1978-79 season with re-aggravation of back injury, suffered during Buffalo's Feb. 3, 1979, game at Minnesota.
He did not return until Feb. 14, 1979, game vs. N.Y.
Islanders. ... Missed part of 1978-79 season with re-aggravation of back injury, suffered
when checked into the goalpost during Feb. 21, 1979, game at Chicago. He
did not return until March 23, 1979, game at Vancouver. ... Missed
remainder of 1978-79 season and 1979 playoffs with wrist injury,
suffered in collision along boards during March 24,
1979, game at Los Angeles. ... Missed part of 1980-81 season with broken
bone in right foot, suffered during Buffalo's Nov. 8, 1980,
game at Washington. He did not return until Dec. 6, 1980, game
at Minnesota. ... Missed start of 1982-83 season with knee injury,
suffered at Buffalo's 1982 training camp. He did not make 1982-83 season debut until Oct. 23, 1982, game at Detroit. ...
Missed part of 1984-85 season with dislocated left shoulder, suffered during Feb. 9, 1985, game at Calgary. The injury
required surgery, and he did not return until March 30, 1985,
game at Hartford. ... Missed first two games of 1985 playoffs with
re-aggravation of shoulder injury, suffered during Buffalo's
regular-season finale on April 7, 1985, vs. Montreal. ... Missed part of
1985-86 season with strained groin, an injury suffered during Buffalo's
Dec. 6, 1985, game vs. Pittsburgh. He did not return until Jan. 22, 1986, game vs. Winnipeg, which was also his 800th
career game. ... Missed part of 1986-87
season with strained groin, an injury suffered during Buffalo's Dec. 5,
1986, game at St. Louis. He did not return until Buffalo's Jan. 23,
1987, game vs. Washington.
