The feat made him a popular figure in his home country and prompted hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to call him "the best player in the game".

On 6 November 1990, wearing the number 34 (31 was worn by backup goaltender Jacques Cloutier that year), Hašek made his first NHL start in a 1–1 tie against the Hartford Whalers.

[23] Hašek appeared in game 4 of the 1992 Stanley Cup Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins, after Belfour allowed two goals on four shots in the opening 6:33, and had 21 saves.

[24] Although the Penguins won and clinched the Stanley Cup, Hašek's performance attracted the attention of the Sabres, who had considered trading for him earlier that season.

[25] After the Stanley Cup Finals appearance, Chicago decided to stay with Belfour and Jimmy Waite,[26] and traded Hašek to the Buffalo Sabres for goaltender Stéphane Beauregard and future considerations, which later materialized into a draft pick used to obtain Éric Dazé.

[33] In Game 3 of the Sabres' best-of-seven first-round playoff series against the Ottawa Senators, Hašek removed himself in the second period and was replaced by Steve Shields.

[33] One such individual was Buffalo News columnist Jim Kelley, who wrote a column detailing Hašek's injury and his conflict with Nolan, and questioning the goaltender's mental toughness.

[38] Although Nolan won the Jack Adams Award as the league's top coach and was popular with Sabres fans, new general manager Darcy Regier only offered him a one-year contract extension.

[19] He became one of the few goaltenders in NHL history to win the Hart, alongside Jacques Plante, Carey Price, Chuck Rayner, Al Rollins, José Théodore and Roy Worters.

Though the Sabres did not have a stellar regular season and finished with the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, they defeated the Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs en route to a best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Dallas Stars.

"[46] The following season, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced that video replays would no longer be used to judge if players are in the crease or not, and that it would be a judgment call by the officiating crew.

During his first season with Detroit, Hašek posted a career-high 41 wins with just 15 losses,[51] helping the Red Wings earn the President's Trophy with the league's best record.

In the playoffs, he led the Wings past the Vancouver Canucks, the St. Louis Blues, the Colorado Avalanche and eventually the Carolina Hurricanes in the finals to win the Stanley Cup.

This created a difficult situation for the Red Wings, who had two years left on Curtis Joseph's three-year $24 million contract, which had a no-trade clause.

[58] After his contract with the Red Wings expired,[59] Hašek announced his intention to play for a Stanley Cup contender, and specifically named the Ottawa Senators as a possibility.

Similar to the tour Wayne Gretzky and IMG formed during the 1994–95 NHL lockout, the Primus Worldstars Tour ran 7–23 December, playing in seven different countries (Riga, Latvia; Moscow and St Petersburg, Russia; Bratislava, Slovakia; Bern, Switzerland; Karlstad, Jönköping and Linköping, Sweden; Oslo, Norway; Katowice, Poland) in ten scheduled games.

At the Winter Olympics, he injured his right adductor muscle while making a save in the first qualifying match against Germany, forcing him to leave the game after only 9 minutes and 25 seconds.

[81] On 25 May 2012, Czech sport website Deniksport reported that Hašek was considering a return to the NHL, possibly with the Red Wings or Tampa Bay Lightning.

Against Team Canada in the semifinals, Hašek stopped Theoren Fleury, Ray Bourque, Joe Nieuwendyk, Eric Lindros and Brendan Shanahan in a dramatic shootout win.

When I saw the flag go up, I saw my whole career flash before my eyes from the first time my parents took me to a game until now.His play made him one of the most popular figures in the Czech Republic, so much so that residents chanted "Hašek to the castle!"

[88] He also helped to inspire an opera (titled Nagano) about the Czech team's gold medal victory,[89] and in 2003, Petr Pravec and Lenka Šarounová named an asteroid (8217 Dominikhašek) in his honour.

Dominika is the lead singer of the electro-pop band We Are Domi, which represented the Czech Republic in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022, finishing in 22nd place.

[104] His brother Martin is also a competitive athlete and played for the Czech Republic football team AC Sparta Prague before retiring and eventually deciding to coach.

Hobby-wise, Hašek claims that he has been a fan of professional wrestling since his Buffalo days, and says that he mostly follows his favorite wrestlers, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Don "The Rock" Muraco.

When Babiš visited Ivan Hlinka Stadion in Litvínov to discuss renovations to the arena, Hašek wrote on his Twitter account that he did "not want the Czech national sport to be stained by your name.

"[120][121] In 2020, after Trump suggested a Buffalo man injured by police could be an "ANTIFA provocateur" for the George Floyd protests, Hašek called his words "disgusting" and accused Republicans save for Senator Mitt Romney of "hiding like rats.

"[125] He has also visited Ukrainian cities following their liberation from occupation like Irpin and Bucha, and is an "honorary Fella" of pro-Ukrainian social media movement NAFO.

[132] Hašek's lawyer Pavel Jelínek announced in a statement that media reports about the incident were exaggerated, with Šíla not having sustained any documented injuries.

[note 1][citation needed] In nine seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, Hašek acquired over 25 franchise records, including most all-time games played, wins, shutouts and lowest goals against average.

The opposing goaltender was Martin Brodeur, then a rookie, who made 49 saves before being beaten by Dave Hannan, and the Sabres beat New Jersey 1–0, helping them to tie the series 3–3 in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.