Gifts for Buffalo Sabres fans, now that the drought is over
Sep
Gifts for Buffalo Sabres fans, now that the drought is over
For fourteen years, buying a gift for a Sabres fan meant buying something they’d look at and sigh. That’s done.
Last season the Sabres went 50-23-9 for 109 points, won the Atlantic Division, and finished second in the Eastern Conference. They put Boston out 4-2 in the first round and reached the second round for the first time since 2007. Then Alex Newhook scored in overtime of Game 7 and Montreal moved on. It stung, but nobody in this town is calling that season a failure. The general manager was fired on December 15 with the team sitting at 14-14-4, and what followed was a 32-6-2 run, the best 40-game stretch any NHL team has put together since 1996.
So the fan you’re shopping for is walking into this season with actual expectations. That changes what you should get them.
Why a can candle instead of another jersey
The person you’re buying for already owns the jersey. Probably two. They have the hat, the flag in the garage, the pint glass they never use because it’s the good one.
What they don’t have is something on the shelf that reads as Buffalo without being another piece of apparel. That’s the gap these fill. Each one is a real Labatt Blue or Labatt Blue Light Sabres can, cut down and hand-poured with soy wax. Not a printed replica. An actual can that somebody drank out of at some point, kept, and turned into something useful.
They’re $19.99 each. They live on a mantel or a desk in July as easily as in January.
The six Sabres candles
All six use real upcycled cans and 100% American-grown soy wax, poured by hand just outside Buffalo. Each holds 9 to 11 oz and burns 45+ hours. You choose the scent on every one.
Labatt Blue 2017 Sabres can
Labatt Blue 2017 NHL Buffalo Sabres Beer Can Soy Wax Candle
The 2017 run of Sabres cans is getting hard to find. Blue and gold with the crossed-swords crest, in the classic Labatt Blue navy. Good pick for the fan who has been watching long enough to remember what these cans looked like on the shelf at Consumer’s.
Labatt Blue Light 2017 Sabres can
Labatt Blue Light 2017 NHL Buffalo Sabres Beer Can Soy Wax Candle
Same year, the white-and-silver Blue Light version. If you’re buying two candles to sit side by side, the Blue and Blue Light pair from the same year is the one that looks intentional rather than random.
Labatt Blue 2022 Sabres can
Labatt Blue 2022 NHL Buffalo Sabres Beer Can Soy Wax Candle
Deep navy, gold accents, the Sabres logo front and center. This is the safe choice when you don’t know which era of Sabres branding your person is attached to. It reads as Sabres from across the room.
Labatt Blue Light 2022 Sabres can
Labatt Blue Light 2022 NHL Buffalo Sabres Beer Can Soy Wax Candle
The lighter counterpart to the 2022 Blue. Shows up better against a dark shelf or a wood mantel, if that matters to the person receiving it.
Labatt Blue 2024 goat head can
Labatt Blue 2024 NHL Buffalo Sabres Goat Head Beer Can Soy Wax Candle
Black can, red trim, goat head. If your fan has strong feelings about the goat head, they have strong positive feelings, and this is the one they want. It also looks the least like a beer can of the six, which is worth knowing if it’s going somewhere visible.
Labatt Blue Light 2024 goat head can
Labatt Blue Light 2024 NHL Buffalo Sabres Goat Head Beer Can Soy Wax Candle
White can, red and black trim, same goat head. The white version photographs better, for whatever that’s worth to the person who’s going to put it on Instagram the night they open it.
Want to see all six together? They’re all on the Buffalo Sabres candles page.
Picking a scent
Every Sabres can comes with a scent dropdown, and this is where people freeze up. A few notes to make it easier.
Beer is the obvious one, and it works better than it sounds. It’s not sharp. If the gift is a joke between the two of you, take it.
Timmy Ho’s is the one people in WNY react to. Coffee, and specific enough that it lands.
Buffalo Christmas is worth it if the candle is a December gift and you want it tied to the season.
Unscented is not a cop-out. Some people want the can as an object and don’t want their living room smelling like anything. If you genuinely don’t know their preference, unscented is the choice that can’t be wrong.
There are around fifteen options total, including Vanilla, Bourbon, Snickerdoodle Cookies, Hot Cinnamon, and Monkey Farts, which is exactly what a nine-year-old would pick and is more popular than you’d guess.
What you’re actually getting
Each candle is a real upcycled can, 9 to 11 oz of 100% American-grown soy wax, with a 45+ hour burn. Poured by hand outside Buffalo, not mass-produced overseas.
Orders ship within 5 to 7 business days because each one is poured after you order it.
Shipping is free over $39. Two candles at $19.99 comes to $39.98, which clears it. If you were already thinking about a Blue and Blue Light pair, that math works in your favor.
Who these actually work for
The Buffalo expat is the strongest case. Somebody who moved to Charlotte or Austin and still gets up at odd hours to watch. A candle made from a can they can’t buy where they live now hits differently than a jersey they could order from anywhere.
Home opener gifts are the other good fit. Season-start energy is high right now, and this is a small thing that marks the occasion without being another t-shirt.
For a housewarming, the can candle does something a framed print can’t. It’s Buffalo, it’s useful, and it doesn’t require the person to have wall space.
And if you’re buying for a group, six different cans means six people can each get one without anybody getting a duplicate.
Common questions
Are these official NHL or Labatt products?
No. 716 Candle Co. is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the NHL, the Buffalo Sabres, or Labatt. These are genuine cans that have been upcycled into candles independently.
Can I choose the scent?
Yes, on all six. The dropdown is on each product page.
How long do they burn?
45+ hours.
How fast do they ship?
Within 5 to 7 business days. Each candle is poured after the order comes in.
What if the person I’m buying for doesn’t drink beer?
Get the unscented version. Plenty of these go to people who want the can as a Sabres object and have no interest in the beer. The 2024 goat head cans in particular read more as team merchandise than as beer packaging.
Is there a discount for buying more than one?
Shipping is free at $39, which two candles clears.
One more thing
Last season ended with a puck in the net in overtime of Game 7. That’s a hard way to go out, and it’s also the reason the fan in your life is more interested in this season than they’ve been in a decade and a half.
Shop the Buffalo Sabres candles
