Buffalo Sabres History: Who Wore It, Number 38
We continue our series about Buffalo Sabres history, with each day’s post highlighting a player to have worn the subsequent jersey number with the Buffalo Sabres. This series is not designed to say that any player is the ‘best’ to have worn that jersey number, but rather to allow fans to get a taste of the team’s history and learn more about some of the players in it.
Today, we look at jersey number 38, which has been worn by six players in Buffalo Sabres history, including Domenic Pittis.
Center Domenic Pittis didn’t begin his NHL career with the Sabres, but his time in the NHL did see play in two stints with Buffalo. Originally a 1993 2nd-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Calgary native began his NHL career with the Pens, playing one game in the 1996-97 season. He spent most of that season with the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the IHL.
The following season would see Pittis play with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch before moving to the Sabres organization for a few years.
During the 1998-99 season, Pittis spent 76 games with the Rochester Americans. He notched 38 goals and 66 assists for an impressive 104-point campaign. He also appeared in three games with the Sabres but failed to register a point.
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The following season saw Pittis once again largely in Rochester, where he scored 65 points (17-48) in 53 games. He played seven NHL games with the Sabres that season and notched his first NHL goal.
But that would be all for his first go-around with the Sabres organization. He was off to the Edmonton Oilers for two seasons, then spent the 2002-03 season with the Nashville Predators organization (AHL and NHL).
The 2003-04 season, however, saw Pittis return to the Sabres organization, but once again, it was mostly at the AHL level. He had 77 points (20-57) and 137 penalty minutes in 75 games with Rochester and had four penalty minutes in four games with the Sabres.
The 2004-05 NHL lockout marked the beginning of Pittis’ career overseas. He spent three seasons with Kloten of the Swiss-A league from 2004 until 2007, putting up 45, 31 and 51-point campaigns. He’d then play five seasons with Zurich, also of the Swiss-A league, staying there until 2012.
Other players to wear #38 for the Sabres: Nathan Paetsch, Barrie Moore, Jay McKee, Joel Savage, Adam Creighton