Buffalo Sabres History: Who Wore It, Number 77

By Melissa Kania |

Buffalo Sabres fans who have been visiting Sabre Noise for some time may be familiar with our “Who Wore It” series. We started this several years ago, highlighting one player to have worn each jersey number with the Buffalo Sabres. This series doesn’t designate who is the “best” to have worn that number, but simply allows fans to learn a little more about the team’s history and the players in it.

We last discussed jersey number 76, a number which has been worn by two players in Buffalo Sabres history: Andrew Peters and Wayne Primeau.

Today, we charge ahead on to jersey number 77, which has also been worn by two players in Buffalo Sabres history.

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Those two players: Pierre Turgeon and Chris Gratton.

Turgeon is a special player in Buffalo Sabres history; aside from Gilbert Perreault, he’s the only Sabres player to be selected first overall in the NHL Draft.

Turgeon was selected by the Sabres in 1987. He would go on to play a storied NHL career, over 1300 games total, including parts of five seasons with the Buffalo Sabres.

Turgeon began his NHL career with Buffalo in 1987, the season after his draft. As a rookie, he put up a respectable 42 points (14-28) in 76 regular season games. His offensive production continued in the playoffs, as he put up an additional seven points (4-3) in just six games.

His second season with the Buffalo Sabres was even better. As an NHL sophomore, Turgeon put up 88 points, including 54 assists, in just 80 games, averaging more than a point per game. In the playoffs, he kept it up, scoring eight points (3-5) in just five games.

Turgeon’s third year with the Buffalo Sabres (1989-90) would be even greater. He’d reach – and surpass – the 100-point mark, putting up 66 assists and potting 40 goals for 106 points in 80 regular season games. Those were new career-highs for him, and would remain such for some years to follow.

Turgeon continued playing with the Sabres until eight games into the 1991-92 season; then it was off to the New York Islanders, where he’d spent the next three and a half years. It was with the Islanders that Turgeon had his career-best season. In 1992-93, he put up 132 points in 83 games, including a career-high 58 goals and 74 assists. (And yes, 83 games is correct – the season in total had 84.) He also won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy that season.

After the Islanders, it was off to his native Quebec to spend some time with the Montreal Canadiens. Then it was time to head west with the St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche. Turgeon’s last playing season in the NHL was 2006-07.

In all, Turgeon appeared in 1,294 regular season NHL games in his career, putting up 1,327 points in that time. He also added 97 points in 109 playoff games throughout his career.

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