Buffalo Sabres: Top 10 scorers in franchise history

The Buffalo Sabres have a rich history full of phenomenal talent. So who are the top 10 scorers in team history? Keep reading to find out.

The Buffalo Sabres fell on some rough times throughout he 2010s and into the 2020s. But they have had their moments as a franchise. Literally since they drafted Gilbert Perreault first overall in 1970.

Perreault and countless other Sabres have given fans entire seasons to remember. Especially when he and the famed French Connection took the ice and became legends in the sport.

All of the scorers below will always remain in the Buffalo Sabres history books, given their contributions to the franchise. And you may know each of them best for their scoring prowess. Not all of them are or will be Hall of Famers. You may not even refer to everyone on this list as great players.

But they were the ten best scorers in team history. All the way from Jason Pominville listed below to the top name on this list. So who are the top scorers in Buffalo Sabres history? Keep reading to find out.

Top scorers in Buffalo Sabres history #10:  Jason Pominville

Pominville was a staple for the Buffalo Sabres organization from 2005-06 until his departure during the 2012-13 season. Over his 733 games in Buffalo, he scored 217 goals and logged 304 assists, good for 521 points, and 0.71 points per game.

During the historic 2006-07 season, Pominville was the second-best scorer on the team, totaling 80 points and leading the team with 53 assists. He also scored 27 goals that season.

Pominville followed up his success as a member of the Minnesota Wild for five seasons, scoring 206 points in 327 games, remaining a moderately productive player as his career reached twilight status.

Scoring-wise, Pominville tallied two career hat tricks and two Three-Star Awards. He also played in the 2012 NHL All-Star Game, and was a regular contender for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy from 2007-08 until his final season in 2018-19.

Miroslav Satan

Satan finished his career with the Buffalo Sabres in 2004. During his time in Buffalo, he scored 456 points, 224 goals, and 232 assists. He also had a solid 14.4 shooting percentage in that timeframe. And as a member of the Sabres, he earned two appearances in the NHL All-Star Game.

Satan was an integral part of the legendary 1998-99 Sabres team that earned a trip to the Stanley Cup Final. That season, he tallied an astounding 19.2 shooting percentage on his way scoring a career-high 40 goals, leading the franchise in goals and points (66).

He eventually left the Sabres to continue his career as a member of the New York Islanders. Following his stint in Buffalo, Satan continued playing at a high level when he joined the Pittsburgh Penguins for their championship season in 2008-09, before he rounded out his career with the Boston Bruins.

Mike Foligno

Before joining the Buffalo Sabres, Foligno began his career with the Detroit Red Wings. In Detroit, he finished second for the Calder Memorial Trophy following his rookie season in 1979-80.

However, he is best remembered during his time in Buffalo, where he spent 11 seasons. Between 1981-82 and 1990-91, Foligno scored 511 points in 664 games. He enjoyed an exceptional season in 1985-86, with a career-high 41 goals and 80 points. Foligno also logged an 18.5 shooting percentage.

He also landed in three All-Star Games between 1980 and 1982. Following his stint in Buffalo, Foligno spent time with the Toronto Maple Leafs before he rounded out his career with the expansion Florida Panthers in 1993-94. A career journeyman, the most memorable portions of Foligno’s career came with the Sabres.

Craig Ramsay

Ramsay is one of the rare players on this list to have spent his entire career with the Buffalo Sabres. Over his 14-year career, he played in 1,070 games, logging 672 points. Ramsay was also one of those scorers that proved efficacy in the scoring department does not always mean one had to score hordes of points.

In fact, Ramsay never scored over 71 points in a single season, and he played second-fiddle to the famed French Connection. However, his shooting percentage was something of legend. Three times throughout his 14-season career, Ramsay broke the 20-percent barrier.

One of the most durable players in Sabres history, Ramsay led the league in games played on five occasions. He also earned a trip to the 1976 All-Star Game, and won the Frank J. Selke Trophy for his defensive skills. Overall, he was arguably the best player on the team after the French Connection’s Perreault, Robert, and Rick Martin.

Thomas Vanek

The Buffalo Sabres faithful have not had much to cheer over in the last decade-and-half. But Thomas Vanek was one of those few players they could get behind. Following a nine-season stint in Buffalo, he became a journeyman, but not before he logged 497 points in 598 games with the Sabres.

During his time in Buffalo, Vanek also earned a trip to the 2009 All-Star Game and he enjoyed NHL All-Star honors for the 2006-07 season. He tallied his best season that year, finishing with 84 points and 43 goals. He also recorded an 18.1 shooting percentage, the second-best tally of his career.

Vanek left Buffalo for the New York Islanders during the 2013-14 season. He was also a member of the Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks, and Columbus Blue Jackets. But, most NHL fans remember him for his time with the Sabres.

Danny Gare

Gare’s career started off with a bang when he finished in third place for the Calder Memorial Trophy following the Buffalo Sabres memorable 1974-75 season. That year, he scored 62 points, 31 goals, and 31 assists.

His best outing did not come until 1979-80, when he scored 89 points and a career-high 56 goals. Gare also notched a career-high 20.7 shooting percentage, and 11 game-winning goals. That season, he earned NHL All-Star Team honors and he also played in the 1980 NHL All-Star Game.

Gare earned another trip to the All-Star Game in 1981, his last full season in Buffalo. Following his memorable career with the Sabres, Gare also went on to play for the Detroit Red Wings and Edmonton Oilers, where he had 1.5 moderately productive seasons in the Motor City.

Dave Andreychuk

Andreychuk spent 10.5 seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, and he is a curious case, as his best season came in 1992-93 as a member of both the Sabres and the Toronto Maple Leafs. His best year spent exclusively with the Sabres occurred in 1991-92, in which he logged 91 points.

He also had 28 power play goals, a career-high at the time before he scored 32 of them the following season. And while Andreychuk did not have his most productive seasons earlier in his career, he recorded a shooting percentage of 20 percent or better in his first three seasons, the best of which came in 1983-84.

That year, he scored 80 points, 38 of which were goals. However, the All-Star Games didn’t come until 1990 and 1994, the latter of which occurred when he was with the Maple Leafs. The Stanley Cup eluded Andreychuk until 2003-04, when he won his first and only title with the Tampa Bay Lightning at age 40.

Rick Martin

Other than four games with the Los Angeles Kings, Rick Martin spent his entire NHL career with the Buffalo Sabres. A member of the legendary French Connection that also featured Rene Robert and Gilbert Perreault, Martin logged 79 points or more on four occasions.

His shooting percentage with the Sabres never fell under 12 percent, and his career accolades are aplenty. During his career, Martin played in seven NHL All-Star Games and earned All-Star Team honors four times.

Martin’s most productive season occurred in 1974-75. Despite playing in just 68 games, he scored 95 points and 52 goals, for a career-high shooting percentage of 17.5. Like Perreault and Robert, Martin has had his number retired and he is a member of the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame.

Gilbert Perreault

They often claim to save the best for last, but the Sabres, through their history, enjoyed the best first. Gilbert Perreault isn’t just the best scorer in team history: He remains the best player in team history. 

And regardless of the talent on the Sabres roster at any given time, nobody will come close to Perreault’s production. He spent his entire career with the Sabres, with his best season coming in 1975-76 when he scored 113 points and 44 goals.

What makes Perreault so interesting is that goal scoring was not his strongest suit. Instead, he was far better with assists. For every goal scored, he had 1.58 assists, sometimes nearly doubling his number of assists per season as opposed to goals scored.

So not only was Perreault a lethal scorer, he was also a team player. The prototype NHL player that still rings true to this day. Perreault played in six All-Star Games and won the Calder Memorial Trophy following his rookie season.

He also won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1973 and earned NHL All-Star honors in 1976 and 1977. He is a member of both the Buffalo Sabres and Hockey Hall of Fame.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)