Martin Biron: Sample size – 103 AHL games, nine NHL games
I often call Marty Biron the “forgotten goaltender” since he’s sandwiched between Hasek and Ryan Miller, arguably the two best goaltenders in Buffalo Sabres history. And while 103 AHL games isn’t an incredibly small sample size, compare that to Ryan Miller’s 170 games or even Comrie’s 207.
Biron ended up starting half the time for the Sabres in 1999-00, when he saw action in 41 games. He posted a 2.42 GAA, a 0.909 save percentage, and a 19-18-2 record. This came after Biron played in just nine games prior, three of which came during the 1995-96 season, with another six coming in 1998-99. In the latter, Biron logged a 2.14 GAA and a 0.917 save percentage.
But his 1-2-1 record in those six games played convinced the Sabres he could be their guy moving forward despite just making 112 combined NHL/AHL appearances.
Biron’s career numbers with the Sabres look like this: Career save percentage of .909, a 2.53 GAA, and a record of 134-115-29. Biron will never be remembered as a Buffalo Sabres great, but he was, at worst, a serviceable player who didn’t need a huge sample size to convince the Sabres he could at least play in up to 72 games in a single season.