Top 5 greatest forwards of all-time on the Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres have had some of the greatest forwards in the history of the NHL. Here are the top five of all-time, plus some honorable mentions.

The Buffalo Sabres have had so many top-scoring forwards that I could write several articles depicting the storied careers of each. But for the purposes of today’s article, only the top five forwards in the team’s history with an additional five honorable mentions will be discussed.

And while the Sabres saw some outstanding forwards in their early days, the top five actually outline each era in team history. So you will find players from the team’s earliest days, all up until the 21st century. But before we dive into the top five, let’s outline those who just missed the cut.

The greatest forwards in Buffalo Sabres history: Honorable Mentions

Jason Pominville

Pominville was one of the better two-way forwards for the Buffalo Sabres. He played for the franchise until the middle of the 2012-13 season and scored 521 points, 217 goals, and 304 assists in 733 games. Pominville also represented the Sabres in the 2012 NHL All-Star Game.

Pat LaFontaine

A Hockey Hall of Famer, LaFontaine played just six seasons in Buffalo, but he put up an astounding 385 points in 268 games. He scored 158 goals and logged 227 assists between 1991-92 and 1996-97. He received Second Team All-Star honors in 1992-93, and also represented the Sabres in the 1993 All-Star Game.

Miroslav Satan

Satan spent the first year-and-a-half of his career with the Edmonton Oilers before he shifted to the Buffalo Sabres for eight seasons. During his time in Buffalo, Satan scored 456 points in 578 games, including 224 goals and 232 assists. He appeared in both the 2000 and 2003 All-Star Games.

Danny Gare

Gare took third place for the Calder and he often played second-fiddle to the French Connection. But he was a great player in his own right, spending eight seasons with the Buffalo Sabres and scoring 500 points in 503 contests, including 267 goals in 233 games. He earned a spot on as a Second Teamer on the NHL All-Star Team, and played in both the 1980 and 1981 All-Star Games.

Craig Ramsay

Ramsay spent 14 seasons with the Sabres and like Pominville, he was a well-known defensive forward. He contended for the Selke on a regular basis, finally winning the award in 1984-85 at age 33. However, he also featured a fair scoring prowess, with 672 points, 252 goals, and 420 assists in 1,070 games.

Thomas Vanek

Career Statistics With the Buffalo Sabres

598 games, 497 points, 254 goals, 243 assists, 15.1 shooting percentage

Though one of the youngest players in the NHL at the time, Vanek was a key staple in the Sabres deep playoff runs in 2006 and 2007. He broke out in 2007 with 84 points, 43 goals, and 41 assists, en route to Second Team NHL All-Star honors and a 14th place finish for the Selke.

But Vanek was more than just a savvy scorer during his time in the Queen City. When you needed to call on someone to find twine during a shootout, you could always count on Vanek’s slapshot. Most pundits say his “Around the World” shootout goal against Ottawa from February 2006 was his most notable.

How much did Vanek mean to the Sabres? Let’s just say they made the playoffs in 2010-11 with him on the team before embarking on an 11-plus season playoff drought. And while the Sabres were pretty much in the happy to be there category, it was Vanek who got them there when he scored on a breakaway against the Philadelphia Flyers in April 2011.

Vanek also achieved several interesting milestones with the Sabres. He scored the franchise’s 10,000th goal on December 13th, 2008. He also scored four consecutive natural hat tricks, the fourth of which came in February 2009. Vanek was the first player in NHL history to accomplish the feat since Cy Denneny in 1923-24.

Article Source: Sabres History: Thomas Vanek’s Greatest Moments in Buffalo by Joe Sciera 

Rene Robert

Career Statistics With the Buffalo Sabres

524 games, 552 points, 222 goals, 330 assists, 12.7 shooting percentage

Of course, no one can snag the top-three spot apart from the legendary French Connection. And while Robert did not have quite the same accolades as his line mates, he still haunted opponents for eight seasons. He also outscored Rick Martin, knocking down 1.05 points per game over Martin’s 1.02, showing that he was every bit as an effective part of the French Connection.

Also unlike Martin and Gilbert Perreault, Robert had a rather unorthodox path to the Buffalo Sabres, bouncing around the NHL, to the WHL, and back to the NHL. The Sabres claimed Robert on June 8th, 1971 in the Intra-League Draft before the Penguins stepped in and staked their claim. However, on March 4th, 1972, the Penguins sent Robert to the Sabres and the rest was history.

As of 2022, Robert ranks fifth in franchise history in assists, sixth in points, and ninth in goals. He also recorded the first 100-point season in Buffalo Sabres history when he scored 40 goals and 60 assists, which helped lead the team to its first ever trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

Best known for his collected nature in the clutch, Robert was the go-to man in the playoffs, having notched 39 points, 22 goals, and 17 assists. The most famous of which occurred during the Fog Game in the 1975 Stanley Cup Final.

Article Source: Rene Robert, Sabres ‘French Connection’ right winger, dies at 72 by Mike Harrington

Rick Martin

Career Statistics With the Buffalo Sabres

681 games, 695 points, 382 goals, 313 assists, 15.2 shooting percentage

When the Buffalo Sabres drafted Rick Martin in 1971, they were still by all means an expansion team. But given Gilbert Perreault’s success despite the disadvantage of playing for a new franchise, expectations were rather high for Martin, and he exceeded them easily.

His slapshot was always on display, so much, that pundits like Warren Shaw of The Bleacher Report stated back in 2011 that Martin could probably have stepped into the 2010s and hung with the best of them. And for those who saw Martin play, either live or in video archives, you would probably agree with that sentiment.

Besides his lethal slapshot, hardly a soul had a more accurate wrist shot in the game. And while he could be one to spread the puck around, Martin called his number on numerous occasions, which directly contributed to his sheer number of goals scored with the franchise – 0.549 goals per game, to be exact.

An elite skater, Martin played with finesse, but he loved roughing things up when the situation called for it. Never a pleasant opponent to play against, Martin was known to let grudges continue long past an initial game or two. And those grudges weren’t just limited to opposing players; opposing coaches were also known to get into it with Martin.

He was the classic score on you, intimidate you, then laugh at you kind of player. And it made him revered in Buffalo and looked on elsewhere with fear and respect regardless of the opponent. Talk about a player who had the ability of an elite scorer yet the mentality of a grinder. Few players can emulate that.

Article Source: Rick Martin, Buffalo Sabres Great, Will Be Missed by Warren Shaw

Gilbert Perreault

Career Statistics with the Buffalo Sabres

1,191 games, 1,326 points, 512 goals, 814 assists, 16.6 shooting percentage

Let’s face it. When you clicked through to read this article, you were probably only interested in #5 through #2 because you already knew who the top forward was going to be. There will probably never be another Gilbert Perreault on the Buffalo Sabres. I will never say never. But if there is, odds are, they would go down as the best player in NHL history, because few were better than Perreault.

Scott Weldon of The Bleacher Report famously stated in July 2009 that Perreault played faster than Mario Lemieux, and that is a ringing endorsement! He also likened Perreault’s puck handling to Guy Lafleur, but he also mentioned it was even better.

So why does he face a more obscure presence outside the Queen City, despite his place in the Hockey Hall of Fame? Perreault did everything except win a Stanley Cup, and that will most likely always keep him on the Second Tier in the eyes of many hockey fans. But Sabres fans know better – The guy is a Tier One player, Stanley Cup or no Stanley Cup. 

He played in 17 seasons, all with one team. How often do you see that happen? It’s a rare feat. He could have requested to go somewhere else and win a Cup. But he didn’t. You can’t help but respect players like Perreault. Regardless of what he accomplished on the ice, remaining with one team for 17 seasons is a stake few players can claim.

Not to mention he was the first overall pick for an expansion NHL team. The odds were already stacked against Perreault the second he entered the NHL. But he never backed down and he put together one of the greatest careers of any player of his era, and even of any player in the game’s 100-plus-year history.

Gilbert Perreault is the best forward in Buffalo Sabres history, he is the best skater in franchise history, and he is often regarded as the best player in team history. You don’t often see first overall picks from expansion franchises leave that kind of legacy.

Article Source: Gilbert Perreault: The Forgotten Frenchman by Scott Weldon

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)