Who are the Sabres top five leaders of all-time in single-season penalty minutes?
You don’t often see players accumulate over 300 penalty minutes in the NHL these days, but the Sabres have had plenty of them throughout their history.
The Buffalo Sabres have had five players reach the 300-minute barrier in penalty minutes throughout their existence, and this is mainly thanks to their willingness to fight. One of those players was Gord Donnelly, who received 305 penalties in minutes during the 1991-92 season, but he barely missed the cut on this list, finishing sixth all-time in team history.
Two of his teammates who made the list did so because of the number of minutes in the box they racked up in that same season. Ironically, those players rank No. 5 and No. 1 on this list, so without making you wait any longer, let’s dive into who those players are and just how much time they spent in the sin bin during their record-breaking seasons…in penalty minutes, that is.
Brad May, 1991-92
Brad May’s game-winning goal to sweep the Bruins was his most iconic moment as a Sabre, and you can argue it was one of the most iconic in NHL playoff history. But May also made a name for himself by getting into 13 fights during his rookie campaign in 1991-92.
This resulted in 309 penalty minutes that season, and that number ranks fifth all-time in the Blue and Gold’s history. May also would have made this list had we conducted a top-10, as he also accumulated 295 penalty minutes for the 1995-96 season.
Mike Hartman, 1988-89
In each of his three full seasons with the Sabres, Mike Hartman logged at least 200 penalty minutes, but he busted through the 300-minute barrier in 1988-89 with 316. While he never broke through 300 minutes again, Hartman logged 264 in 1991-92 following a trade to the Winnipeg Jets.
Hartman wasn’t exactly a relevant player following his lone full season in Winnipeg, as he ended up with and played in 58 games for the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992-93 before moving on and playing in 39 games for the New York Rangers, with 35 of those contests coming in their Stanley Cup-winning 1993-94 season.
Matthew Barnaby, 1995-96
Matthew Barnaby nearly hit the 250-minute barrier in 1996-97, and he almost hit 300 in 1997-98, but if you flashback to 1995-96, he shattered 300 minutes with 335 and led the league that season. Having played in 73 games that year, Barnaby averaged 4.58 penalty minutes per game, averaging to nearly one fight per game from a time spent in the box standpoint.
But in a twist of fate, he put up some decent points production that season, with 31 points and 15 goals across 73 games. When he logged 249 penalties in minutes the following year, Barnaby enjoyed a career-best 43 points and 19 goals. As for penalty minutes, Barnaby would lead the league again in 2000-01 with 265 while playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Rob Ray, 1990-91, 1991-92
Few players like Rob Ray exist in today’s game, and I’m sure many of you thought he’d have a few more seasons tacked onto this list. If we were making a top 10, he would have seen another two campaigns - 1995-96 and 1996-97 when he received 287 and 286 minutes in the penalty box, respectively.
But Ray didn’t just reach the 300-minute barrier in 1990-91 and 1991-92; he broke through it with a respective 350 and 354 minutes. Ray was arguably the most prolific fighter in Buffalo Sabres history, and it’s why he received 3,189 minutes for the Blue and Gold (and Red and Black).
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(Statistics powered by Hockey-Reference)