The Buffalo Sabres have quite a few elite centermen throughout their historic and rich history in Western New York. To break it down to a list of the top three is a tough task, but it is abundantly clear as to who is No. 1.
Let's take a look.
Honorable mention: Tage Thompson on his way
Let's get one little side note out of the way. Tage Thompson is not on this list, but will be one day. The explosive center has shown an elite skill and offensive prowess, and it's possible each of the names below is going to be moved down a tick once No. 72 is done playing.
There is also a chance that Thompson will be a highly ranked named on the all-time goal scoring list.
3. Don LuceÂ
In third, it is Don Luce, who was a fantastic centerman in the 1970s. He played for five teams throughout his 13-year career, but the only team that he really dazzled was with the Sabres.
In a decade, he played in 766 games, scoring 216 goals and adding 310 assists for 526 points. The Sabres made the playoffs seven times in that span, and he was a direct contributor with 36 points in 62 postseason games.
2. Pat LaFontaine
One of the most electrifying and exciting players to watch in NHL history, Pat LaFontaine put a serious mark on the Sabres history books in his six seasons. He set a single-season point plateau of 148 points in 1992-93, which included an assist record for a single season of 95. He finished third in the Hart Trophy vote that season, losing to Pittsburgh Penguins legend, Mario Lemieux.
It would be remiss not to include him on this list of all-time great centers for the Sabres. There is a case to be made that he is also one of the greats for the New York Islanders as well, as his unprecedented legacy was established there.
1. Gilbert PerreaultÂ
One of the best players in franchise history, center or not, is Gilbert Perreault. He holds a number of records on the Sabres leaderboard, including games played, goals, assists, and points. His career-tallies are 512 goals, 814 assists for 1326 points, and spanned his entire 17-year career in Buffalo.
Perreault is one of eight players with their jersey hanging in the rafters of the KeyBank Center, and for good reason. There are a select few members of this organization that could be considered on their Mount Rushmore, with Ryan Miller, Dominik Hasek, and LaFontaine deservingly up there. Perreault is the fourth face, and he should be front and center.
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