The Buffalo Sabres have had a lustrious history in the NHL. Players like Alexander Mogilny, Dominik Hasek, Gilbert Perreault, Pat Lafontaine, and others have brought fans to their feet, created electrifying moments, and left indelible marks.
Related: 5 Buffalo Sabres Whose Careers Were Injury-Shortened
Though the focus this offseason has been on the team’s roster moves, here’s a look back. Among the million “best of” lists, why not focus on players who don’t get the love they should? These are the 10 most underappreciated Buffalo Sabres of all time.
Honorable Mention
Everyone has their favorites, the players fans remember most fondly, and the teams that left the biggest mark on their lives. That said, these three names very nearly made the list of the most underrated.
Don Edwards (1976-1982)
Edwards played the best hockey of his career for the Sabres. His 38 wins in 1977-78 stood as the record until Dominik Hasek matched and later beat the mark (several times) during his dominant run in the 1990s. Edwards was the unsung workhorse of the Sabres during his time in Buffalo.
Jochen Hect (2002-2012)
The Sabres became a solid team around the time of the NHL lockout in 2004-05. Though he was overshadowed by teammates like Thomas Vanek, Chris Drury, and Jason Pominville, Hecht was a solid two-way player capable of 40 or more points regularly. Like the Sabres, however, he fell off after the 2010-11 season and called it a career after three years of playing in his home country of Germany.
Ric Seiling (1977-1986)
Seiling may not have been as talented as teammates Rick Martin, Rene Robert, and Gilbert Perreault, but his two-way contributions were key for the team in the late 1970s and 1980s. A consistent scorer around the 20-goal, 45-point mark, Seiling could play tough while being responsible at both ends.
The Most Underrated Buffalo Sabres Ever
Rank them as you will, but these players deserve more recognition for their contributions to the franchise throughout the years:
10.) Maxim Afinogenov (1999-2009)
Afinogenov was considered a longshot as a third-round pick in the 1997 NHL Draft. There was a stigma about Russian players, and it was uncertain what the team would be getting from the young Dynamo Moscow standout. Though he never seemed to reach his tremendous potential, he was one of the most electrifying Sabres of the 2000s.
Afinogenov’s speed made fans and pundits drool, but it wasn’t until the 2005-06 season that he broke out. With 73 points, he became what everyone had hoped for. Unfortunately, that was his peak as injuries and inconsistency led to a frustrating end to his Sabres tenure.
9.) Derek Roy (2003-2012)
The Sabres struck out hard with their first pick in the 2001 Draft (Jiri Novotny), but they hit a pair of home runs in the second round, landing Pominville and undersized center Derek Roy with two of their three picks in that round.
Roy came into his own after the 2004-05 lockout season, hitting the 81-point mark in 2007-08. At his peak, he was a 65-70-point player capable of playing on the top two lines. His skating and offensive ability were underrated, and he tends to be forgotten because he bounced around for the last few years of his career.
8.) Martin Biron (1995-2006)
The Sabres were thinking of the future when they selected Martin Biron with the 16th overall pick in 1995. Hasek was the undisputed starter, but the hope was that Biron could take over when Hasek was past his prime. After three years with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL), Biron got his first real chance during 1999-2000.
Biron took the crease after Hasek was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in 2000-01, and he performed admirably during one of the darkest times in franchise history. He also served as the transitionary netminder between Hasek and Ryan Miller, putting him in a less than favorable position historically.
7.) Don Luce (1971-1981)
Luce was an afterthought by the time he arrived in Buffalo, having been traded twice during the 1971 season. Little did we know, he would become one of the most beloved players for the franchise over the next decade.
Luce was recognized for his penalty-killing and work ethic, topping out as a 70-point player during the Sabres’ Stanley Cup Final season in 1975. He became a consistent 60-point player, contributing in all situations. Luce is also fondly remembered for working in the front office, helping bring in players like Mogilny, Pominville, Brian Campbell, Afinogenov, Biron, and others.
6.) Miroslav Satan (1996-2004)
No one expected the trade for the 111th overall pick in 1993 to become anything big. Not only did it turn up one of the coolest names in hockey (pronounced Shuh-tan), it became one of the best deals in Sabres history, considering it only cost Barrie Moore and Craig Millar to acquire one of the Sabres’ greats.
Satan scored 40 goals in 1998-99 and remained a consistent 30-goal threat throughout his career. He was a regular during the dark times of the early 2000s when the franchise struggled on the ice and at the box office. It would have been fun to see what he could do with the upstart Sabres of 2005-2007.
5.) Bill Hajt (1973-1987)
The sturdy 6-foot-3 defenseman was taken by the Sabres with the 33rd overall pick in the 1971 NHL Entry Draft and carved out a solid, if understated, career that would span 14 seasons with the Sabres.
Hajt was a stay-at-home defenseman in every sense of the word. His career-high in points (20) and goals (six, twice) don’t stand out but his presence in his own zone did. The year the Sabres went to the Stanley Cup Final, Hajt was a plus-46. Playing hard-nosed hockey was a prerequisite in the 1970s and 80s, and Hajt provided a reliable, physical presence on the Sabres’ back end.
4.) Dave Andreychuk (1982-1993)
How does a former first-round pick who spent 12 years with the team, scored 368 goals, and had 804 points fall into the underrated category? It basically summarizes Andreychuk’s career. The man scored 640 goals and racked up 1,338 points but is often unheralded.
Andreychuk was reliably consistent, as the Sabres were a largely decent team in the 1980s. Perreault was still around and producing, young superstar defenseman Phil Housley was putting up points, and the team didn’t begin to struggle until the latter part of the decade. More than anything, Andreychuk is remembered for putting up numbers despite bouncing around the league, but he was a steady presence for the organization.
3.) Danny Gare (1974-1982)
A second-round pick in 1974, no one could have predicted the impact Danny Gare would have. As a 20-year-old, Gare immediately established himself as one of the best-scoring wingers in the league. Aside from an injury-plagued third season that saw him score 11 goals, Gare scored no fewer than 31 in his first three seasons.
By year three, he was a 50-goal scorer. His peak came in 1979-80 when he tallied 56 goals and 89 points. Gare holds the record for most game-tying goals (21) and goals by a right winger (267) in franchise history, plus the fastest goal to start an NHL career (0:18 in his debut against the Boston Bruins). There have been longer and more successful tenures in Sabres history, but few scored as much as Gare did during his eight years in Buffalo.
2.) Jerry Korab (1973-1980)
Jerry Korab could be memorable for his nickname – King Kong – if nothing else. As it turns out, he was one of the most well-rounded defensemen of the 1970s, capable of doing just about anything for an exciting, young Sabres team.
Despite racking up more than 100 penalty minutes in four seasons as a Sabre, Korab also hit double-digits in goals four times as well. A 40-50-point defender who could go toe-to-toe with the meanest, Korab was a pillar during the successful early years of the franchise.
1.) Craig Ramsay (1971-1985)
Though he and defenseman Mike Ramsey were often confused for siblings, Craig flew under the radar as one of the best two-way forwards in the game. He scored in the 20-30 goal and 60–70-point range during the latter half of the 1970s, quietly anchoring the middle of the Sabres lineup.
It took until the final season of his career for Ramsay to earn recognition. He was awarded the Frank J. Selke Award as the best defensive forward in the NHL. After 14 years, 672 points, and eight consecutive 20-goal seasons, Ramsay would likely be #1 if this were a ranked list.
