The Buffalo Sabres are in their 56th season and have a storied history. The club has 15 players who have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and many others who deserve recognition. Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at players in Sabres history by their jersey number, ranking the top three players to wear that particular number. 

The top three who wore #31 in team history are: Daren Puppa, Grant Fuhr, and Steve Shields

Puppa was a mid-round selection in 1983, who had an excellent college career at RPI and started to make an impact in 1988-89. He enabled the Sabres to trade Tom Barrasso to Pittsburgh, but after three seasons as a tandem starter, he was traded along with Dave Andreychuk for Fuhr. The Stanley Cup-winning goalie had the misfortune of joining the Sabres at the same time that they added a goalie named Dominik Hasek from Chicago, and after two seasons, he was dealt to Los Angeles. Shields stepped in for the injured Hasek in the 1997 playoffs, winning over Ottawa in seven games. He was also famously dropped the gloves with Philadelphia’s Garth Snow in the second round series.  

Follow Michael on X, Instagram @MikeInBuffalo