Former Buffalo first-rounders played over 2000 games
The 2023 Hockey Hall of Fame class will officially be inducted in Toronto on Monday, with former head coach Ken Hitchcock, former GM Pierre Lacroix, goaltenders Henrik Lundqvist and Mike Vernon, and Canadian four-time Olympic gold medal winner Caroline Ouellette, but the evening will have a decidedly Buffalo feel to it, as two former Sabres first-round picks, goaltender Tom Barrasso and center Pierre Turgeon will be inducted.
Barrasso was selected out of Acton-Boxboro HS fifth overall in 1983 by GM Scotty Bowman and had a rookie season for the ages, going 26-12-3, with a 2.85 GAA, and winning the Calder Trophy, Vezina Trophy, and was named to the NHL All-Rookie and First NHL All-Star teams, but that did not stop Bowman from demoting the youngster to the AHL early in his sophomore campaign.
"Scotty was a both positive and negative (influence). He sent me to the minors my second season in the league, probably two or three weeks into the season, coming off a rookie year and a very good Canada Cup." Barrasso said. "I'll always remember that and that always will bother (me). But having said that, to go back to the beginning. He's the guy that gave me the chance and if he doesn't give me the chance, none of it happens."
In his six seasons with Buffalo, Barrasso went 124-102-28, with a 3.29 GAA, before being traded to Pittsburgh in the 1988-89 season. He spent 12 seasons with the Penguins, where he won consecutive Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992, and went on to play for Carolina, Ottawa, Toronto, and St. Louis before retiring in 2003.
Turgeon was the first overall pick in the 1987 Draft and played four-plus seasons with the Sabres before being the main piece in the deal with the massive deal in 1991 with the New York Islanders that brought Pat Lafontaine to Buffalo. The Quebec native had difficulty adjusting to the NHL as an 18-year-old and the language barrier.
"You get to Buffalo, you can't even speak English, you're trying to communicate with your teammates, the coach is saying something you don't even understand what he's saying." Turgeon said, "Jacques Cloutier was one of (my teammates) that really helped to be there and help the situation with the team, so I was able to communicate during practice and when we had meetings."
Turgeon played nearly 1,300 games with the Sabres, Islanders, Montreal, St. Louis, Dallas, and Colorado before retiring in 2007 with 515 career goals and 1327 points.
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