Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023-24 revision of our top 50 Buffalo Sabres.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Sabres were hoping to break their long playoff drought and play meaningful spring hockey but could not reach the postseason.  There were no new entrants and three elevations.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Dominik Hasek
2. Gilbert Perreault
3. Rick Martin
4. Ryan Miller
5. Mike Ramsey

You can find the entire list here.

Three-time Defenseman All-Star Rasmus Dahlin jumped from #34 to 26.

Left Wing Jeff Skinner, who is now with Edmonton, reached #35 from #44.

Forward Tage Thompson moved from #47 to #42.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our post 2022/23 revision of our top 50 Buffalo Sabres.

As for all of our top 50 players in basketball we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, Buffalo again failed to make the playoffs, but was still able to generate three new players on this list.

As always, we present our top five, which was not impacted by last season:

1. Dominik Hasek

2. Gilbert Perreault

3. Rick Martin

4. Ryan Miller

5. Mike Ramsey

You can find the entire list here.

Defenseman and two-time All-Star, Rasmus Dahlin, enters at #34.

Left Wing, Jeff Skinner, comes in at #44.

The third new entrant is Center, Tage Thompson, who debuts at #47.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Tage Thompson began his career in St. Louis, where the American played only one year before he was traded to Buffalo, and it appears that Thompson’s ascendence in recent years makes it appear that the Sabres won the trade.

Thompson’s first three years in the Sabres organization, though a lot of that time was spent in the AHL, and when he was with the parent club, the Center was mostly on lower lines.  This changed in 2021/22 when he broke out with a 68-Point year, and in the following season, Thompson went to another level, scoring 47 Goals and 94 Points, with a 14^th place finish in Hart voting.  Unfortunatly, Thompson regressed in 2023-24 with only 56 Points and likely played most of the season injured.

If Thompson regains his 2022-23 form, he will jump up in the standings.

A Carolina Hurricane for the first eight years of his career, Jeff Skinner was traded to the Sabres in the summer of 2018, and it was a mixed bag.

Skinner scored 63 Points in his first year in Western New York, but he saw less ice time over the next two years, and only had 37 Points in a combined 112 Games.  Skinner went back to the 63 Point mark in 2021/22 (noticeably the fourth time he finished a year with that total), and had a personal best of 82 in 2022-23.  He played one more year with the Sabres with his output droping to 46 Points.  Skinner's contract was bought out after the season, and he signed with the Edmonton Oilers. 

Overall, Skinner had 291 Points with Buffalo.

In 2018, Rasmus Dahlin became the second Swedish player (after Mats Sundin) to be drafted number one, and thus far for the Buffalo Sabres, it has proven to be a good match.

An excellent two-way Defenseman, Dahlin was an All-Rookie player in 2018/19, scoring 44 Points, which he followed up with 40 the year after.  Dahlin dipped to 23 Points in 2020-21 in the COVID-shortened year, but he found his touch again in 2021-22, scoring 53 Points, and going to his first All-Star Game.

In 2022/23, Dahlin broke out with 73 Points and a +12, and again was an All-Star.  Dahlin also earned Norris Trophy votes for the first time, finishing eighth, and he broke 50 Points again last year.

Should Dahlin stay with Buffalo, this man should be a top five player.

Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB.  Once that is done, we intend to look at how each team honor their past players, coaches and executives.  As such, it is news to us that Ryan Miller will be inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame and that his number 30 will also be retired during the 2022-23 season.

The Michigan-born Goalie played the first eleven seasons of his NHL career with the Sabres where he won the 2010 Vezina Trophy.  With an overall Sabres record of 284-186-57, Miller led Buffalo to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals (2006 & 2007).  He also was electric for the United States Olympic team in 2010, that won the Silver Medal.

Miller’s jersey retirement sees him join Tim Horton (#2), Rick Martin (#7), Gilbert Perreault (#11), Rene Robert (#12), Pat LaFontaine (#16, Danny Gare (#18) and Dominik Hasek (#39).  He will also become the 43^rd member of the Sabres Hall of Fame.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Ryan Miller for his impending honors.

Because of the sheer greatness of Dominik Hasek, Ryan Miller was never going to be the best Goalie in Sabres history.  That being said, we know that Miller was pretty damned good.

Miller joined the Sabres organization after three years at Michigan State, and in his fourth year of professional hockey, Miller became the primary netminder for Buffalo.  He kept his GAA well under three, and finished sixth in Vezina voting in 2006-07, but Miller would have a banner year in 2009-10.  That season, Miller led the NHL in Point Shares (16.8), winning the Vezina and was fourth in Hart Trophy voting.  Miller would also post career-highs in Wins (41), GAA (2.22) and Save Percentage (.929).  On top of everything, Miller was the prime Goalie for the United States in the Olympics, and while the Americans fell to Canada in the Gold Medal Game, it was widely believed that Miller was the best player of the tournament.

Miller could not match that year, but he remained a strong Goalie, later playing for St. Louis, Vancouver and Anaheim, finishing an 18-year career in 2021.  He played in 540 Games, and had a 284-186-57 Record with a 2.58 GAA.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  We have a new one to unveil today, that of the Buffalo Sabres. 

The Buffalo Sabres came into the NHL as part of the league’s expansion from 12 to 14 in 1970, and they quickly proved their worth.

On the strength of the "French Connection" line (Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin, and Rene Robert), the Sabres made it to the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals, though lost to Philadelphia.  Buffalo remained a good, though not necessarily great squad for years, and upon the emergence of Czech Goalie Dominic Hasek, made it to the Finals again in 1999, though a controversial call cost them the Cup against Dallas.

The Sabres have not been to the Finals since.

Our Top 50 lists in baseball look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories.

This list is updated up until the end of the 2020/21 Season.

The complete list can be found here, but as always, we announce our top five in this article.  They are:

1. Dominik Hasek

2. Gilbert Perreault

3. Rick Martin

4. Ryan Miller

5. Mike Ramsey

We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists.  

Look for our more material coming soon!

As always, we thank you for your support.

After six productive seasons with the Colorado Avalanche, Ryan O’Reilly was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in June of 2015.

From Russia, Dmitri Kalinin was a First Round Pick in 1998 and was a regular blueliner for the Sabres two years later.

It is not typical for a hockey player to have his best season as a rookie, especially for non-Goalies, but this is the case for Defenseman Tyler Myers.

From Finland, Christian Ruuttu was a late-round pick in the 1983 Draft, and three years later, he debuted in the NHL, finishing sixth in Calder voting with a 65-Point season.

Ruuttu’s second season saw the Center reaching career-highs with 26 Goals and 71 Points, and he was a surprise All-Star Selection.  Over the next two years, Ruuttu had an even 60 Points, though dropped to 50 and 25 in the years afterward.  The Finnish star was dealt to the Winnipeg Jets after, with 331 Points for Buffalo.

While Ruuttu’s numbers are higher than many of the Sabres above him, it can’t be discounted that it happened during the high-scoring era of the 80s and early 90s.

A product of Michigan State, Jason Woolley was already established as a decent NHL Defenseman with experience with Washington, Florida, Pittsburgh.  The Penguins shipped Woolley to Buffalo prior to the 1997-98 Season, and it was as a Sabre where the former Spartan was at his best.

Drafted in 1995, Martin Biron first made the Buffalo Sabres that year for three Games, but it would take another three seasons before he reached the parent club again.  The following season (1999-00), Biron was there to stay, and the Goalie quickly became a fan favorite.

After three years with the Boston Bruins, Quebec-born Center, Andre Savard joined the Buffalo Sabres in 1976, bringing another French Canadian to their roster.

After 37 games with the Vancouver Canucks, Mike Peca was traded to the Buffalo Sabres as part of the deal that sent Alexander Mogilny the other way.

In the 2013 Draft, Rasmus Ristolainen was a highly coveted prospect from Finland, and the Sabres agreed, as they captured him with the number eight pick.

A late Second Round Pick in 2001, Jason Pominville made the Sabres roster in 2005, where he would rise in the ranks to become one of Buffalo’s top forwards.

The New York Islanders took Tim Connolly, an American-born Center with the Fifth Overall Pick, in 1999.  Two years later, at the 2001 Draft, he was traded within the state to Buffalo for Michael Peca, and like the person he was traded for, injuries would come to define his career.