The Buffalo Sabres came into the National Hockey League for
the 1970-71 season along with the Vancouver Canucks, expanding the league to
fourteen teams. The Sabres made an immediate splash by selecting GilbertPerreault first overall at the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. Perreault would lead the
team for close to two decades. What follows are the five Buffalo Sabres players
that have achieved the 100 point plateau in a single season.
Rene Robert
Rene Robert was the first Buffalo player to total 100 points
in a season. In 1974-75, Robert scored 40 goals and assisted on 60 for exactly
100 points in 74 games. Rene finished seventh in the race for the Art Ross
Trophy. It was Robert’s fourth of eight seasons with the Sabres. He played in
the NHL from 1970-71 to 1981-82 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh
Penguins, Buffalo and the Colorado Rockies. It was the only time Robert
achieved the 100 point plateau during his NHL career.
Gilbert Perreault
Gilbert Perreault was the next player to accomplish the
feat. He had 113 points in 1975-76 and 106 points in 1979-80. In the first
year, he scored 44 goals and assisted on 69 in 80 games, finishing third in the
league. In 1979-80, he finished with 106
points on 40 goals and 66 assists in 80 games, landing in fourth spot in the
league.
Perreault was the first overall pick in 1970. He played
seventeen seasons with the Sabres from 1970-71 to 1986-87. Buffalo was the only
National Hockey League team Gilbert would ever play for.
Pierre Turgeon
Pierre Turgeon totalled 106 points in 1989-90 on 40 goals
and 66 assists in 80 games, identical numbers to Gilbert Perreault in 1979-80.
Turgeon finished seventh in the NHL in what was his third of five seasons with
the Sabres. Like Perreault, Turgeon was the first overall pick of the Sabres at
the 1987 NHL Entry Draft.
Pierre played in the NHL from 1987-88 to 2006-07. His
performance in 1989-90 was his first of two 100 points seasons in the NHL. In
1992-93, he accumulated 132 with the New York Islanders.
Alexander Mogilny
Alexander Mogilny reached 127 points in 1992-93, largely due
to his incredible 76 goal performance. Mogilny added 51 assists in 77 regular
season games to finish seventh in the race for the Art Ross
Trophy. It was Alex’s fourth of six years with the Sabres after being a
fifth round pick of the club in 1988.
Mogilny played in the NHL from 1989-90 to 2005-06 with the
Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs and New Jersey Devils. 1992-93
was his first of two 100 point seasons. He totalled 107 with the Canucks in
1995-96.
Pat Lafontaine
Pat Lafontaine was also a 100+ point man in 1992-93 for the
Sabres. Lafontaine set the current Buffalo record for points in a season with
148 on 53 goals and 95 assists in 84 games. He finished second in the NHL,
twelve points behind Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was his
second of six seasons with the Sabres. Originally, he was the third overall
pick of the New York Islanders at the 1983 NHL Entry Draft.
For Lafontaine, it was his second of two 100+ points
seasons. He reached 105 with the Islanders in 1989-90. Pat played in the
National Hockey League from 1983-84 to 1997-98 with the Islanders, Sabres and
New York Rangers. In his final year of junior hockey , 1982-83, with Verdun of
the QMJHL, Pat scored an incredible 104 goals and assisted on another 130
assists for 234 points in 70 games.
