5 random players you forgot were on the Buffalo Sabres

1. Jocelyn Thibault

It is easy to remember Thibault’s formative days with the Quebec/Colorado franchise, if only because he was part of what Montreal gained in exchange for Patrick Roy in December 1995.

His subsequent three-plus years with his hometown Habs and six full or partial seasons in Chicago were the meat of his resume. Granted, those were lean years for the two Original Six franchises, who never won a playoff round in that stretch.

But Thibault was a steady No. 1 netminder for eight consecutive seasons all the same. In 2003, he was Chicago’s lone representative at the All-Star Game. And he garnered enough nods in his career to log multiple wins against all 30 NHL teams.

His go-to status faded, though, in 2003-04. Then after two post-lockout years as Pittsburgh’s backup, he had his shortest and least active stop in Buffalo to cap his career.

With the 2007-08 Sabres, Thibault could do little more than grant the aforementioned Miller a periodic breather. His 12 appearances that year were the fewest in any of his 14 NHL seasons. His 3.31 goals-against average was the second-most swollen on his transcript, and his .869 save percentage was the lowest.

If nothing else, the longtime Northeast Division resident can say he beat three divisional rivals, including his old friends from Montreal, as a Sabre. He can even say he stamped a shutout in his final game, having repelled all 17 shots to blank the Bruins in Buffalo’s non-playoff season finale.

With that said, Thibault’s personal finale was also his first decision and start-to-finish outing in two months. He had previously come on in relief of Miller on three sporadic occasions.

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