| Daren Puppa | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1965-03-23)March 23, 1965 (age 60) Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Caught | Right | ||
| Played for | Buffalo Sabres Toronto Maple Leafs Tampa Bay Lightning | ||
| NHL draft | 74th overall,1983 Buffalo Sabres | ||
| Playing career | 1985–2000 | ||
| Website | DarenPuppa.com | ||
Daren James Puppa (born March 23, 1965) is aCanadian former professionalice hockeygoaltender in theNHL. During his career, he played for theBuffalo Sabres,Tampa Bay Lightning, and theToronto Maple Leafs. He won the 1985 NCAA Championship with theRPI Engineers. He is the cousin of NHL hockey playerRalph Backstrom.
Born inKirkland Lake,Ontario, Puppa started his professional career in1985, splitting time between the Buffalo Sabres and theAHL'sRochester Americans. Aged 20 years, 223 days, he made his NHL debut on November 1, 1985, and posted a 2-0shutout win over theEdmonton Oilers.[1][2] He was the starting goalie for theAmerks in the 1986-1987 season when the team won theCalder Cup.Following the trade of Buffalo's all-star goaltenderTom Barrasso to thePittsburgh Penguins early in the1988–89 season, Puppa battledJacques Cloutier to establish himself as the Sabres' number one goalie,[3][4] and thefollowing season Puppa led the league with 31 wins in 56 games.[5] In the1992–93 season he was traded to the Maple Leafs, but played only eight games for them before being claimed by the Lightning via the Panthers in the1993 NHL Expansion Draft. In1995–96. Puppa's stellar goaltending was a major factor in the Lightning earning their first playoff berth in team history. The team took the heavily favouredPhiladelphia Flyers to six games before losing in the first round. Puppa's solid goaltending in the 1995-96 season earned him his second Vezina nomination; he was second runner-up behind the ultimate winner,Jim Carey.[6]
However, the next season Puppa developed chronic back trouble, and only played six games for the entire season. He only played 44 more games over the next four years, and he was forced to retire midway through the1999–2000 season.
In addition to his 1996 nomination, Puppa also was the runner up toPatrick Roy for the 1989–1990Vezina Trophy, awarded to the bestNHL goaltender each year.
Puppa and his wife Meg have three children. The family resides in Tampa, Florida.
In 2019, Puppa returned to the ice in a game for theBuffalo Sabres Alumni Hockey Team while on a visit to Buffalo. Puppa, whose back problems and lingering effects from a 1989 shoulder injury still limit his mobility (he had not played hockey at any level since 2001 because of those injuries), led the Sabres alumni to a win.[7]
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1981–82 | Kirkland Lake Legion 87s | GNML | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Kirkland Lake Legion 87s | GNML | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | RPI Engineers | ECAC | 32 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 1816 | 89 | 0 | 2.94 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | RPI Engineers | ECAC | 32 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 1830 | 78 | 0 | 2.56 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 20 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 1092 | 79 | 0 | 4.34 | .873 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 401 | 21 | 1 | 3.14 | .886 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 57 | 37 | 14 | 2 | 3129 | 146 | 1 | 2.80 | .900 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 944 | 48 | 1 | 3.05 | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 185 | 13 | 0 | 4.22 | .835 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 26 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 1415 | 65 | 2 | 2.76 | .906 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 108 | 5 | 0 | 2.78 | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 17 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 874 | 61 | 0 | 4.19 | .870 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 140 | 11 | 0 | 4.70 | .836 | ||
| 1988–89 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 37 | 17 | 10 | 6 | 1908 | 107 | 1 | 3.36 | .889 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 56 | 31 | 16 | 6 | 3241 | 156 | 1 | 2.89 | .903 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 370 | 15 | 0 | 2.43 | .921 | ||
| 1990–91 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 38 | 15 | 11 | 6 | 2092 | 118 | 2 | 3.38 | .885 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 81 | 10 | 0 | 7.42 | .783 | ||
| 1991–92 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 119 | 9 | 0 | 4.54 | .830 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 33 | 11 | 14 | 4 | 1757 | 114 | 0 | 3.89 | .878 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 24 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 1306 | 78 | 0 | 3.58 | .890 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 479 | 18 | 2 | 2.25 | .922 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 | .857 | ||
| 1993–94 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 63 | 22 | 33 | 6 | 1472 | 165 | 4 | 2.71 | .899 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 36 | 14 | 19 | 2 | 2013 | 90 | 1 | 2.68 | .905 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 57 | 29 | 16 | 9 | 3189 | 131 | 5 | 2.46 | .918 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 173 | 14 | 0 | 4.85 | .837 | ||
| 1996–97 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 3 | 0 | 2.90 | .864 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 325 | 14 | 0 | 2.58 | .907 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 26 | 5 | 14 | 6 | 1456 | 66 | 0 | 2.72 | .900 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 13 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 691 | 33 | 2 | 2.87 | .906 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 249 | 19 | 0 | 4.58 | .853 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 429 | 179 | 161 | 54 | 23,819 | 1,204 | 19 | 3.03 | .897 | 16 | 4 | 9 | 785 | 51 | 0 | 3.90 | .871 | ||||
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| AHCAEast second-team All-American | 1983–84 | [8] |
| AHCAAll Tournament Team | 1984–85 | |
| AHLCalder Cup Champion | 1986–87 | |
| AHL first All-Star team | 1986–87 | |
| NHLAll-Star | 1989–90 | |
| NHL second All-Star team | 1989–90 |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | ECAC Hockey Most Outstanding Player in Tournament 1985 | Succeeded by |