Daren James Puppa

Last updated

BIOGRAPHY

BORN: Kirkland Lake, Ontario, March 23, 1965
HOME: Tampa, Florida.
HEIGHT: 6'3"-6'4"
WEIGHT: 195-205 pounds
UNIFORM #: 31 (Buffalo), 93 (Tampa Bay).
CATCHES: Right
COLLEGE: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York (major: engineering).
SALARY (1996-97): $1,900,000

STYLE: Standup.
STRENGTHS: Outstanding angle play. Good at controlling play and maintaining order.
WEAKNESSES: Has trouble after going to knees. Puckhandling.
Name pronounced POO-puh.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING:

"No Buffalo goalie has been on a hotter spot than the rangy Puppa was in his first regular season start, facing the offensively-awesome Edmonton Oilers in their own Northlands Coliseum. Daren was more than equal to the task, shutting out the Gretzky-led Oilers with as fine a performance as was turned in during the 1985-86 schedule and earming NHL player-of-the-week honors for the whitewashing." (1986-87 Buffalo Sabres Fact Book and Media Guide, p. 61)

"Daren Puppa and Jacques Cloutier will again be the contenders for the No. 2 position. Puppa, who has played on U.S. national collegiate and American League champions, is the goalie Buffalo most wants to see develop. He is considered an excellent prospect and was sought by other clubs during the summer." (The Hockey News 1989 Yearbook, p. 30)

"Puppa erased almost all concerns about his ability to come up big in big games last season, and he even won a playoff game while suffering from a severe back strain. The Lightning could have extended the Flyers to seven games or even defeated them in their first-round series had Puppa been healthy. He's that good, and his third-place finish in the voting for the Vezina Trophy is an indication he's finally getting the recognition he deserves. Talent aside, though, Puppa remains a little unreliable. He certainly is not a workhorse. He has never played in more than 63 games in a season, so he requires a solid backup." (The Sporting News Hockey Yearbook 1996-97, p. 74)

"On the ice, it is up to Puppa and the kids. The goalie may steer this team back to the playoffs, even as growing pains are felt." (The Hockey News 1997-98 Yearbook, p. 167)

"Daren Puppa missed most of last season with a herniated disc in his back. The Lightning are so confident that he's okay, they returned Rick Tabaracci to Calgary." (The Sports Forecaster Hockey '97-'98, p. 50)

"With a healthy Puppa, the Bolts are strong between the pipes, but the situation is far from stable since Puppa's back is very frail." (The Sports Forecaster Hockey '97-'98, p. 139)

"Puppa has become the NHL's forgotten man due to his frequent bouts with persistent back troubles. When healthy, Puppa has guided teams to great heights on the strength of his goaltending. The veteran is big for a goaltender and covers a lot of net. However, his reflexes and timing have been thrown off by his chronic back woes. Puppa is a goaltender who can no longer give a team the strong play it would need to make the playoffs. Retirement is going to arrive soon for the 14-year vet, largely premature because of his ailing back." (The Sports Forecaster 1999-2000, p. 141)

"A legitimate No. 1 goalie in the early '90s, the longtime NHL backstop is slower, less flexible and more fragile than ever - Puppa has missed over 120 games in the past two seasons. Even cleared NHL waivers in November 1999." (The Sports Forecaster 2000-01, p. 219)

TRANSACTIONS:

ACCOLADES:

VEZINA TROPHY BALLOTING:

PTS1st2nd3rdRANKSHARE
1989-9059313520.56
1995-963443530.26

ALL-STAR TEAM BALLOTING:

PTS1st2nd3rdRANKSHARE
1989-901361362320.43
1995-964454750.17

INJURIES:

RECORDS:

PENALTY SHOTS:

DID YOU KNOW?

SEASON RECORDS:

REGULAR SEASON
Year  Team                        GP    Min   W   L   T    GA    GAA   Shots    Sv%   ShO   G   A   PiM     S/60    PERS
82-83 Kirkland Lake Interm. NOIHA 
83-84 Rensselaer Poly. Inst. ECAC 32   1816  24   6   0    89   2.94                    0   0   0     0
84-85 Rensselaer Poly. Inst. ECAC 32   1830  31   1   0    78   2.56                    0   0   0     0
85-86 Buffalo Sabres NHL           7    401   3   4   0    21   3.14     184   .886     1   0   0     0    27.53  931.75
      Rochester Americans AHL     20   1092   8  11   0    79   4.34     621   .873     0   0   1     0
86-87 Buffalo Sabres NHL           3    185   0   2   1    13   4.22      80   .838     0   0   0     2    25.95  880.74
      Rochester Americans AHL     57   3129  33  14   0   146   2.80    1465   .900     1   0   1    12
87-88 Rochester Americans AHL     26   1415  14   8   2    65   2.76    689    .906     2   0   2     8
      Buffalo Sabres NHL          17    874   8   6   1    61   4.19     469   .870     0   0   1     4    32.20  923.60
88-89 Buffalo Sabres NHL          37   1908  17  10   6   107   3.36     961   .889     1   0   4    12    30.22  939.02
89-90 Buffalo Sabres NHL          56   3241  31  16   6   156   2.89    1610   .903     1   0   4     4    29.81  952.78
90-91 Buffalo Sabres NHL          38   2092  15  11   6   118   3.38    1029   .885     2   0   4     6    29.51  934.51
91-92 Buffalo Sabres NHL          33   1757  11  14   4   114   3.89     932   .878     0   0   0     2    31.83  930.73
      Rochester Americans AHL      2    119   0   2   0     9   4.54      53   .830     0   0   0     2
92-93 Buffalo Sabres NHL          24   1306  11   5   4    78   3.58     706   .890     0   0   1     0    32.43  943.58
      Toronto Maple Leafs NHL      8    479   6   2   0    18   2.25     232   .922     2   0   0     0    29.06  970.85
93-94 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL     63   3653  22  33   6   165   2.71    1637   .899     4   0   1     2    26.89  944.02
94-95 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL     36   2013  14  19   2    90   2.68     949   .905     1   0   1     2    28.29  952.31
95-96 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL     57   3189  29  16   9   131   2.46    1605   .918     5   0   1     4    30.20  968.71
96-97 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL      6    325   1   1   2    14   2.58     150   .907     0   0   0     2    27.69  952.82
      Adirondack Red Wings AHL     1     62   1   0   0     3   2.90      22   .864     0   0   0     0
97-98 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL     26   1456   5  14   6    66   2.72     660   .900     0   0   0     6    27.20  945.33
98-99 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL     13    691   5   6   1    33   2.87     350   .906     2   0   1     0    30.39  956.37
99-00 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL      5    249   1   2   0    19   4.58     129   .853     0   0   0     2    31.08  904.52
FIFTEEN (15) NHL SEASONS         429  23819 179 161  54  1204   3.03   11680  0.897    19   0  18    48    29.42  945.95

POST-SEASON
Year  Team                        GP    Min   W   L   GA    GAA   Shots    Sv%   ShO   G   A   PiM     S/60    PERS
86-87 Rochester Americans AHL     16    944  10   6   48   3.05                    1
87-88 Rochester Americans AHL      2    108   0   1    5   2.78                    0
      Buffalo Sabres NHL           3    142   1   1   11   4.65      67   .836     0   0   0     0    28.31  883.00
89-90 Buffalo Sabres NHL           6    370   2   4   15   2.43     192   .922     0   0   0     0    31.14  973.77
90-91 Buffalo Sabres NHL           2     81   0   1   10   7.41      46   .783     0   0   0     0    34.07  839.40
92-93 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL      1     20   0   0    1   3.00       7   .857     0   0   0     2    21.00  892.14
95-96 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL      4    173   1   3   14   4.86      86   .837     0   0   0     0    29.83  886.92
FIVE (5) NHL POSTSEASONS          16    786   4   9   51   3.89     398  0.872     0   0   0     2    30.38  922.50

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