Few things are as upsetting in sports as a promising career being cut short by injuries. And due to hockey’s rugged nature, that’s happened more than a few times in NHL history. Every team has a list of players whose potentials weren’t realized because they so often found themselves out of action, and the Buffalo Sabres have certainly had their fair share.
When looking back at former Sabres who were snakebitten throughout their careers, the following five perhaps stand out the most.
5. Tyler Ennis
Compensating for his lack of size with speed and terrific handling, 2008 first-round pick Tyler Ennis made an immediate impact during his rookie 2010-11 season, scoring 29 goals and 49 points to help the Sabres rally to the playoffs. He also scored the overtime winner in the team’s last postseason victory to date (13 years ago for anyone counting). At the time, it looked as if Buffalo’s next big thing had arrived, but that run proved to be as good as it would get.
Ennis missed nearly half of the following season with ankle issues, which was an omen of bad things to come. He stayed healthy over the following three seasons, but unfortunately for him, that was when the Sabres’ downward spiral began. They bottomed out and finished last in the NHL twice in a row in 2014 and 2015, squandering commendable efforts from their top center over that span.
In a bit of irony that feels cruel in hindsight, when the Sabres began to regain themselves after such a plummet, injuries became an issue for Ennis once again, and he never truly regained himself. He missed significant time during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns, causing his scoring to decrease significantly. In the summer of 2017, the Sabres decided it was time to cut their losses and sent him to the Minnesota Wild in the trade that brought back his former teammate Jason Pominville.
Ennis bounced around over the next seven years, but he was never able to shake the injury bug, which ultimately ended his career in November 2023. In eight years with Buffalo, he produced 236 points in 419 games, but everyone watching knew he was capable of far, far more. Had he played for the Sabres at any other time in their history, he might be remembered as one of the better players in the franchise’s history.
4. Grant Fuhr
The case of Grant Fuhr‘s time with the Sabres remains…
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