Daren Puppa

Who is Daren Puppa?

Daren James Puppa is a former professional ice hockey goaltender in the NHL. During his career he played for the Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Puppa started his professional career in 1985, splitting time between the Buffalo Sabres and the AHL's Rochester Americans. Aged 20 years, 223 days, he made his NHL debut on November 1, 1985, and posted a 2-0 shutout win over the Edmonton Oilers Following the trade of Buffalo's all-star goaltender Tom Barrasso to the Pittsburgh Penguins early in the 1988–89 season, Puppa battled Jacques Cloutier to establish himself as the Sabres' number one goalie, and the following season Puppa led the league with 31 wins in 56 games. In the 1992–93 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 the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft. In 1995–96, Puppa's stellar goaltending was a major factor in the Lightning earning their first playoff berth in team history. The team took the heavily-favoured Philadelphia Flyers to six games before losing in the first round.