A 15-year NHL veteran, Daren Puppa backstopped just three teams over the length of his career. Drafted in 1983 by the Buffalo Sabres as a fourth-round pick and 74th overall, Puppa is best known for his tenures with the Sabres to start his career and the Tampa Bay Lightning to close it out.
What many forget is that in between those two stints, Puppa closed out a season as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs and while it was short-lived, he put up some of his better numbers during his time with the team.
Two moves later during the 1993 expansion draft and Puppa was peppered with injuries to close out his career. Still, while it may be the forgotten piece to his NHL puzzle, Puppa’s stay with the Maple Leafs ultimately landed him in Tampa Bay when it was all said and done.
Daren Puppa Becoming a Maple Leaf
Drafted by the Sabres and debuting as a 20-year-old in 1985-86, Puppa played eight seasons with the Sabres before he was traded to the Maple Leafs on Feb. 2, 1993. The trade saw Puppa head to the Maple Leafs alongside Dave Andreychuk and the Sabres’ first-round pick in 1993 — which ended up being Kenny Jonsson — in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 1995 (Kevin Popp) and goaltender Grant Fuhr.
Related: Revisiting Calder Trophy Seasons – Sweeney Schriner’s 1934-35 Season
At the time, Puppa was 27 years old and came in as a one-time Vezina candidate with the Sabres in 1989-90 when he finished second in the award voting behind Montreal’s Patrick Roy. Puppa had seen a drop in numbers prior to the trade which likely played a role in the Sabres moving the veteran goalie.
Donning the Blue Maple Leaf
As for his career as a member of the Maple Leafs, Puppa played just eight games for the team to close out the 1992-93 season following the trade. He finished 6-2-0 with a .922 save percentage and 2.26 goals against average with two shutouts.
He played just 20 minutes on the team’s playoff run that season giving up a goal in the game and finishing with an .857 SV% and 3.00 GAA having faced just seven shots in the period, but the Maple Leafs Félix Potvin who played the majority of the minutes come playoff time.
That summer, the Maple Leafs lost Puppa in the 1993 expansion draft to the Florida Panthers. He was later taken again by the Tampa Bay Lightning as part of the same expansion draft where he played out the remainder of his career.
The Rest of Puppa’s Career
Overall, Puppa played parts of 15 seasons in the NHL. He finished with a career record of 179-161-54 in 429 regular season games and a 4-9 record in 16 career playoff games. While his numbers were worth noting during his run with the Maple Leafs, his career numbers weren’t as noteworthy — with a .897 SV% and 3.04 GAA.
Puppa finished with three 20-win seasons, including a career-high 31 wins in 56 games for the Sabres in 1989-90 — the same year he finished second in Vezina voting.
In 1995-96, Puppa finished with 29 wins in 57 games with the Lightning. His season was good enough to have him in the top-15 in Hart Trophy voting and third in Vezina Trophy voting, behind only Chris Osgood and the eventual winner, a 21-year-old Jim Carey.
Puppa played just five games in 1999-00 with the Lightning as a 34-year-old and only 44 games over the final four seasons of his career due to a chronic back injury. He was forced to retired midway through the 1999-00 season — ending his career as a member of the Lightning.
While he’ll most certainly be remembered for his time with both the Sabres and the Lightning above anything else, his eight games with the Maple Leafs make him a standing member of the team’s alumni and a part of their history.
All-Time Maple Leafs’ Rank (Among Goaltenders)
Games Played: 8 (T-71st)
Wins: 6 (T-67th)
Goals Against Average: 2.26 (T-10th)
Save Percentage: 0.922 (T-7th)
Shutouts: 2 (T-34th)
Other ‘Forgotten Maple Leafs’
