Danny Gare

Buffalo Sabres Forward

Danny Gare’s career as a star for the Buffalo Sabres and the Detroit Red Wings can be summed up in a simple statement: He gave 110 percent all of the time. His appearance was deceiving. He was built like a short, stocky catcher, but on the ice he was as quick and as graceful as a greyhound. For nine years he was the Sabres’ main spark plug, a perennial inspiration to his teammates and to his fans with his all-out, never-say-die play. Night after night he was always a tough, hard-nosed competitor. Game after game he was always there moving forward at full tilt. On the ice he was highly focused with a burning desire to do whatever was necessary to win. Even in the latter stages of a game out of hand he never took a breather or eased up for an instant. Gare was tenacious even when he skated backwards.

In nine years as the Sabres star right winger, Gare had two 50-goal seasons, 50 in ’75-76 and 56 in ’79-80, both of them at a time when 50 goal seasons were the exception rather than the rule in the NHL. He also scored 35 game winning goals and 10 hat tricks, and he still ranks third in that category on the team’s all-time list. In 503 games, he scored 500 points, 267 goals and 233 assists. That includes 23 goals and 21 assists in the playoffs. During his stellar career, he was elected to the NHL All-Star team two times. Three times he was named the Sabres’ Most Valuable Player. Today he still ranks fourth in all-time Sabres history in goals, ninth in all-time scoring, third in all-time playoff goals and fourth in all-time playoff points.

In time Sabre fans may forget his scoring statistics, but they will always remember his spirited style of play. Plain and simple, the fans loved him. He was voted the team’s Most Popular Player for two seasons, and he served as captain twice. When he was traded to Detroit, shock waves of anger and disbelief rumbled through the community for days.