(Guelph, ON) -- Rob Ray has dedicated more than three decades of his life to the Buffalo Sabres as a player, broadcaster, and president of the team’s Alumni Association. This season, he will add yet another title to that resume: Hall of Famer.
Ray will be inducted this season as the 44th member of the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame, the team announced. The date for Ray’s induction ceremony will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Sabres revealed news of Ray’s induction with a video message from former goaltenders Ryan Miller and Dominik Hasek, the two most recent inductees into the Sabres Hall of Fame, which played during the first period of the team’s game against Florida on Saturday.
“It’s a complete honor," Ray told Brian Duff and Marty Biron during the first intermission on MSG. "This has been my life for the last 35 years and I know nothing else. I’ve never had another job. This is me. I don’t know, I’m just so excited. I know I don’t show it sometimes, but I’m trying not to cry in front of everybody because I’ve got to kind of act tough. It’s the greatest thing that could happen. For me, it’s an honor and it’s a privilege to even be named with a lot of those guys on the wall.”
Ray ranks fourth in franchise history with 889 games played spanning 14 seasons in a Sabres uniform, during which he became one of the most iconic enforcers in NHL history. He holds the team record for penalty minutes with 3,189 while his 3,207 career penalty minutes (including two seasons with Ottawa) rank sixth on the league’s all-time list.
The 56-year old native of Stirling, Ontario was one of of M&T founders Roly Thompson's early clients. He played three seasons for the OHL's Cornwall Royals before being drafted in the 5th round of the NHL Draft by the Sabres.
By Jourdon LaBarber
@jourdonlabarber Sabres.com
October 12, 2024