The Hockey Hall of Fame welcomed a new class of inductees Monday night and one of the game's all-time great goal scorers, former Buffalo Sabres forward Dave Andreyhcuk, was among those honored.
Andreychuk scored 368 of his 640 goals in Buffalo, where he played for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. The Hamilton, Ontario native is the third-leading goal scorer in Sabres franchise history. He tallied 804 points in Buffalo, second only to fellow Hall of Famer Gilbert Perreault.
"[We had] great players in Buffalo. The 12 years that I spent there were exciting times for me. I grew up in Buffalo. My girls were all born in Buffalo. I married a Buffalo girl. [I had] good times in Buffalo, really, really good times. Great players, Hall of Fame players: Gilbert Perreault, Phil Housley. When I was a kid at 18 years old, I grew up there," Andreychuk said in his induction speech in Toronto.
Andreychuk's hockey career began when he was drafted 16th overall by Scotty Bowman in 1982. The big left winger scored totaled 1,338 points in his lengthy career, which also included stops in Toronto, New Jersey, Tampa Bay, Boston and Colorado. He won his lone Stanley Cup as a member of the Lightning in 2004.
Making a career by being a physical presence in front of the opposing goalie, Andreychuk's 274 power play goals are the most in NHL history. His 1,639 career NHL games ranks him seventh all-time and his 640 goals are the 14th most in league history. He appeared in two All-Star games, in 1990 and 1994.
Also inducted in the "builder" category was Buffalo native Jeremy Jacobs, the longtime owner of the Boston Bruins and the owner and chairman of Buffalo-based Delaware North, and former NHL players Mark Recchi, Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya.