By Budd Bailey, Buffalo Sports Page Columnist
Gary Bromley – Signed by the Sabres in 1971
The Buffalo Sabres went through quite a few goaltenders in their first several years of existence. Gary Bromley was one of them.
Bromley, signed as an undrafted free agent, spent parts of three seasons with Cincinnati of the American Hockey League. Then in 1974, the Sabres lost Dave Dryden to the World Hockey Association, leaving an opening for someone to play with Roger Crozier at the position. Bromley was the next man up, and he started 50 games during the 1974-75 season. That’s when the Sabres made a huge jump in performance, as they were one of the best teams in the league. Bromley went 26-11-11 with 3.11 goals-against average that season.
But certainly Buffalo noticed his .873 save percentage, so the team bought the rights to Gerry Desjardins from the World Hockey Association and made him one of the regulars. Bromley’s days as a Sabre were numbered at that point. He only played in one NHL game in 1975-76, and then played for Calgary and Winnipeg in the World Hockey Association and for the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL through 1981. “Bones” (160 pounds) at least will be remembered for being a part of one of the great Sabre teams of all time.
Too bad he didn’t wear this mask as a Sabre:
(Follow Budd on Twitter @WDX2BB)
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