Brian Gionta, a Boston College hockey legend, will play in his 1,000th career NHL game tonight. Gionta is one of the players that can be credited with helping to improve BC’s hockey profile, and he is the program’s leading scorer with 123 goals as an Eagle. Gionta currently plays for the Sabres, and luckily for those of you without an NHL.tv subscription, the Sabres/Panthers game is tonight’s free game online.
Gionta was a 4-year player at BC, and he captained the Eagles to their first NCAA championship win since 1949 in 2001. He scored a total of 232 points as an Eagle and showed many smaller players that BC is a great place to go if you’re a top player that is undervalued due to your size.
Upon graduating from BC, Gionta joined the New Jersey Devils organization. He played for the Devils and their AHL affiliate until 2009. He signed with the Montreal Canadiens at the beginning of the 2009-10 season, and was named captain the following year. He captained the Habs for 4 years before joining the Buffalo Sabres in 2014-15. Gionta has been the Sabres’ captain since joining the team. Gionta has played for Team USA in 2 World Junior Championships, 3 World Championships, and the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Gionta has 653 career NHL points over his first 999 games and has had 7 20+ goal seasons. His best season was 2005-06, when he recorded 48 goals and 41 assists in the regular season for the Devils, along with 7 playoff points. He was also a member of the 2002-03 Stanley Cup Champion Devils team.
Congrats to Brian Gionta on this big milestone - here’s to many more NHL games!