Martin Biron in net for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Born	August 15, 1977 (1977-08-15) (age 32), Lac-Saint-Charles, PQ
Height Weight	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
NHL team F. teams	New York Islanders Philadelphia Flyers Buffalo Sabres
Ntl. team	Canada
NHL Draft	16th overall, 1995 Buffalo Sabres
Pro career	1996 – present

Martin Gaston Biron (born August 15, 1977) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender, currently with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). His younger brother, Mathieu, plays for the Hamburg Freezers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).

Contents 1 Playing career 1.1 Buffalo Sabres 1.2 Philadelphia Flyers 1.3 New York Islanders 2 Awards 3 Career statistics 3.1 Regular season 3.2 Playoffs 3.3 International 4 Personal life 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Playing career

[edit] Buffalo Sabres

Biron started his hockey career on the Beauport Harfangs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). He was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, 16th overall. He got his first NHL start for the Buffalo Sabres in the 1995–96 season. After posting a 5.04 GAA, with 0 wins and 2 losses, he was sent back to the QMJHL to improve. After the 2000–01 season, he was a consistent goaltender for the Sabres, as his play in the crease improved drastically.

Biron, along with Rob Ray and Dominik Hašek, was one of the three Sabres who, in three consecutive years, the NHL made a specific rule against. The Biron rule was in regards to which number players could wear on their jerseys, the league limiting it to whole numbers between 1 and 99 (later limited to numbers between 1 and 98 due to the league-wide retirement of number 99 for Wayne Gretzky). Biron was the only NHL player affected as only he wore "00". Upon his return to the NHL three seasons later, Biron switched to number 43, a number he has worn ever since.

[edit] Philadelphia Flyers

After losing the number one goaltending job to youngster Ryan Miller, Biron requested a trade from the Sabres on June 26, 2006, in an effort to receive more playing time. Finally, on February 27, 2007, the Sabres traded Biron to the Philadelphia Flyers for a second round draft pick.^[1]

On March 27, 2007, Biron signed a two-year, $7 million contract extension with the Flyers to be the starting goalie in Philadelphia. After appearing in 62 games and recording 30 wins in the 2007–08 season, he led the Flyers to the Eastern Conference Finals, losing in five games to the Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins. He appeared in 55 games for the Flyers in the 2008-09 NHL Season, winning 29 and helping the Flyers to the 5th overall seed in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers were once again eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2009 NHL Playoffs, this time in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals in six games.

[edit] New York Islanders

On July 1 2009, Biron entered free agency. He was soon left in a difficult position after the Flyers signed goaltenders Ray Emery and Brian Boucher, while other teams quickly filled up their goaltending roster needs. Biron soon signed a one-year, $1.4 million contract with the New York Islanders on July 22, 2009.^[2] He joins goaltenders Dwayne Roloson and Rick DiPietro.

[edit] Awards

• QMJHL All-Rookie Team (1995)
• Canadian Major Junior First All-Star Team (1995)
• Canadian Major Junior Goaltender of the Year (1995)
• AHL First All-Star Team (1999)
• Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award (fewest goals against - AHL) (1999) (shared with Tom Draper)
• Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award (Outstanding Goaltender - AHL) (1999)

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Regular season

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	OTL	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1994–95	Beauport Harfangs	QMJHL		56	29	16	9	—	3193	132	3	2.48	—
1995–96	Beauport Harfangs	QMJHL		55	29	17	7	—	3207	150	1	2.84	.897
1995–96	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		3	0	2	0	—	119	10	0	5.04	.844
1996–97	Beauport Harfangs	QMJHL		18	6	10	1	—	935	62	1	3.98	.895
1996–97	Hull Olympiques	QMJHL		16	11	4	1	—	972	43	2	2.65	.915
1997–98	South Carolina Stingrays	ECHL		2	0	1	1	—	86	3	0	2.09	.929
1997–98	Rochester Americans	AHL		41	14	18	6	—	2312	113	5	2.93	.907
1998–99	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		6	1	2	1	—	281	10	0	2.14	.917
1998–99	Rochester Americans	AHL		52	36	13	3	—	3129	108	6	2.07	.930
1999–00	Rochester Americans	AHL		6	6	0	0	—	344	12	1	2.09	.924
1999–00	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		41	19	18	2	—	2229	90	5	2.42	.909
2000–01	Rochester Americans	AHL		4	3	1	0	—	239	4	1	1.00	.955
2000–01	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		18	7	7	1	—	918	39	2	2.55	.909
2001–02	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		72	31	28	10	—	4085	151	4	2.22	.915
2002–03	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		54	17	28	6	—	3170	135	4	2.56	.908
2003–04	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		52	26	18	5	—	2921	125	2	2.52	.913
2004–05	DNP — Lockout	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		35	21	8	—	3	1934	93	1	2.88	.905
2006–07	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		19	12	4	—	1	1066	54	0	3.04	.899
2006–07	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		16	6	8	—	2	935	47	0	3.02	.908
2007–08	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		62	30	20	—	9	3539	153	5	2.59	.918
2008–09	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		55	29	19	—	5	3176	146	2	2.75	.915
NHL totals				433	199	163	25	20	24424	1053	25	2.59	.912

[edit] Playoffs

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1994–95	Beauport Harfangs	QMJHL		16	8	7	900	37	4	2.47	—
1995–96	Beauport Harfangs	QMJHL		19	12	7	1134	64	0	3.39	—
1996–97	Hull Olympiques	QMJHL		6	3	1	325	19	0	3.51	—
1997–98	Rochester Americans	AHL		4	1	3	239	16	0	4.01	.885
1998–99	Rochester Americans	AHL		20	12	8	1167	42	1	2.16	.934
2007–08	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		17	9	8	1048	52	1	2.97	.904
2008–09	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		6	2	4	375	16	1	2.56	.919
NHL totals				23	11	10	1423	68	2	2.87	.908

[edit] International

Year	Team	Event			GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1997	Canada	WJC			1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.00	.000
2003	Canada	WC			Selected, but did not play
Senior int'l totals					0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00	.000

[edit] Personal life

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (June 2009)

• Is married to Anne Marie Biron with three children: Jacob Mathieu, Grace Anne, and Emily Marie who was born on Tuesday April 14, 2008 (between Games 2 and 3 of the Stanley Cup Eastern Quarterfinals).
• Is good friends with his former coach Lindy Ruff and Danny Briere, Daniel signed a contract to play in Philadelphia with Biron.
• Has a summer home outside of Buffalo, New York
• His brother-in-law used to make fun of his middle name (Gaston) and they jokingly came up with the Great Gaston, a fictional lumberjack character which now appears on Biron's helmet.
• Speaks Canadian French and English fluently.

[edit] See also

• Notable families in the NHL

[edit] References

• Meltzer, Bill "Flyers' Biron Getting Settled On, Off Ice" at NHL.com. Retrieved 03-21-07.

[edit] External links

• Martin Biron's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Martin Biron's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Martin Biron's NHL player profile
• Profile at Hockey Goalies
• Biron a great member of Seo Bicol

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