Career
During his career he played for the Buffalo Sabres, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Puppa started his professional career in 1985, splitting time between the Buffalo Sabres and the AHL"s Rochester Americans. In the 1992-1993 season he was traded to the Maple Leafs, but played only eight games for them before being claimed by the Lightning via the Panthers in the 1993 National Hockey League Expansion Draft.
In 1995-1996, Puppa"s stellar goaltending was a major factor in the Lightning earning their first playoff berth in team history.
The team took the heavily-favoured Philadelphia Flyers to six games before losing in the first round. However, the next season Puppa developed chronic back trouble, and only played six games for the entire season.
He only played 44 more games over the next four years, and he was forced to retire midway through the 1999–2000 season. He currently lives in Tampa, Florida.
Darren Puppa is the only National Hockey League player to be drafted twice in the same expansion year.