Martin Gaston Biron (born August 15, 1977 in
Lac-St-Charles, Quebec, Canada) is a French Canadian
professional ice hockey goaltender who currently
plays for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National
Hockey League. His younger brother Mathieu Biron
plays for the Hamilton Bulldogs.
Biron started his hockey career on the Beauport
Harfangs of the 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 work on his skills as a
professional goaltender. After the 2000-01 NHL
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 98 (99 being retired in honor
of Wayne Gretzky). Biron was the only NHL player
affected as only he wore "00."
On June 26th, 2006, Biron requested a trade from the
Sabres in an effort to get more playing time. On
February 27, 2007, Biron was traded to the
Philadelphia Flyers for a second round draft pick.
On March 27, 2007 Biron signed a 2 year $7 million
dollar contract extension with the Flyers assuring
Biron as the #1 goalie in Philadelphia.
