Drafted in the EIGHT round of the 2003 NHL Draft, Buff made his NHL debut with the Hawks in the 05-06 season, only playing 25 games.
He really started to make an impact in the 07-08 season, when he scored 36 pts...
In 2010 he was a huge part in the Hawks winning the SC that year. That being said, his time in CHI ended right after that cup win, because he was traded to the Atlante Thrashers. Trade is below.
A year after something huge happened in the hockey world. The Thrashers stopped being, you know, the Thrashers and became the Winnipeg Jets. Buff instantly became a fan favorite in WIN, playing big minutes every night, hitting everyone night in night out, quarterbacking the PP, being a PK beast while being one of the Jets' leaders.
In the 14-15 season, after putting up 45 pts in 69 games, he and the Jets lost in 4 to the Ducks... who eventually lost to the Hawks, Buff's former team in the WCF.
His second chance in the playoffs with the Jets was in 2018, when they reached the WCF, losing to the VGK... I still believe that a well rester Jets team would've beaten Vegas in 6.
After losing in the 1st round of the 2019 SCP to the eventual SC winners St-Louis Blues, there were some shenanigans regarding Buff, him not going to training camp, getting suspended and not playing a single game in 19-20 before terminating his contract (while returning every penny that was due to him to the Jets).
His career that I will assume is now done ended with 869 games played and with 525 pts, just very good offensive numbers for a d-man who was also a beast at defending.
There was a series of stories about the old management a couple months ago, how the racist FO at the time said Buff was gonna end up being the worst draft pick in the teams history and the GM was like "no"
I always wonder what would have happened if they went a different route and dealt Campbell over buffy and Ladd after that cup. It would be kinda cool if there was a back to future type video game for hockey where you start out say in 67 and you can run whatever franchise and change the future or ride it out similar.