Legendary enforcer, fan favorite Ray inducted into Sabres Hall of Fame

Rob Ray had another three letters attached to his Buffalo Sabres career: HOF.

The gritty power forward who played 889 of his 900 NHL games with the Sabres was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame on Friday at KeyBank Center.

He is the 42nd inductee into the team's Hall of Fame and the first to be granted the honor since former forward Dale Hawerchuk and legendary announcer Rick Jeanneret were back in 2012.

A clearly emotional Ray addressed the crowd in attendance before puck drop against the Nashville Predators.

Always one to wear his heart on his sleeve, Ray's first words to the cheering crowd were: "You gotta stop I'm gonna cry."

Ray contained multitudes. While he was a feared enforcer, twice leading the NHL in penalty minutes, he was also known as a caring and loyal teammate. In 1998-1999, the season he led the League in penalty minutes for the second time, Ray was named the King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner for Leadership and Humanitarian Contribution.

Current Sabres players wore special shirts in honor of Ray on their way into the game.

Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula were in attendance for the special night as were Sabres luminaries from the past.

Former goalie Ryan Miller presented Ray with an actual sabre.

Ray would put the gift to use immediately when it was time to serve up dessert.

Ray thanked his wife, children, parents and the fans of Buffalo, finding a humorous way to mark the way time has passed since his retirement in 2004.

"I came to this town I didn't need glasses, I was in shape, I had hair," Ray joked to the crowd. "I left it all here for you guys."