Buffalo Sabres

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Buffalo Sabres
Image:Buffalo Sabres.gif Image:Buffalo-alternate.gif
Logo Alternate logo
Founded 1970
Home ice HSBC Arena
Based in Buffalo
Colors Black, red, silver, white
League National Hockey League
Head coach Lindy Ruff
General manager Darcy Regier
Owner B. Thomas Golisano
AHL affiliate Rochester Americans


The Buffalo Sabres are a National Hockey League (NHL) team based in Buffalo, New York.

Founded: 1970-1971
Arena: HSBC Arena (capacity 18,690)
Uniform colors: black, red, silver, white
Logo design: a buffalo's head
Stanley Cup final appearances: 2 (2 losses: 1974-75, 1998-99)
Third Jersey: Red colored with black stripes on sleeves. There are two crossed swords and the word "BUFFALO"

Contents

Franchise history

Image:Buffalosabreslogo80s.gif
Buffalo's first logo, used until 1996

The Buffalo Sabres joined the NHL in 1970 after a successful American Hockey League team enjoyed success in Buffalo as the Bisons for several years. They got off to a good start before they even hit the ice by picking future Hall of Fame centre Gilbert Perreault first overall in the NHL's Entry Draft. Perreault scored 38 goals in his rookie season, and was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year, but the Sabres did not make the playoffs that first season.

The following season (1972-73), René Robert and rookie Rick Martin joined Perreault to form one of the league's top forward lines in the 1970s, nicknamed "The French Connection," after the movie of the same name and in homage to those players' French-Canadian roots. The Sabres made the playoffs for the first time that season (only the team's second), but lost in the quarter-finals to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens.

After a subpar year in 1974 (missing the playoffs), the Sabres finished in a tie for the best record in the NHL in the 1974-75 regular season, and played the Stanley Cup finals in 1975 against the Philadelphia Flyers, a series which included the legendary Fog Game, the third of the series and the first-ever Sabres finals win. (The Fog Game was unique for two reasons: First, due to an unusual May heat in Buffalo that year, portions of the game were played in heavy fog (thus the name) and were invisible to many spectators. Second, during a face-off and through the fog, Sabres center Jim Lorentz spotted a bat flying across the rink, raised his stick, and killed it, thus marking the only time an animal was killed directly by a player during an NHL game.) The Sabres eventually lost the series, four games to two, to the Philadelphia Flyers and their star goaltender, Bernie Parent.

The French Connection, joined by 50-goal scorer Danny Gare, continued to score prolifically for the Sabres in the 1975-76 NHL season, but the team lost in the quarter-finals to the New York Islanders. The Sabres continued to coast through the late 1970s behind those four players, but did not reach the Stanley Cup finals during those years, despite a regular-season conference championship in 1980.

Robert was traded to the Colorado Rockies in 1980, and Martin to the Los Angeles Kings in 1981. Perreault retired in 1987 after spending 17 years with the Sabres, including several years as the team's captain. Stars for the Sabres in the 1980s included Perreault, the tough and yet skillful Mike Foligno, defenseman Phil Housley, and left-winger Dave Andreychuk. However, only twice in the 1980s did they get past the first round of the playoffs.

In 1989, following the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the top young Soviet player to defect to the NHL was Alexander Mogilny, who signed with the Sabres. Alongside center Pat LaFontaine, Mogilny hit his stride with a league-leading (tied with Teemu Selanne) 76 goals in the 1992-93 NHL season, and the Sabres finally again advanced past the first round of the playoffs before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Canadiens. (The end of the first round, against the Boston Bruins, gained long-time radio announcer Rick Jeanneret league-wide fame, with his famous "MAY DAY!" call on Brad May's game-winning goal in overtime of game 4.)

Also during the 1992-93 NHL season, the Sabres executed what probably was the most important trade in team history, and acquired goaltender Dominik Hasek from the Chicago Blackhawks, where he had spent the previous two seasons as a backup goalie. "The Dominator" became the Sabres' starting goaltender the next season, and quickly proved himself as one of the best goaltenders in the history of the game. Hasek swiftly broke many long-standing NHL records for goaltenders and was the game's preeminent defensive player for several years in the NHL and in international competition.

The 1995-96 NHL season was the first season for Coach Ted Nolan. Ted Nolan brought an exciting brand of hockey to Buffalo. During his coaching tenure Ted's team was referred to as the "Hardest Working Team in Hockey." Even though the Sabres failed to have success in the win column, the fans had a special love affair with this team. Brad May, Rob Ray, and Matt Barnaby, became the 1990's version of the charactars from the Slapshot movie, "The Hanson Brothers". This season also featured the debut of "walk-on" veteran player Randy Burridge. Randy attended training camp on a try out basis and earned a spot on the roster. He scored 25 goals that season, and was second in team scoring to NHL Hall Of Famer Pat LaFontaine. Randy earned the Tim Horton Award for being the "un-sung hero" and was voted team MVP.

The Sabres, behind Hasek and several role-playing journeymen including enforcer Matthew Barnaby, left-winger Miroslav Satan (who led the team in scoring), right-winger Donald Audette, and center Michael Peca, reached the conference finals in 1998, but lost to the Washington Capitals in six games.

In 1999, Satan scored 40 goals, and the Sabres added centres Stu Barnes from the Pittsburgh Penguins and Joe Juneau from the Washington Capitals. Michael Grosek had the best season of his career, and the Sabres again played the Stanley Cup finals, this time against the Dallas Stars. In the sixth game of the seven-game series, Brett Hull's triple-overtime goal - one that remains in dispute as Hull's skate was visibly in the goal crease--ended the series, and the Stars were awarded the Cup. (In 1999, it was illegal to score a goal whilst an offensive player's skate was in the goal crease. At the time, even Dallas Morning News hockey writer Keith Gave questioned the legality of the goal.)

The next year, a disappointing season with tired and discouraged players, culminated with a first-round playoff series loss to the Flyers.

Captain Peca sat out the 2000-01 NHL season in a contract dispute, and eventually was traded to the Islanders. Even so, the Sabres still defeated the Flyers in the first round of playoffs (with a resounding 8-0 victory in the series-winning game), but lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Penguins on a late double-overtime goal scored by Darius Kasparaitus.

After lengthy, and failed, negotiations with their star goaltender, the Sabres traded Hasek to the Detroit Red Wings in the summer of 2001. Without Hasek and Peca, the Sabres missed the 2002 playoffs. The team's misfortunes rose exponentially in the summer of 2002, as the team's owner, Adelphia Communications CEO John Rigas, was arrested for investor fraud for embezelling more than one billion dollars from Adelphia (Rigas eventually was convicted on United States federal securities charges, and presently is appealing a sentence of a fifteen-year prison term.) After the league managed the team for a short period of time, the Sabres were sold in 2003 to Rochester, New York billionaire and former New York gubernatorial candidate Tom Golisano.

Still, the team emerged from its struggles, and the Sabres narrowly missed the playoffs the following season, which saw the debuts and/or development of prominent young players such as Daniel Briere, Derek Roy, and Rory Fitzpatrick. The NHL cancelled the 2004-05 NHL season due to a labor dispute.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season GP W L T OTL Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
1970-71 78 24 39 15 -- 63 217 291 1188 5th in Eastern Conf. Out of playoffs
1971-72 78 16 43 19 -- 51 203 289 831 6th in Eastern Conf. Out of playoffs
1972-73 78 37 27 14 -- 88 257 219 940 4th in Eastern Conf. Lost in quarter-finals
1973-74 78 32 34 12 -- 76 242 250 787 5th in Eastern Conf. Out of playoffs
1974-75 80 49 16 15 -- 113 354 240 1229 1st in Adams Div. Lost in Stanley Cup finals
1975-76 80 46 21 13 -- 105 339 240 943 2nd in Adams Div. Lost in quarter-finals
1976-77 80 48 24 8 -- 104 301 220 848 2nd in Adams Div. Lost in quarter-finals
1977-78 80 44 19 17 -- 105 288 215 800 2nd in Adams Div. Lost in quarter-finals
1978-79 80 36 28 16 -- 88 280 263 1026 2nd in Adams Div. Lost in preliminary round
1979-80 80 47 17 16 -- 110 318 201 967 1st in Adams Div. Lost in semi-finals
1980-81 80 39 20 21 -- 99 327 250 1194 1st in Adams Div. Lost in 2nd round
1981-82 80 39 26 15 -- 93 307 273 1425 3rd in Adams Div. Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1982-83 80 38 29 13 -- 89 318 285 1031 3rd in Adams Div. Lost in Adams Division finals
1983-84 80 48 25 7 -- 103 315 257 1190 2nd in Adams Div. Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1984-85 80 38 28 14 -- 90 290 237 1221 3rd in Adams Div. Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1985-86 80 37 37 6 -- 80 296 291 1608 5th (last) in Adams Div. Out of playoffs
1986-87 80 28 44 8 -- 64 280 308 1810 5th (last) in Adams Div. Out of playoffs
1987-88 80 37 32 11 -- 85 283 305 2277 3rd in Adams Div. Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1988-89 80 38 35 7 -- 83 291 299 2034 3rd in Adams Div. Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1989-90 80 45 27 8 -- 98 286 248 1449 2nd in Adams Div. Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1990-91 80 31 30 19 -- 81 292 278 1733 3rd in Adams Div. Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1991-92 80 31 37 12 -- 74 289 299 2713 3rd in Adams Div. Lost in Adams Division semi-finals
1992-93 84 38 36 10 -- 86 335 297 1873 4th in Adams Div. Lost in Adams Division finals
1993-94 84 43 32 9 -- 95 282 218 1760 4th in Northeast Div. Lost in Eastern Conf. quarter-finals
1994-951 48 22 19 7 -- 51 130 119 1022 4th in Northeast Div. Lost in Eastern Conf. quarter-finals
1995-96 82 33 42 7 -- 73 247 262 2195 5th in Northeast Div. Out of playoffs
1996-97 82 40 30 12 -- 92 237 208 1840 5th in Northeast Div. Lost in Eastern Conf. semi-finals
1997-98 82 36 29 17 -- 89 211 187 1768 3rd in Northeast Div. Lost in Eastern Conf. finals
1998-99 82 37 28 17 -- 91 207 175 1561 4th in Northeast Div. Lost in Stanley Cup finals
1999-00 82 35 32 11 4 85 213 204 1173 3rd in Northeast Div. Lost in Eastern Conf. quarter-finals
2000-01 82 46 30 5 1 98 218 184 1249 2nd in Northeast Div. Lost in Eastern Conf. semi-finals
2001-02 82 35 35 11 1 82 213 200 1217 5th (last) in Northeast Div. Out of playoffs
2002-03 82 27 37 10 8 72 190 219 1276 5th (last) in Northeast Div. Out of playoffs
2003-04 82 37 34 7 4 85 220 221 1289 5th (last) in Northeast Div. Out of playoffs
2004-052 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ---- --
2005-06
1 Season was shortened due to the 1994-95 NHL lockout.
2 Season was cancelled due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

Notable players

Current squad

As of November 13, 2005 [1]

Goaltenders
Number Player Catches Acquired Place of Birth
30 Template:Flagicon Ryan Miller (Injured Reserve) L 1999 East Lansing, Michigan
35 Template:Flagicon Mika Noronen L 1997 Tampere, Finland
43 Template:Flagicon Martin Biron L 1995 Lac-Saint-Charles, Quebec
Defensemen
Number Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
5 Template:Flagicon Toni Lydman (Injured Reserve) L 2005 Lahti, Finland
8 Template:Flagicon Rory Fitzpatrick R 2001 Rochester, New York
10 Template:Flagicon Henrik Tallinder R 2001 Stockholm, Sweden
27 Template:Flagicon Teppo Numminen R 2005 Tampere, Finland
34 Template:Flagicon Jeff Jillson R 2004 North Smithfield, Rhode Island
45 Template:Flagicon Dmitri Kalinin L 1998 Cheljabinsk, U.S.S.R.
51 Template:Flagicon Brian Campbell L 1997 Strathroy, Ontario
74 Template:Flagicon Jay McKee - A L 1995 Kingston, Ontario
Forwards
Number Player Shoots Positon Acquired Place of Birth
9 Template:Flagicon Derek Roy L C 2001 Ottawa, Ontario
12 Template:Flagicon Ales Kotalik R RW/LW 1998 Jindřichův Hradec, Czechoslovakia
17 Template:Flagicon J.P. Dumont L LW/RW 2000 Montreal, Quebec
19 Template:Flagicon Tim Connolly R C 2001 Syracuse, New York
22 Template:Flagicon Adam Mair R C/RW 2002 Hamilton, Ontario
23 Template:Flagicon Chris Drury - C R C/W 2003 Trumbull, Connecticut
24 Template:Flagicon Taylor Pyatt L LW 2001 Thunder Bay, Ontario
25 Template:Flagicon Mike Grier R RW 2004 Detroit, Michigan
26 Template:Flagicon Thomas Vanek R LW/RW 2003 Vienna, Austria
28 Template:Flagicon Paul Gaustad L C 2000 Fargo, North Dakota
48 Template:Flagicon Daniel Briere - C R C 2003 Gatineau, Quebec
55 Template:Flagicon Jochen Hecht L LW/RW 2003 Mannheim, West Germany
61 Template:Flagicon Maxim Afinogenov L RW 1997 Moscow, U.S.S.R.
76 Template:Flagicon Andrew Peters L LW 1998 St. Catharines, Ontario

Team captains

Hall of Famers

Retired numbers

Not to be forgotten

See also

External links

Template:NHLde:Buffalo Sabres fr:Sabres de Buffalo sk:Buffalo Sabres fi:Buffalo Sabres sv:Buffalo Sabres

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